Speech & Language | School Age Kids

Speech and Language Tips for Playhouse Pals Participants

Sometimes finding things to do with your school-age kiddo can be tough. There aren’t always enough hours in the day to research the best ways to help support their speech and language development. Going online, finding a reliable source, creating lists of activities; who has the time? If you are looking for some tips and activities to help support your young learners’ development in communication, then look no further.
Children are sponges who are ready to learn about their world. Always talk to them about what is going on in the day to day activities and include them in what you are doing. The more you share, the more they will learn and absorb.

Each lesson can be taught over and over again and never be taught exactly the same way twice.

Your involvement is the key to helping practice their skills and carryover what they have learned in therapy and school each day. every moment has the possibility of being a teachable moment.

Here is one great activity that can be completed either at the Playhouse for Playhouse Pals, or at home! Tunnels/Tents Sets – Not only are these sets fantastic for gross motor development, but they allow for so many opportunities for language as well. Going in and out and under and through is so much fun and is great for working on listening and following directions. Obstacle courses naturally promote speech and language skills. Obstacle courses require children to navigate by going in, out, under, over, on, off, through, next to, to the right/left of, up, down, etc. Depending on what goals you are trying to achieve, you can target nearly anything. The simple act of going through the course can help promote following directions and basic concept knowledge (not to mention gross and fine motor skills). As mentioned above, to target even more specific skills you can do this easily by setting up activities within the course that must be completed before moving on to the next, like saying an artic word 10 times before moving on or maybe describing a picture (describing skills, grammar skills) or providing an antonym or synonym for a given word or set of words.

more activities to promote language development at home:

Use puzzles about people, places, animals, vehicles, etc. Ask a variety of questions such as, “What is the boy doing?”, “Where do we go to buy food?”, or “What animal is next to the tiger?”
When you go to the grocery store, ask your child questions about where to find the milk and other details about the milk. For example, “Why do we keep milk in the refrigerator?” If the child is old enough, have the child write the grocery list and give directions on where to find the items.
Work on following directions throughout your child’s day. Start with one step directions such as, “Put the book on the chair.” When the child is successful with one step directives move to two step directives such as “Clap your hands and stamp your feet.” Then move to two-step unrelated directives such as “Put your shoes by the chair and bring me your book.”
Use books such as Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? Children hear a repetitive verse. These verses get embedded in their language system. After multiple verses of this type of repetitive book, start leaving out words to try to get them to say the correct word. Use gestures to help promote recall, pointing to the picture, etc.

suggested websites:

Advantage Speech: www.advantagespeech.com, Speech language pathologist app recommendations, blog and communication development information.
Pinterest Page: www.pinterest.com/literacy-language-for-kids … Fun activities that promote
language, communication and literacy.

Thank you Sarah Buti, SLP for sharing these great tips with us!

Be sure to check out our online calendar for all you favorite programs like Playhouse Pals & more!

educate.inspire.believe.