Pop the Pig

Who doesn’t love a good Family Game Night? They are not only fun but can be used to target so many developmental areas, including social skills, sportsmanship, following directions, reasoning, and turn-taking. Pop the Pig is a surprise game that is fun for all ages! It is designed for 2-6 players, ages 4 and older. If played traditionally, it teaches numbers, colors, and counting but, like many of the games that we play around here, it can be expanded. Here are a few ideas for use at home:

Speech & Language: Practice simple turn-taking by rolling the dice, picking a burger, placing it in the pig’s mouth, and pushing his head. You can also hide the burgers around the room and talk about where they are when you find them (e.g., I found one UNDER the table. or It’s ON the chair.). The game can also be used as motivation while practicing target speech sounds (e.g., practice one word for each burger, say the word however many times are on the burger, etc.).

Fine Motor/Visual Motor: Practice using a pincer grasp to pick up the burgers and put them in the pig’s mouth. Build your child’s hand strength by having them push down on the pig’s head to fill up his belly. Work on matching the color on the dice to the same colored burger.

Sensory: Hide the burgers in a sensory bin and have your child find them. Create an obstacle course designed with your child’s sensory diet in mind and have them complete a round of the obstacle course each time they want to collect a burger and feed the pig.

Gross Motor: Encourage your child to sit cross-legged, kneel on their hands and knees, or lie on their stomach while playing to increase their core strength or have them stand on one foot at a table while taking their turn to work on balance. Put the pig on one side of the room and the burgers on another side of the room then have your child use a scooterboard or an animal walk to get the burger to the pig. The difficulty of this task can be increased to target working memory by having them remember what color they have to get from one side of the room to the other.

Click here to purchase Pop the Pig and other therapist-approved games through our Therapy Shop.