There are many songs and interventions music therapists use in therapy sessions to address various areas of concern and deficit. Often times, our clients enjoy activities in music therapy so much that their parents ask us for activities they can use at home. Similar to speech, physical, and occupational therapy, activities can be sent home with the individual to practice and help improve upon skills that are focused on in therapy or the clinical setting. One activity I use in my sessions focuses on the concept of sorting and grouping objects as well as  improving expressive language skills.

 

What you need:

  • Laminated pictures of various animals that are found at the Zoo and on a farm,

             OR wooden cut outs of zoo and farm animals (found at Hobby Lobby),

             OR download the Sounding Board app for your iPad or Tablet and create boards with farm and zoo animals

  • Learn and memorize the following songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpEUbCMr-XY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhxttDEv_I8

 

What you do:

  1. Start out by placing two pictures on the ground in front of your child, one animal that is found on a farm and one that is found at the zoo
  2. Sing through one of the songs found above and have them identify which animal lives at the zoo or on the farm

(ex. Down on grandpa’s farm there is a pig)

  1. Once your child successfully identifies the correct animal, have them label attributes or describe the animal (ex. Down on grandpa’s farm there is a fat, pink pig)
  2. Once your child successfully and consistently completes steps 2-3, demonstrate a complete sentence using the attributes or a sentence from the song, than encourage them to create a sentence independently. (Note: You will probably need to demonstrate this for them the first few times.)


This is really a great and fun take home activity that teaches your child how to group animals, improve functional communication, and utilize their expressive language skills at home. If you have any questions about how to use this activity with your child, comment below !