Nature Sounds Guessing Game

As I mentioned before in my Obligatory Introduction Post, until school starts at the end of August, I am leading a recreational program for children with special needs. I wanted to share some of the activities with you, because they might come in handy, and because I don't want this blog to have to just sit quietly and wait for me for the next six weeks.

At the program, this week is our Nature Week. One of the activities I came up with is a Nature Sounds Guessing Game. I used SoundBible to download 16 sounds that people might here in nature. Since we live in the Pacific Northwest, I concentrated specifically on sounds the children might hear around their homes, or while hiking or camping. I then printed and cut out pictures representing each of the nature sounds, and glued them onto a board.

Next, I taped an index card over each picture, making it like a flap that I could lift up to see the picture underneath. I numbered the cards.

I also printed out a sheet of paper with small versions of all of the pictures, which I didn't take a photo of.

To play, the kids will be divided into teams. When it is their turn, a team will choose a number. I will play the corresponding recording for them, and they'll try to guess what it is. If they get it right, I uncover the picture and that team gets a point. If they get it wrong, it is the next team's turn.

To differentiate it, I will have the sheet of paper with smaller pictures on it, so the kids can point to the picture they think it is. We don't have any kids with hearing impairments, but we do have a bunch who are nonverbal.

It is a simple game. We'll see how well it goes. They're also going to play Four Corners, but instead of numbering the corners, the corners will be labeled "forest, field, river, mountain." Stay tuned for more exciting ideas for amusing a group of children!