If you’re stumped on activities to incorporate into your day this winter to help your child improve their speech and language skills, then keep reading. We have compiled a short list of fun and engaging activities for you to try with your child. Whether you're stuck inside during a snow day or bundled up to head outdoors, incorporating speech and language strategies into your day may help your child increase their speech and language skills.
Outdoor Activity Ideas
Build a snowman: building a snowman is a great activity for following directions, working on adjectives, practicing inferencing, and naming every day clothing items.
While working building your snowman, try to encourage your child to follow directions such as (1 step) make a ball, put his hat on, find two sticks, etc. or (2 step) make a ball and put it on top the other one, pick out a hat and scarf, find two sticks and put them on the snowman.
To practice inference try questions like: Why would a snowman need a scarf, why do we wear a scarf, why do we build snowmen when it's cold, why is the bottom of the snowman bigger than the top.
If you’re working on vocabulary building, make sure to name all the items you put on your snowman or ask your child if they can name them. For example, What do we put on its head, what goes on its neck. You could also have them find the items such as: find a green scarf and pair of gloves for our snowman.
Go sledding: while sledding you can model words such as ‘fast’, ‘slow’, ‘down’, ‘up’, ‘stuck’. Narrate what you are doing and where you are going. Use cloze phrases such as ‘ready, set,....’ and allow your child to say ‘Go!’.
Bonus activity: Getting ready for outdoor play in the winter. While your child is bundling up to go outside be sure to encourage them to actively participate or independently dress themselves. Name body parts and clothing items to help expand their vocabulary and encourage them to follow directions.
Indoor Activities
Make hot chocolate: making hot chocolate is a great activity for following directions and allowing your child to learn kitchen skills. You could have your child find the ingredients you need, count the marshmallows, or stir in the chocolate. You can use vocabulary words such as ‘hot’, ‘cup’, ‘stove’, ‘microwave’, ‘stir’, ‘brown’, ‘white’, etc.
Read to your child: This is a great time of year to take advantage of extra indoor time by reading books with your child. Allow your child to explore the pictures, ask them to point to or name pictures, ask them questions about what you just read, and repeat new vocabulary words to them. Some of my favorite winter themed books include:
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? By Eric Carle and Bill Martin Jr.
A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson
I’ve linked the Amazon book options here but I encourage you to check out your local library and see what you can find there.
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