Are you looking for summer activities to develop speech and language skills? Summer is right around the corner, so it’s time to think about activities to build speech and language skills this summer.
So grab your iced tea (or summer beverage of choice), and let’s get to it!
5 Summer Activities to Build Speech and Language
The Summer Slide
Summer is fast approaching, and families with kids in speech therapy may be worried about regression. With these families in mind, I have come up with some fun speech-focused summer games. I hope you find these to be simple and effective in building language skills this summer.
Water Balloons
You can get a balloon pump at most stores, and there are pumps that allow you to fill up the balloon with air from the pump or by filling the container with water. As a result, you can work on a variety of early skills here, including:
Speech Sounds – putting lips together for the /b/ sound: big, balloon
Early Language Skills – more balloon, big balloon, little balloon, push (for pushing the pump), throw, tie it, ready-set-go (for letting a balloon full of air go)
Playing with Trash
I call this activity the “recycling bin” because we tear up a piece of paper, crumple it up and throw it in the bin. It’s fun and engaging, and my younger learners love it.
Water Play
First, create a target and take turns throwing a soft toy, sponge, or ball at the target. If your child is ready for numbers, use a point system and assign someone to draw a scoreboard and tally points. This game can be adapted for any speech or language goal. Some possibilities: taking turns and answering questions, articulating challenging phrases, or making rhymes and songs.
Making Homemade Play Doh or Slime
By creating your own homemade Play Doh or Slime, you can model step by step directions and describing words (sticky, gooey) as you work – not to mention all of the vocabulary opportunities once you continue to play!
Plastic Cups
Stack them up, knock them down, build a tower, talk into them, find a ball and go bowling with them…playing with cups is really versatile.
5 Summer Activities to Build Speech and Language in Preschoolers – Let’s Go!
Are you ready to hit the pavement and sharpen those speech and language skills? Remember, working on speech and language at home is always a huge part of a child’s success, no matter the season. Just because summer is here doesn’t mean your child has to lose the skills he worked so hard to gain over the school year.
Sarah Lockhart is a private practice SLP in Ashland, Oregon. Her work primarily focuses on language delays and speech sound disorders and motor speech disorders for ages 0-5.
