Pittsburgh Jokes

Although April Fools' Day has come and gone, I think it's important to use jokes frequently...even in speech therapy.  Joke telling is a great way to practice turn-taking and social skills.  Telling jokes is also a great way to practice articulation, stuttering strategies, language, voice strategies, abstract reasoning, reading...just about anything!  Here are a few Pittsburgh-themed jokes:

1. Why did the panther cross the road?  Because it was the chicken's day off!

2. What's black and white, black and blue, black and white, black and blue?  A Pittsburgh penguin slipping on the ice!

3. What did the Eat'n Park Smiley Cookie say when he felt sick?  I feel crummy.  I'm about to crumble!

4. Where do Pittsburghers keep their money?  In a river bank!

5. What did the frozen vegetables at Giant Eagle say?  Lettuce out, it's cold in here!

6. How can there be an Upper Saint Clair if there isn't a Lower Saint Clair?!

7. What is the nicest town in Pittsburgh?  Friendship!

8. Knock knock.  Who's there?  Pierogi.  Pierogi who?  Knock knock.  Who's there?  Pierogi.  Pierogi who?  Knock knock.  Who's there?  Pierogi who?  Knock knock.  Who's there?  Orange.  Orange who?  Orange you glad I didn't say Pierogi?!

9. What do lawyers wear to the Allegheny Courthouse?  Lawsuits!

10. Why did the computer go to UPMC?  Because it had a virus!

Please post below any Pittsburgh-themed jokes that are appropriate for children.

Abstract reasoning: what's missing?

I used to play the "What's missing?" game with my dad, and now you can play it at Bird Park.  Look at empty spots in Bird Park, and asks your child "what's missing?"  This stimulates abstract reasoning, which is particularly useful for children with cognitive disorders.

"What's missing in this parking lot?"  Cars, trees, parking meters are all possible answers.  What answers can your child think up?  Post below!

Contests

Walking through a park in the fall and winter can become monotonous since the landscape may seem barren.  To increase attention, I suggest having a contest to see who can spot something in Bird Park first.  Make the target something relevant to your child's speech/language goals.  For example,

"nest" for the /n/, /st/ sounds...

"hill" for the /l/ sound...

"squirrel" for two-syllable words, clusters.  (Yes, there is a squirrel hiding there.  Next time I will use the zoom feature on my camera.)

A variation on this game is not only to see who can spot the first next/hill/squirrel, but who can spot the most.

Other uses for the "I spy" game

The "I spy" game can be used to increase grammatical development and language acquisition.  For example, build on the traditional statement "I spy a tree" by prompting for descriptors: "I spy a big tree," "I spy a big green tree."

Another example from Bird Park is: "I spy a slide, " "I spy a silver slide," "I spy a long silver slide."

Carryover at the sentence level...the "I spy" game

If a child is practicing articulation of sounds at the sentence level, play the "I spy" or "I see" game.  For example, ask her what she sees.  The response should be in sentence form: "I see rocks."  This activity works for varying targets....

"I see a sign"

"I see a field."