Tutti Frutti

Tutti Frutti

Tutti Frutti is a favorite activity that I use with many of my school-age kiddoes. This is a great activity used in conjunction with emerging math skills. 

Tutti Frutti

Tutti Frutti is a card game from Discovery Toys for two to six players, recommended for ages six and up. Tutti Frutti contains 56 playing cards (each card showing a different number of fruits: red strawberries, purple plums, green limes, and yellow bananas, in combinations from one to five) and one steel bell.

The object of the game is to recognize when there are five of one fruit visible. This could be a card that shows, for example, five strawberries. Or it could be the sum of two different cards, for example, two plums on one card and three plums on another card. If you recognize that five fruits are visible, reach to the middle to ring the bell. The first one who rings the bell gets all the cards played.

Suggested lesson for Tutti Frutti

To set up the game, place the bell in the center of the table so all can reach it.  Shuffle the cards and deal out an equal number of cards to each player. All players should place their pile of cards face down in front of them.

“I will go first. I’ll turn the top card over and place in front of my pile. You turn the top card of your pile over and place it in front of your pile.”

“What do you see on my card? What kind of fruit is it? Yes, it is a Strawberry. And how many Strawberries on my card? Yes, there are one-two-three-four Strawberries on my card.”

“Let’s look at your card. What is the fruit on your card? Yes, it is a Banana. And how many Bananas on your card? Yes, there are one-two Bananas on your card.”

“Do we see five of one kind of fruit showing? Let’s look. There are four Strawberries and two Bananas. Are they the same fruits? No, they are not the same fruits, so we both draw new cards.”

“What is on my card? Yes, my card has a Lime on it. How many Limes are on my card? Yes, there are one-two Limes on my card.”

“Now let’s look at your card. What is on your card?”

“Yes, there are Limes on your card. The same are on my card. How many Limes are on your card? Yes, there are one-two-three Limes on your card.”

“Our cards have the same fruit on them. They match. Limes and limes.”

“How many limes are showing? Two Limes on my card and three Limes on your card. What is three plus two? Yes, it is five. There are five Limes showing. Five is our goal. Ring the bell and collect all the cards showing.”

When a player loses all their cards, they are out of the game. The winner is the player who collects all the cards. 

For children who are able to follow these directions, add another step. Incorporate vocabulary cards or articulation cards. If you are working on particular sounds, reinforce the correct placement and production of the sounds.

If the child is more proficient with sound production, have them use the word in a sentence. Start with a carrier sentence, “I like strawberries.” Then go to a more complicated sentence, “I put strawberries on my cereal.”.

If the goals are to improve receptive and expressive language, incorporate WH questions.

Using games in therapy sessions

Tutti Frutti is a great fun activity that can be used by speech & language therapists, occupational therapists, and special education teachers. 

Incorporate the game play into your therapy session, having kiddoes say their target sounds before moving their token, picking a card, or whatever action the game calls for.

Games can make therapy fun and engaging for the child while the therapist can elicit responses and actions that meet therapy goals.