Splat Balls and Light Up Balls

If you have any kids with phonological disorders who are doing the Cycles approach, you know that sometimes saying the same 5 words over and over can become less than exciting. I have some really young students that lose interest rather quickly, so I try to come up with different ways to entice them to say the words. Here's a look at one of my (and their) favorites:

Have you heard about "splat" balls? They look like this: 

*I try to have several on hand because they can get a little gross after hitting the floor so many times. This is also why I don't do this every session, because I would quickly go broke!*

I stick pictures (I have laminated them) on the wall using some tacky stuff. I put them in different places (some high, some low) on the wall. Then I hand over the splat ball and let the kids throw them towards the cards. If they hit a card and the card falls, they have to say the word 5-7 times (depending on their ages). It's a simple way to keep the kids entertained and they really seem to like it. If you have groups where students are working on different sounds, you could put a different colored X on different sounds and tell students to aim at their color. 

Another activity that they seem to enjoy involves these light up balls:

They light up when they are bounced on the floor. I will have the students say a certain number of words prior to turning off the lights and letting them bounce the balls. It's an easy way to get them to say a bunch of words in a short amount of time! 

How do YOU keep your students motivated when using the Cycles approach?