You don't know Ned?

For those of you that do not know Ned, you need to meet him! Ned is anything but adorable, but is always very popular! Ned's Head is a game that includes a giant plush head. To play the game, you first pick a card that has a picture of an object on it. You then reach into Ned's head (through his ears or nose) and try to find the object. Now, these objects are not pleasant. You have to find ear wax, vomit, a dirty diaper, a rat, etc!

You may be wondering why on Earth do I love Ned? The reason is because Ned can be used 1,000 different ways. I rarely ever use Ned the way he was designed to be used. Below are some ideas that I came up with to use this little guy!

1. I created my own shoe box of objects. Inside my box I put objects such as a toothbrush, a calculator, a cotton ball, a small football, a McDonald's toy.... things that don't make you want to lose your lunch! How I use Ned with this version of the game is I put the objects in Ned's Head before the students come into the room. Then, one at a time, the kids reach in Ned's head to find 1 object. They do not take the object out of his head. Instead, they give characteristics of the object (hard, soft, small, round, squishy) and they and their friends have to guess what it is. After they all guess, the object is removed from the head.

2. Having trouble getting your kids to drill speech words? Simply put the words in Ned's Head and let them draw a word card out. They practice the word after the draw the card. Simple, and no whining! :)

3. I created a sentence template on Boardmaker. My sentence says "I found a ______ in Ned's Head." The students draw out an object or word card (depending on the target goal) and fill in the blank. This is good for working on complete sentences and articulation.

4. Working on letter names and sounds? Place plastic letters in Ned's Head and have your kids draw out letters one at a time. They can find the match on a separate sheet, tell you the letter name and sound, or find an object that goes with the letter.

5. Working on initial sound identification? Place objects in Ned's Head with specific sounds you are working on. For example, if you are working on the letter S and the letter M, have objects that begin with S and M inside Ned's Head. Then, have a S and M box. As the students take objects out of Ned, they decide what box to sort the objects into.

The possibilities are endless with Ned. I believe I purchased Ned from Toys R Us. Have a wonderful weekend... I am off to Atlanta in the morning to see my beautiful friend, Francesca get married!!!