Wind-Up Easter Toys to Create Opportunities for Listening and Spoken Language


Wind-up chicks, ducklings and bunnies are common toys at the stores near Eastertime. They are perfect for filling baskets but also young children are fascinated with these toys that require an adult to activate.
Wind-up toys create opportunities for your children to ask for the toy be wound up. These toys set up the communicative environment so your child will need to ask for help to use. Remember not to anticipate the child’s needs before s/he has tried to communicate them to you. Look expectantly when your child should verbalize so s/he learns to verbalize during the pause time.

Sabotage techniques set up situations, which require your child to communicate with others.  For example, arrange the situation so when the wind-up toy stops s/he needs to request the toy to continue. These toys stop suddenly and are motivating, as the child needs to ask for help for then to continue to hop, scurry or whatever. Even placing the fun toy out of your child’s reach can create a need to communicate.  Then, WAIT for your child to initiate, request or comment. Allow your child plenty of processing time and remember don’t jump in too soon and save your child.

Wind-up toys encourage a fun and communicative environment. Since you have your child’s undivided interest use rich language when talking about the toys. Rich language is at and slightly above the child's listening and spoken language level and should be redundant with frequent rephrasing and elaboration.


Listening, Learning and Spoken Language with New Events, Activities or Holidays

This blog post was adapted from the http://www.medel.com article entitled,

Helping Your Child Enjoy New Events with Their Cochlear Implant 

by Donna  Sperandio, Head of Rehabilitation at MED-EL

You can be read the original article HERE 




For any child a new activity or event is an experience, and especially for a child with hearing aids or cochlear implants each new event means new sounds and experiences that may seem overwhelming. But don’t worry, there are a few ways that you can help to make their listening experience, and the whole event, comfortable and enjoyable.

The Key Word: Preparation

Involving your child in preparing for the event in an age-appropriate way is the best method to make everything enjoyable.

First, just introduce them to the general idea of what the event is about. This way they can develop an overall understanding of what to expect.

How should you do this? An easy way would be to explain the big steps that might occur by just talking about them in order. Or, you could get a bit more creative. If you have pictures from similar events, or if it’s a recurring event maybe from the last time it happened, then you can show these to your child to give them an idea of what they might see or be around. Younger children might enjoy acting out the activity with toys or dolls, and this can be especially useful in structured events like a wedding where there’s a clearly defined routine to the whole event.

Then, you can get more into the details. What are specific activities that happen at this event? Will someone be standing up to give a speech, and if this happens how should your child behave? If there will be songs or music, maybe your child would enjoy hearing them in advance so that he or she can better enjoy them during the actual event.
Here are some basic questions that you can think about what to tell your child:

  1. Why is this event happening?
  1. What will happen at the event?
  1. Who will be at the event?
  1. Will there be any surprises, like unexpected events or noises, for which he or she can prepare?
  1. How should your child behave? Is it formal or informal?
  • Will there be speakers, and where will the speakers be located? (This is important because it might influence where your child should sit or stand to hear best.)

During the Event: Enjoy


Depending on your child, you may want to either stay close or give them lots of space. Make sure to talk with them in advance and, if they’re old enough, make a choice that both of you can agree upon. Remember, the goal is to make it enjoyable for them as well as for you. If your child likes to be independent, that’s great! Encourage his or her independence, but also let them know that you’ll always be nearby if needed.

If your child uses any assistive listening devices make sure to grab them before leaving, and don’t forget any other accessories or extra batteries just in case. Again, it’s better to be prepared.
Talking with the event organizers can also help, whether it’s just informing them that your child will be present with his or her cochlear implant or asking about any assistive listening devices they have.
Example questions could be like:

Afterwards: Relax



If you want to reflect afterwards, you could ask your child if they have any questions about what had happened at the event or just ask them how they felt. If you took any photos at the event you could also look through them now.

Sound Localization: Easter Egg Hunt

Sound Localization and the Electronic Easter Egg Hunt


Available to purchase: JoJo & Friends Electronic Easter Egg Hunt by Ouaps Company



Hide one of the egg noise-making toys, from your child’s view somewhere in a room.


When beginning the Egg Hunt:

First, ask your child WHAT he hears.

Then, WHERE the sound is coming from.

You may want to begin by keeping the choices simple. For example, "Do you hear the sound near the windows or closer to the fireplace?" 

Remind the child to listen first or else they will begin searching with their eyes! 



To play this game, with the electronic Eggs, press the on/off button on the side and hide it. The egg then calls out phrases periodically like, "Yoo-hoo! I'm hiding! I'm over here! " 
Once the toy is found, you can pop it apart to reveal the character inside, who will exclaim something like, "It's me, Maggie! You found me!
Sound Localization
The ability to localize sounds develops over time. The earlier your child has received his bilateral cochlear implants/hearing aids, the sooner he starts picking up sound cues and gains valuable experiences localizing sounds. 


Tips For Children Learning to Locate Sound Sources

  • Using two different musical toys, hidden from the child’s view, locating one to the left of the child and one to the right side of the child. Then, make a sound with each instrument in varied sequence, ask your child to identify which instrument is on which side. You can do this with Mom's vs. Dad's voice as well. 
  • At the dinner table or while playing games help your child locate who is speaking. Your entire family can help the child learn to locate and follow then natural flow of
  • conversation.
  • Playing hide-and-seek indoors (e.g. room or house), hiding yourself and calling out to your child to find you. This task may be varied by taking turns between hiding and searching.
  • Games in a group, such as “Blindman’s Buff ” or “I Spy” (with sounds), hand clapping games are ideal for practicing sound localization in a  playful way.
  • Teach your child that is hard of hearing to be extra alert visually in crowds, walking near cars, crossing streets, riding bicycles, and in group games. Remind your child to look for traffic and not to depend on hearing oncoming vehicles. If your child rides a bicycle, consider rear-view mirrors to help him see traffic he might not hear.            

Sample Localization GOAL with Benchmarks
GOAL: Child will auditory locate with bilateral cochlear implants/hearing aids:

-  a sound presented at ear level within a 3 foot radius in front or on either side
-  a sound presented at ear level within a 6 foot radius from behind
 - understand and verify gross, environmental, music or speech sounds within  9 feet, then 12 feet and  finally, within the same room in all directions.
 - Understand sounds with a specific location or direction outside.

Click HERE for a packet by Med-EL entitled,
 "Sound Localization Tips and Information for users of Cochlear Implants"

Humpty Dumpty in Auditory Verbal Therapy


Activities that involve music, singing and rhyming are natural and enriching for all children,
 and especially for children with cochlear implants/hearing aids who are listening and using spoken language. Incorporate music throughout your  day. Sing songs and act out finger plays.

Click HERE for  printable HUMPTY DUMPTY story props, a minibook and rhyming words.



Acting out HUMPTY DUMPTY with a hard-boiled egg is a fun and learning to listen activity.
 There is a whole lesson in making a Humpty Dumpty egg. 


A few Spoken Language Targets:

For toddlers, focus on "more", "uh-oh", "sit down", "fall down" "broken" talk about the horses and more.

For preschoolers, some concepts to introduce while reading Humpty Dumpty are those, which require fine auditory discrimination involving syntax such as sat/sit, fall/fell, horse/horses/ man/men. 

You may also choose to talk about positional words (e.g. above, below, after, before, over, under, on, off).

Expand your child's vocabulary for broken with synonyms such as - break, separate, split up, fall apart, come apart.

Critical thinking and conversations can emerge while discussing how to repair HUMPTY DUMPTY.

Talk about HUMPTY DUMPTY'S changing emotions throughout the rhyme - happy, frightened, sad, hurt, disappointed.


Check out this free App: Rhymes for Tots by Emantras 
 that also includes putting broken toys together again!



HERE is a easy an experiential listening and language craft that involves making
 HUMPTY DUMPTY out of a yogurt container.
 My friend and colleague Dave Sindrey has  offered a 

 printable Humpty Dumpty Game that 

 your children/students will love. Grab it HERE! 


Dave Sindrey is a SLP and a Cert. Auditory-Verbal Therapist. 

 Dave’s site is http://www.speechtree.ca/. He is the creator of the Listening Room, which 

 provides hundreds of free activities for parents and professionals working with children who 

 have hearing loss.


http://www.hearingjourney.com/Listening_Room/index.cfm?langid=1



Have fun listening and talking. We sure did!