Speech therapy doesn’t have to be boring or feel like a chore. There are many fun and easy activities that you can incorporate into your child’s daily routine to help them improve their communication skills. Here are five easy activities that you can try at home and are fun for the whole family:
- Simon Says: This classic game is a great way to work on following directions, vocabulary, and articulation. You can make it even more challenging by incorporating specific speech sounds or words into the directions, depending on your child’s needs.
- Charades: Charades is a fun game that can help your child work on nonverbal communication skills, such as gestures and facial expressions. You can also incorporate specific speech sounds or words into the game.
- Storytelling: Encourage your child to tell you a story using their imagination. This can help them work on narrative skills, sentence structure, and vocabulary. You can also take turns telling stories to each other. A great way to encourage storytelling is ‘story-telling dice’. Here is an example Learning Resources Story Telling Cube
- Singing: Singing is a great way to work on articulation and rhythm. Encourage your child to sing along to their favorite songs or make up their own songs. You can also incorporate movement and gestures to make it even more fun.
- Articulation practice: Use everyday objects, such as toys or household items, to work on specific speech sounds. For example, you can practice the “k” sound by saying “kite” or “cat.” You can also practice saying the sound in different positions in words, such as the beginning, middle, and end. A treasure hunt is always a great idea, where you can follow clues that are hidden in objects with the targeted sound.
Incorporating these activities into your child’s daily routine can help make speech therapy feel less like work and more like play for both the parent and the child. They can also help your child improve their communication skills in a fun and engaging way. Remember to be patient and provide positive reinforcement to your child as they practice their communication skills. With time and practice, they will make progress and reach their full potential.
