Mini Shopping Carts in Speech Language Therapy

Have you seen these adorable miniature shopping carts before?  I spotted them a while ago at Hobby Lobby (similar here on Amazon or  Etsy) and had to grab them for use in therapy!

1. These are great for use with sensory bins when targeting articulation, phonology, or pronouns!  As my students “discover” each individual item hidden in my different sensory bins, we pretend they are shopping for the item.  I’ll pick a set word or phrase, depending on their target, that they have to say before placing the item in the cart (such as “I would like a ___” for a student working on the L, or “She wants a ___” for a student working on pronouns when speaking for a stuffed animal).  Then, once the cart is full, we have to “check out” from the store, where the student hands me each item and says the target word/phrase again.
2. If you have more than one cart, you can use them to have students store their articulation/phonology target cards in and play with quietly while the other students in their group take their turn.
3. You can also use the carts to go “shopping” around your therapy room to find stimulus cards that you have hidden with your students’ therapy targets.  Have you student say the target word/phrase or answer the question before placing the card in their cart.
4. When working on “smooth” and “bumpy” speech in stuttering therapy, you can use the carts to demonstrate the different types of speech, as well as have your students identify if their speech was “bumpy” or “smooth.”
5. The carts are also great for following directions!  You could set up an “obstacle course” on your therapy table or floor, and give specific directions that your students have to follow (such as, “Go around the tissue box, and then go behind the markers.”)

Tell me, what other ways would you use these fun little carts?

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