Many children with special needs have difficulty with communication. Some children, such as those on the Autism Spectrum, have trouble talking with others. Often their words are very literal, and often they see little need to communicate at all. Other children, such as those with ADHD, may love to talk, but they need help in understanding play on words and idioms. Children with behavior disorders have the most difficulty with empathy and caring. Their teachers and parents are working on character education.
Children’s Valentine’s Day cards offer so much for a small price. The market for cards is, of course, children, and the cards reflect their interests: popular movie and cartoon characters, performers, sports stars, animals, cars, and even insects. Kids love to find the perfect cards. Parents and teachers can also find the perfect motivator for speech and language practice as well as other cognitive skills.
Using Valentine Cards to Increase Language Skills
Find the cards that will best motivate the child. Consider buying more than one pack of the same cards. These can be used for a variety of activities.
Younger children or those with developmental delays will benefit from matching identical cards, sorting cards that are the same into piles, or picking the one that is different from a group of three cards.
Card with riddles or puns can be read again and again. Who really cares if the same riddle has been asked 15 times if the child is practicing questions?
More Language and Reading Activities Using Valentine Cards from Parties
Keep the Valentine’s cards from school parties for the reasons listed above as well as extended activities. Ask your child to sort in broader groups such as all cards with animals (or transportation, sports, people). Talk about who the cards are from. Sort by cards from girls and cards from boys.Practice the jokes and riddles with the assortment of cards received. Then do it again. . . and again.
There are other ways to teach with Valentine's Day loot. Valentine's Day candy offers a great behavior motivator. For more information on how to boost language skills on Valentine’s Day read my book review: How Many Hearts - a countdown to Valentine fun.
A small collection of Valentine’s cards can bring clutter to a home. Many would prefer to clean out the cards after a day or two of holiday fun. However, repetition is the way to learning. . . especially for children with special needs. Cards can be quickly gathered and stored until the next round of riddles and what better way to teach the practice of picking up. After all, St. Patrick’s Day and its many language prompts are just around the corner.
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