I’ve been trying to “up my barrier game game” lately. Here’s a quick explanation of barrier games and their variety of uses in speech and language treatment.
I’ve always had a complicated relationship with barrier games – while they always give me skills to work on with my patients (who I prefer to call “my kids”) they’re a bear to set up, kids often don’t enjoy them, and they can be expensive. I know many of my colleagues buy their barrier games on Teachers Pay Teachers and print them out and while that’s cheap and easy I’ve found that it’s difficult to keep the papers in a good enough condition (especially after a kid sneezes on them) and that the kids get really frustrated when their paper items move around (and I completely emphasize with them).
I love making magnets and that’s my plan for my next step in my “upping my barrier game game,” but while I organize that whole endeavor I thought I’d try using my favorite tool – Toca Boca World – as a barrier game!
This wouldn’t be possible without 2 iPads with the same location available on each. I chose the “Slomo Market” since it has a very large room with plenty of wall space for shelves. This is one of the paid addons to the game and at the time of writing this it costs $3.99. I gathered all the recipe boxes I have available (which are a lot since I have so many addons) and then the ingredients needed for each (they come with the same addons that the recipes come with). I organized them in the same places on each iPad and gave them the same wallpaper, flooring, and furniture.
The kids are loving taking turns to make their recipes. Here are the steps I’ve told them to follow on their turns:
- I always start by reminding the kids that their goal is to make their rooms look exactly like their partner’s room. This is the important part that keeps them from trashing the room willy-nilly.
- Pick a recipe (they can do this while they’re waiting for their partner to give them directions).
- Tell your partner which 2 ingredients to combine. The kids often like to make up their own recipes and combine 5 or more ingredients to make a stack of sugar or something similar, but I’ve let them know that the fewer ingredients they use the more time they’ll get at the end of our appointment for “choose time.”
- Tell your partner where to put their creation. I started with the 5 light-up side tables, but added more places and even things to put the creation into (like coolers and cauldrons). The kids’ favorite is the lava lamp, which their creations float in.
The kids each take 5 turns then we turn the iPads so they can see what each other has done. If something is different between the two iPads I ask the kids to tell each other how to fix the difference.
So far the kids and I are loving this. Good thing because it took a while to set up! I’m excited that it cost me nothing since I already had the game and addons and whatever “damage” the kids do will be easily reversable (unlike the damage they do to paper!). But I’m working up the bravery to make magnetic scenes to try next – stay tuned to hear how it goes!
You can find more ideas for using Toca Boca World in speech & language treatment here…