When a child first starts therapy to improve their speech sounds, parents typically ask, “how can we help at home?” Aside from worksheets, which can be perceived as boring homework, these fun activities mentioned below can turn working on speech sounds into something your child enjoys!
With most activities, you’ll need pictures of words that have your child’s target sound (the speech sound that is being targeted in therapy). The speech therapist can print or email them to you to print at home. If you want to draw and color pictures with your child, that can be an activity on its own. The therapist can show you cues to improve your child’s sound productions. The therapist can also help you decide how many times to say each target word and determine when your child is ready for phrases/sentences.
Scavenger Hunt – Kids love to place things inside containers, so make sure that you have one before starting. It can be a bucket, a box, a hat, or even a fun character cup. If you decide to put pictures on the walls, you can use painter’s tape or removable mounting putty. Once your child finds a picture, he or she can say the target word a certain number of times (e.g., 3 times each) before placing the picture in the container.
Board Games – After your child’s turn in a game, have him/her say their target word. Remember to work on sentences if that is what your child is doing in therapy. When choosing a game, think of those that have quick turns. Some well known games that work for this are Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Zingo, Trouble, and Sorry. Some other games that are not “board” games but are great for taking quick turns are Don’t Break the Ice, Pop the Pig, Connect 4, and Jenga.
Memory Game – Make sure to have doubles of each picture. You’ll want to adjust the number of pictures depending on your child’s developmental age. Remember that you want your child to have fun so decrease frustration as much as possible. You can start with 3-4 pairs and add from there.
Uno Card Game – Have your child pick their favorite color. Each time that color is put down, a target word should be practiced. You can also try putting fun stickers on certain cards. Similarly, each time a card with a sticker is put down, the child can practice a target word.
Bingo – You can check out our website for a free printable bingo card. Fill up the spaces with the target words or pictures and voila! Each turn is an opportunity for your child to practice their sound, and your child can call out the words to the other players. If you already have Bingo cards at home, you can stick the pictures on each space with removable mounting putty so you can remove them later without damage.
Hedbanz – You certainly don’t need to have the actual game in order to make up your version of Hedbanz. Your child can just hold a picture up to his or her forehead (image facing outward) and then follow the same rules. To make it easier, just make it a guessing game where you give clues and your child has to guess their target word.
We hope that you enjoy working with your child and get to witness progress with their speech sounds! What a fun excuse to have a game night with the family!
Written by Fatima Huizar, M.A., CCC-SLP