Speech Therapy Summer Fun

Speech Therapy Summer Fun

Who doesn’t LOVE summer?!  Summer is a great time to spice up your speech therapy ideas.  After reading tons of ideas from Speech Therapy Talk I have compiled my list.  Here are my top suggestions for fun, language-based activities that target communication skills in memorable ways.

Speech and language practice can be incorporated into daily activities. There isn’t anything super duper special you have to do but know the child’s needs, abilities, and YOUR language when playing with your child.

It is simple and easy!

    • 1. Water

      What To Do: This is easy. Play with water. That’s it! There are so many ideas on what you can do with water and kids just love it!!

      You can:

      • Get out a water table and toys
      • Water flowers
      • Turn on a sprinkler
      • Use the water hose
      • Fill up buckets, cups, and funnels

      Target Goals:

      • Concepts: Wet vs Dry
      • Articulation: /w/, /t/, /r/ (water), /s/ (spray), /k/,/p/ (cup) – the possibilities are endless. Pick out a toy that matches your child’s articulation goal and play with it.
      • Vocabulary: Wet, Dry, Spray, Dump, Fill, Half, Full, Splash, Puddle, Jump, Push, Bath
      • Following Directions: Give each other directions such as “fill up the small cup” or “water the pink flowers after you water the yellow ones.”

        2. Bubbles

        What To Do: Another self-explanatory one… blow bubbles!

        Target Goals: 

        • Concepts: Up vs Down, Bubble vs Pop, Open vs Close
        • Articulation: /b/ (bubble), /p/ (pop), /r/ (run), “ch” (chase)
        • Vocabulary: Bubble, Blow Away, Pop, Run, Chase, Wand
        • Following Directions: Pop the big bubble, Chase the bubble, Blow bubbles
        • Social Skills: Practice taking turns

          3. Chalk

          What To Do: Find chalk and find a sidewalk or driveway. You can target almost any speech or language goal. For example:

          • Draw articulation words.
          • Draw objects and then make up a story to practice narrative structure.
          • Take turns being the leader and give directions to other players to practice following directions.

          The possibilities are endless.

          Target Goals: 

          • Articulation: /d/ (draw), /k/ and /r/ (color), /m/ and /r/ (more)
          • Vocabulary: Colors, Draw, Dust, Picture, (draw any vocabulary word!)
          • Following Directions: Take turns giving directions to players for what to draw
          • Social Skills: Practice taking turns. Practice asking for items out of reach
          • Narrative Structure: Draw a character, place, and action. Then, take turns creating a story using proper narrative structure.

            4. Sand

            What To Do: Play with sand! If you don’t have a sandbox, you can make one with a bucket and a small bag of sand.

            Target Goals: 

            • Concepts: Dig vs Bury, Build vs Knock Down, Construct vs Destroy
            • Articulation: /d/, /g/ (dig), /b/, /d/ (build), /m/, /k/, (make), /s/ (sand)
            • Vocabulary: Dig, Sand, Soft, Pour, Build, Castle, Pack, Dump
            • Following Directions: Find the cup, Fill up the green bucket before the yellow one
            • Social Skills: Practice taking turns , Practice asking for items out of reach

            Something To Think About:

            • If you are a parent, get out a bucket or table and fill it with sand. Next, weave in your target goal naturally. For example, if you are practicing articulation, encourage your child to say the target sound before a turn. If you are practicing vocabulary, use the words in a sentence or model what they mean and encourage your child to repeat.
            • If you are an SLP, tell your client the goal of the activity and then get playing!

              5. Flower Walk

              What To Do: Go for a walk and find as many flowers as you can. Practice, your speech and language skills along the way!

              Target Goals: 

              • Concepts: Walk vs Run, Summer vs Winter
              • Articulation: /k/ (walk), /f/ and /d/ (find), /r/ (flower)
              • Vocabulary: Bloom, Grow, Colors, Flowers, Find, Discover, New, Matching

              Alternative Games:

              • Play “I Spy” to target language skills (vocabulary description, i.e., I spy something small and sharp)
              • Target articulation skills (find objects with target articulation sounds!)
              • Colors: To practice colors, find everything that is a certain color. Grammar: Practice a target verb such as “I see,” or “I discovered”

 

Have a fun, safe summer!!