1 – Story Champs Intervention

I utilize Story Champs with so many of my students.  I wrote a review of it last year as well that you can view here.  Story Champs is flexible and I’ve seen really good growth from utilizing it.  In my mixed language/articulation groups, I’m able to target story grammar, vocabulary, articulation, and more with this tool.  There is also a Spanish Bilingual version available now.

Cost: $298.00

2 – iPad/Apps

I’ll just get this out of the way here.  I do utilize my iPad and apps frequently as therapy tools.  My iPad is much easier to take around to my quick artic sessions, screenings, etc. than a pile of artic cards or paper screeners.  I utilize it in various ways as well, using apps that aren’t solely for therapy as well.  I will say that we don’t ALWAYS use the iPad and I never let my students just “play” on it (unless they’ve earned free time after an assessment).  I typically sit next to them when we use it and I always hold it and have control in the session.  There are many great apps out there that can unleash your creativity as a clinician and apply speech/language skills in a different way.  I would recommend attending the upcoming XceptionalED Special Apps Update conference if you are interested in learning more.

Cost: iPad $329-1149  Apps: Vary $0-90

3 – Books

We use books constantly in therapy.  They are wonderful for mixed groups, themes, etc.  I typically find my books at thrift stores because they are so affordable there.  Occasionally I splurge on new literature.  There are so many great books that I won’t be naming them.  However – here are a few great lists by some of my favorite bloggers: Crazy Speech World; Speechy Musings Book Lists by Speech Sound and Books for Teaching Story Grammar in Speech Therapy; The Speech Space; etc.

Cost: $0.50-$20

4 – Super Duper

Honestly, for the most part I have moved away from the games and card decks from companies like Super Duper.  However, there are a few products that are flexible enough to be used for many goals and groups.  These are the products I pull on occasion to target 4-5 different goals in a session: “WH” Chipper Chat; Pirate Talk, What Do You Say…What Do You Do… At School?; The Question Challenge Card Game; Turtle Talk Fluency and Language Game

Cost: $55-70

5 – Board Games

We don’t play a lot of games but when we do, they address goals!  Now, I preface this by saying that most of these will need some adaptations made to make it work in therapy.  But that’s why we do the therapy and the material doesn’t do it.  Some of my favorites include Hedbanz, Blurt, 5 Second Rule Jr, Riddle Moo This, and others.  Again, I hunt thrift stores for these as I would much rather spend $3 on a gently used game than $15 on a new one.

Cost: $12-20

6 – Teachers Pay Teachers

I would be lying if I didn’t say that I utilize many wonderful materials from TpT.  Not everything on TpT is created equal and I highly suggest reading information and reviews carefully.  Also look for any information about the use of the product from the seller or others.  Some of my go-to resources include Editable SLP Assessment Templates; Cycles for Phonology Toolkit; Grab N’ Go “WH” Questions; Nyms-O; Nonfiction Texts Targeting Articulation and Language

Cost: $3-30

7 – Your School Campus

There is no reason to keep yourself inside the therapy room at all times.  Get out of there!  Within your school and on your campus are great opportunities for language and articulation.  We have done attribute searches (find something red, find something square), sound walks (find your articulation sound), and more.  Some of our favorite places to visit are bulletin boards, the playground, and my administrators (we like to ask them questions or tell them stories using our good articulation for example).  A big part of our job is moving the skills we work on from isolation into the general education environment.  These structured therapy times outside of the speech room can do just this.

Cost: Free

8 – Maps

A lot of my students have not been outside of the city they are growing up in.  They may travel to a nearby state or to Mexico to visit family occasionally.  We like to use maps – the bigger, the better – in my speech room.  We can use these to plan a road trip and read about/discuss attractions along the way.  We can hunt for cities that have their speech sound in the name.  We can talk about what we see around a place on the map (river, highway, city, park, etc.).  Maps are very interesting to kids in my experience.  They also love to use google maps to explore place they haven’t been or are just interested in.  We’ve used google maps to look at the house I grew up in – they LOVED that!  You can often get maps for free from local tourism shops, services like AAA, or from relatives who don’t want that atlas any longer.

Cost: Free

9 – Sensory Materials

I love integrating sensory bins and materials with my “everyday” speech materials.  We love using kinetic sand, fake snow, water beads, etc. to create a sensory component of our sessions.  I will often hide thematic/sound-based dinky doodads and other tiny items in sand and excavate them.  We may close our eyes and describe what we feel using our description details.  We might just put some laminated TpT cards or other stimuli in the sensory item and work on those.  Regardless of the activity, my students love working with sensory materials.

Cost: Free – $10

10 – Box of Highly-Preferred toys/items

If you work with students using PECS or other AAC devices/systems, having many highly-preferred items at your fingertips can be the key to unlocking their language skills.  I often keep several varieties of wind-up toys, light-up toys, poppers, sensory items, etc. nearby.  This allows me to quickly have students requesting with attributes and working on describing their items.  This can also help in motivating younger students to complete tasks and earn a preferred item.  I recommend looking in the dollar sections, holiday clearance, thrift stores, and even fast food meal toys.  Pro tip: keep these out of reach/sight if you aren’t using them or you may have a distracted and upset child on your hands.

Cost: Free – $4 each

Therapy is not all about the material you use.  It’s important to remember that the material is not the therapy, YOU provide the therapy and may utilize a material/tool in doing so.  What are some of your go-to therapy materials… share below!

The holidays are over and we’re still in the early days of winter – sigh.  I’m sure that many of you are shivering as you read this post.  So… what are some books to use in therapy that are NOT holiday books?  What can we pull out of our Mary Poppins bag and use with our clients until the Earth tilts back towards the sun and we can start planning spring therapy?

Here are 7 of my favorites:

Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

This is easily one of my top books to use.  We typically use it in conjunction with snow-themed sensory bins, creating instant fake snow, or other activities. Snowy Day can be used for inferencing (e.g. What did he find sticking out of the snow to make a third track?  What will happen when he hits the snow with his stick? Where did the snowball go?), narrative retell, vocabulary (slowly, firm, heaping, deep, drag), and more.  It’s a classic and easily adaptable for most elementary client ages.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro

Of course I have to mention a “There Was an Old Lady” (when will she ever learn and does she have pica?!?) in this list.  Aside from some of the snow-based activities listed above, we use this book to work on vocabulary, answering “why” and other wh- questions, and pairs well with various TpT activities like this one from Jenn Alcorn of Crazy Speech World.

The Story of Snow by Mark Cassino with Jon Nelson, Ph.D.

If you have upper elementary clients or clients in middle/high school, take a look at this book.  It is more nonfiction with a little flair with great vocabulary and is a good way to work on comprehension of science texts in the therapy setting.  I like to use it as a transition from more “young” fiction texts to the textbooks that my students are learning from.  It’s  a nice bridge between the two.  This book can be read in chunks and activities planned for each area of the book.  Also, there is a “How To Catch Your Own Snow Crystals” experiment which wouldn’t work well for me in Phoenix but if you’re allowed to go outside with your clients in colder climates, could be great for you as a follow-through activity.

Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows

Hibernation is a big winter-related topic for many of our clients in their classrooms.  Here is a nice and slightly different book that looks more into the topic of hibernation.  I love that the animals are wearing pajamas and the cute illustrations.  There are problems to solve within the book and a lot of good “sound” words and animal vocabulary.

A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson

I will confess… my mom gifted this book to our speech/language room this year, it wasn’t my find.  The illustrations alone are hilarious and useful for therapy.  I love the “sound” and vocabulary words included, the emotions discussed, figuring out just why “tortoises don’t like winter”, and the overall message of this fun little book.  A quick read and easy to pair with animal, snow, or winter activities.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle

Of course I have to mention this gem.  If you work with younger clients, including pre-K and even EI, this book is truly wonderful.  It is even better if you’ve used Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? with the client before.  There are oodles and oodles of TpT and other materials to pair with this book – no need to re-invent the wheel.

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

The wonderful SLP that I have the privilege of sharing a caseload with this year introduced me to Bear Snores On. This book pairs wonderful illustrations with descriptive vocabulary and rhyming words that make this book a sing-song read.  I love to pair this book with a book companion from Shannon Werbeckes of Speechy Musings and mix and match the skills depending on my groups.

There are, of course, many other wonderful winter books to use in therapy, please share your favorites below!  I can’t say how much the use of literature has improved my therapy provision and I highly recommend the use of books in therapy.  Happy winter and have a wonderful 2018!

In this post, I’ll talk about one of my most-utilized SLP tools, Story Champs.  Narrative structures and the ability for students to comprehend and retell stories is very important to their education.  This tool can be very helpful for this skill.  Read on!

What is Story Champs?

Story Champs is a multi-tiered language curriculum that is easy to implement, fast-paced, and powerful. The curriculum targets story structure and complex language features necessary for understanding and producing oral and written language that children need for academic success. Story Champs aligns with the Common Core State Standards and provides schools with the tools necessary to strategically and systematically focus on language.  To find out all of the intervention tool’s specifics, check out their website or these videos that Language Dynamics put together to demonstrate the product in use… take a look:

While they offer a bilingual edition, I will be discussing my use of the English Story Champs 2.0 in this review.

What Story Champs offers – Quick & Dirty:

• RESEARCH-BASED!  Over 20 feasibility and experimental studies have been completed. Here is a Research Synopsis
• Use as young as Pre-K.
• Skills Developed Through Story Champs
  • Listening comprehension/Reading comprehension
  • Answering questions about stories and information
  • Vocabulary & Learning vocabulary from context
  • Complex syntax
  • Oral narrative retelling, personal generation, fictional generation
  • Written narrative retelling, personal generation, fictional generation
  • Information oral retelling & writing
  • Domain knowledge
  • Problem solving
  • Social and emotional aptitude
  • Memory
• Ability to use in large groups, small groups, and individual intervention
• Lesson length of 15-45 minutes
• Designed for use within RtI/MTSS frameworks
• Ideally, a classroom teacher uses the large group lessons while a special educator (e.g., SLP, SpEd teacher)/literacy specialist/paraeducator delivers small group or individual lessons
• In many studies, the dose of Story Champs intervention was small (e.g., only 2X/week for 10 weeks), suggesting that this is a powerful intervention capable of producing robust effects in a short amount time.

Included in the kit (Spoiler alert… it’s EVERYTHING in the picture:

• 12 Classic Stories
  • LEVEL A: basic story structure & LEVEL B: enhanced story structure
• 12 Blitz Stories
  • LEVEL A & B: vocabulary words; vocabulary words from context
  • LEVEL C: causal connections (because, so that)
  • LEVEL D: temporal connections (after, when)
  • LEVEL E: modifiers (adverbs, adjectives)
  • LEVEL F: causal and temporal connections
  • LEVEL G: causal connections and modifiers
  • LEVEL H: temporal connections and modifiers
  • LEVEL I: causal connections, temporal connections and modifiers
  • LEVEL J: advanced story structure
• Illustration Cards (Blackline with some color)
• Icons (color)
• Champ Checks (use with dry-erase markers)
• Story Starter Cards
• Story Games for Small Groups
• Flash Drive
  • Manual and Master Lesson Plans
  • Digital Presentation
  • Printable Files
    • Take Home Activities
    • Classroom Center Activities
    • Story Writing Organizers
    • Info Writing Organizers
    • Pattern Blocks
    • Information Notes
    • Word Journals
    • Spot the Sparkle Posters

How I use it:

I currently work with a population of students coming from lower SES homes, and many are ELL students.  I have found that my students lack narrative skills and struggle with reading/listening comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, etc.  These skills make it difficult for them to fully access the curriculum.  I have been utilizing Story Champs with my students, K-5, for the end of last school year and the beginning of this year within therapy sessions, typically 1X/week.  We cover 1-2 stories during our time, depending on the skills we are targeting and the student performance.  I utilize the curriculum to target vocabulary, comprehension, retell, and other skills.

What works for us:

This curriculum has been great for my students.  The illustrations are simple and not too busy for them to “digest”.  They are able to see the characters and elements of the story.  The symbols used for each story element is carried throughout the materials and make it easy for students to comprehend the elements and what each means.  We also love the varying activities and printables that can be used with the curriculum. I love how easy the curriculum is to follow.  It’s not complicated and I can pull the intervention box out and use it with zero prep!  My students have not become bored yet with the curriculum because we are able to spice up each lesson with a different game or activity that keeps it fresh.  We have also been able to use many of the manipulatives with other stories we read (books, textbooks, etc.) or videos we watch (e.g. brainpop, flocabulary, etc.).

Suggestions for Improvement:

I love the popsicle sticks manipulative and we use them so much that the icons (stickers) have begun to fade.  I would love extra sheets of stickers and/or more durable material for this part of the product.  Some clearer labeling on the various manipulatives/supplies would help me pick them out faster.  Sometimes I forget what the name of each manipulative is and struggle to find the right one(s) for a lesson.  Of course we would love the ability to buy more stories if we happen to really get through all levels of the current ones.

Is it worth it?

Definitely!  Although it may be difficult to swallow the initial price point of $298, I believe that it is a great investment.  Why is it worth it?  First of all, most materials/tools that SLPs invest in are not proven to be research-based as this tool is.  I can also say that I have not purchased another tool that I have been able to use in individual and group therapy each week, while seeing great results, without my students getting bored.  As SLPs are becoming more involved in RtI, this curriculum is a great resource as it allows for group work as well as individual (my other tools do not allow for this).

Story Champs is a great Tool for SLPs, all school staff involved in RtI, and Speech/Language Therapy sessions targeting multiple goals. I hope this little knowledge party (aka review) was helpful to you.  If you have other questions/comments, add them below!

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To start off the month, I would like to give you a sneak peak into The Hanen Centre‘s great booklet series called Make Play R.O.C.K and give you a chance to win a set (see below)!  These booklets are designed to for parents (and therapists) to assist young children with autism who have difficulty learning to play.  This great series of booklets (50-80 pages each) give parents and clinicians practical, research-based strategies for helping children expand their play skills through everyday activities!

Because play skills have been linked to the development of skills such as language, vocabulary, social skills, and problem-solving, it is an incredibly important part of a child’s life.  As a therapist, particularly when I was providing early intervention and Pre-K services, it was important to empower parents to be their child’s therapist in many ways.  They spend the most amount of time with their children.  However, I always found that teaching parents how to play with their children in a beneficial way was always a surprisingly difficult task.  These booklets could be very helpful for this purpose.

Booklet 1: Plan for People Play

This booklet discusses ideas for building a child’s interaction and communication skills by playing games that focus on interaction over toys.  I love the language that this, and the other booklets are written in – so parent-friendly!  This booklet has a nice “People Play Interaction Checklist” which help parents to identify what their children can already do and what next steps will be.  The booklet also discusses Hanen’s “O.W.L.” technique (Observe Wait Listen) to help parents interact in the most beneficial ways.  It also introduces the Repeat, Offer opportunities, Cue, and Keep techniques which make up the R.O.C.K. method.  It gives great examples of what this method would look like.  Additionally, the book references the sensory needs of young children with autism.  Finally, it begins to walk parents through some games at each stage of play.  The booklet also includes a “People Game Plan” for parents to develop a plan for their children.

Booklet 2: Take Out the Toys

In the second booklet, toy play skills are discussed.  This booklet discusses typical toy stages for children and how children with ASD may differ in their development.  Again, this booklet includes a “What’s My Play Style” quiz to assist parents in parents in finding their style of play and adjusting as needed to help their child.  The booklet then gives incredibly parent-friendly tips on facilitating play.  I always found myself giving these tips to parents during sessions and modeling it.  I think this would have been a very nice supplement to my sessions for parents to continue the work during the week.  Another section of the booklet discusses next steps for play.  Parents determine how their children currently play and what next steps for them are.  There are also great suggestions for types of toys to help facilitate the acquisition of certain toy skills.  Finally, the booklet discusses ways to R.O.C.K. the child’s play and examples of that before concluding with a “Toy Play Plan” for parents to complete.

Booklet 3: Put Pretending into Your Child’s Play

This booklet builds upon the previous booklets, or stands alone, as a resource to help parents expand their child’s pretend play skills during everyday activities.  This booklet begins by discussing pretend play and the importance of those skills, sequence of pretend play development, and how pretend play may differ in children on the autism spectrum.  The booklet then discusses next steps, including a mini checklist of for parents to determine how their child plays and what steps would be next for their play style/skills.  There is also a checklist for parents to determine what their play style with their children is and ways to adjust those styles to benefit their children.  Like the other booklets, this discusses R.O.C.K. and examples of implementing that technique.  The booklet wraps up with a “Pretend Play Plan” for parents to complete.

Overall, these booklets are an incredible resource for parents and for clinicians.  I found the parent-friendly language and progression to be very easy to follow.  I could see these being used by parents of children with autism as well as children with general developmental delays.  The complete set sells for $42 (before taxes and shipping).  I feel that this price is fair for the amount of information received in these booklets.  It would make a practical addition to the libraries of clinicians working in Early Intervention and Pre-K as well.

Now, to our giveaway from Hanen… Enter below!  But don’t worry, everybody is a winner with their Autism Awareness Month coupon codes – Save on More Than Words, TalkAbility and the Make Play ROCK booklets with “AAM2017” on their Teaching Tuning In, Coaching Parents in How to Play or Starting Early e-Seminars with “AAMSEM17”.

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About The Hanen Centre:  Founded more than 35 years ago, The Hanen Centre is a Canadian charitable organization with a global reach. Their mission is to provide parents, caregivers, early childhood educators and speech-language pathologists with the knowledge and training they need to help young children develop the best possible language, social and literacy skills. This includes children with or at risk of language delays and those with developmental challenges such as Autism Spectrum Disorder.  They fulfill their mission by:

Easy speech/language decoration activities:

My students LOVE to decorate my room for the seasons.  I have found a very easy way to make this a speech/language activity.  I simply find a line-art image(s) to print out large enough (1/2-full sheet) to be written on and decorated.  For my language groups we encorporate a book or activity into the decorating.  We may write vocab words, answers, etc. onto the graphics.  For articulation we write season-themed words onto the decorations and practice them before decorating.  The decorating is only 3-5 minutes of the session because we use paint daubers to decorate.

When completed, I cut them out an put them up on my cabinet.  They love this activity and will come in to find their decoration in future sessions – I may review the items on the decoration, have them say their words again, etc.  Easy!

Finger Lights:

We all know that card decks get stale very quickly.  We spice them up with these cheap finger lights from the party favor section of Target.  (You can find them elsewhere too)  I give each student one light and they use them to point to things on the card/book, point to their answer, etc.

I have really seen an increase in participation from students during their turn as well as during other students’ turns.  They don’t need another motivator during the session when these beauts are involved.

Spinners and Tallies:

Never underestimate the simplicity of tally points.  I simply printed off this chart for my groups of students and place it into a dry erase sleeve.  After their turn, they get to spin (eliminates the pesky dice roll which takes too long) and add the points to their total.  We often have a 2-minute drill at the end where we have the first person to accurately answer getting a point and go until the session is over.  Who knew that it just takes tallies?

Friendly Competition:

In my therapy room we use several apps and articulation activities in small groups or quick individual sessions.  I selected a few of those to display record-holders on our board.  We utilize Listen Close & Missing Letter apps from Erik X. Raj, Cup Stack Challenge (how many cups they can stack from our Articulation Towers), and a 5-minute challenge.  During the 5-minute challenge a student says their words independently and we count how many correct productions are made in 5 minutes.  They are very motivated to get their names onto the board and keep them there.  And by doing this, they are motivated to say as many accurate productions of their words in short sessions!  Win-Win!

Dauber Sheets:

There are a TON of these sheets available on TpT.  General reinforcers, 100 challenge pages, etc. are great for keeping students focused and motivated.  On articulation sheets I either have them say their words as they dot them or I have them keep track of accuracy with two colors of daubers for correct and incorrect responses.  They love seeing how many they can finish in a session and when they are finished I let them hang them up for a week.

(Pictured activity from Busy Bee Speech found here)

Erasers:

Have you seen those cheap $1 packs of erasers at Target?  Grab a few packs for therapy.  We use them in many ways but one that we use a lot is as a general reinforcer.  Simply have students spin/roll after a turn and collect that many erasers as “points”.  I suggest a small bowl or container to put them in or they will likely be played with by students.  Other uses include coverings for 100 challenges if you don’t want to paint dot them, bingo chips, etc.  These can also be found on sites like Oriental Trading and Amazon.  EASY!

Motivating doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive.  It is not necessary to play games as a reinforcer.  Something simple like the motivators above will be easy to implement and will increase the motivation of your students.

HOW DO YOU MOTIVATE YOUR STUDENTS?

I’m an SLP and I enjoy long walks… down the hallway?

Most SLPs have a packed schedule.  Trying to organize therapy minutes for 60+ students across multiple grade levels and goals into about 30-35 hours per week is extremely difficult.  I’m not sure about you, but I end up with sessions back-to-back nearly all day.

Each year I’m surprised with how long it takes me to walk to and from my students’ classrooms.  This year I’m on a very spacious campus.  For example, if I have 1st grade students scheduled at 9:00, I am leaving my office with my previous group at 8:58.  It takes a few minutes for me to gather all of them from their classrooms and organize them.  It’s 9:02 when we leave their pod area.  We begin walking, as briskly as their 1st grade legs will move, and arrive at my room at 9:05.  By the time they are sitting and calm and I begin our activity or lesson, it can be nearly 9:10.  At 9:28 we must depart to return to their rooms.  We don’t walk silently, I’m trying to engage them in conversations that further target their therapy goals but it is difficult to do without bringing along materials.  I feel like I’m missing out on so many minutes of potential therapy each day.

I know that part of the solution is students moving about campus and arriving to my room independently.  While my older students should be able to come to me on their own, there are those beginning weeks of learning schedules as well as those students who demonstrate “difficulty” with getting from their classroom to me.  And eventually I’d like to be able to send my Kindergarteners and 1st graders back on their own but we’ll likely be starting our sessions together for a majority of the year.

To take advantage of these minutes of transition, I’ve developed these Walk ‘n Talk cards to keep on hand.  I have included a majority of the targets my students work on in 16 prompt cards (printed 2-sided) that I can use as we walk across campus.  I can have students practice articulation for 3 more minutes, warm up with some reminders and questions, practice fluency carry-over or conversation skills, etc.  These cards are available here!

I have really enjoyed having prompts on-hand during our transitions and it has also been something that I can utilize for quick articulation and language RtI and screenings, provide to teachers for RtI and carryover in the classroom, and send home for parents.

I would love to hear from you on this topic.  Are transition times something you struggle with as well?  How do you take advantage of those minutes?

Have a great week!

Flexibility remains one of the most rewarding features of a career as an audiologist or speech-language pathologist. Working with various ages and populations as well as in diverse settings allows audiologists and SLPs to explore all areas of their profession and work around the world. However, along with excitement, changing specialties or even just jobs might bring uncertainty and questions.

Summer is full of sun and fun… and language opportunities.  Whether you are looking for language-rich activities to recommend to the parents of children that you work with or for your own children, the following list will help you seek out the perfect activity for those sunny (or rainy) summer days.

Farmers Market:

Farmers Markets can be found across the world.  Local markets typically occur on weekend mornings but in some areas they may be on weekdays.  Farmers markets are incredible opportunities for vocabulary growth including nouns, attributes, categories (fruits, flowers, meat), etc.  This is also a great opportunity for children to work on requesting items from a vendor to target speech sounds, social skills, question formation, voice volume, and other skills.  Search for nearby farmers markets here.

Sporting Events:

Summer is a great time to take in a professional or minor league sporting event.  You may not realize but there are 160 Minor League teams playing in 42 US States and 1 Canadian province from April to September.  You can also catch pre-season baseball and football camps and have greater access to players.  These events also allow for increased opportunities to learn and use language in a way that children don’t each day.  From the car ride to the event, the snacks at the event, and the goings-ons during the event, children can learn and use many new words and practice other skills in a new and fun environment.  Local MiLB baseball teams can be found here, United Soccer League teams here, or search online for local teams in your area.

Zoo/Petting Zoo:

Local zoos and festivals offer a great opportunity for children to see various animals up close.  They can see their behaviors, attributes, food, living environment, etc.  This gives great context to children as they continue to develop their vocabulary and understanding of books that they read/hear, information learned in school, and more.  If you have the opportunity to visit a zoo, stop in at guest services to check to see if there are any kid-specific programming that day (shows of animals with zookeepers, feedings, etc.) that you can attend.  The majority of activities within zoos are free after initial admission which is typically minimal or free for children.

Theater:

Summer is full of outdoor theater activities.  Children typically enjoy music and the interaction that live theater provides.  Local theater companies produce many shows in the summer to large audiences at parks, outdoor theaters, etc.  There are also camps for children available in many cities.  Theater productions introduce children to different worlds, stories, music, vocabulary, etc.

Garden/Conservatories/Nature Centers:

Summer is a great time to visit a local outdoor garden/nature center or indoor conservatory.  These environments provide a great opportunity for discussing plants, flowers, bugs, weather, etc.  Again, many of these gardens provide activities for children in the summer including talks, crafts, walks, camps, and more.  Public gardens are typically free or donation-only areas and provide a great opportunity for children of all ages.

Water:

If you are lucky enough to live near an ocean, lake, or river, summer is a great time to explore these areas.  These are places where you can discuss animals that live in these environments, discover new plant life and animals/insects, and learn about a different environment.  Hunting for shells and rocks in these locations provides an opportunity to discuss attributes of these objects (smooth, black, small, etc.) and discuss how that item got to where you found it (animal that lived in it, etc.).

Parks/National Parks:

There are 58 National Parks, 6,624 State Parks, and countless local parks in the US.  Many local, state, and National Parks offer free programs for children in the summer and other months.  You can find local state parks here, national parks here, or search for all park types near you/a zip code using this site.  At parks, you can of course discuss the landscape, habitats, animals, plant life, weather, and more.  These parks offer endless opportunities for language expansion opportunities.

Art Festival:

Summer brings street festivals.  Many of these include music and vendors.  However, one of the best festival types for language is an art festival.  Many small and large cities offer opportunities for local artists to show and sell their work.  You will see every type of art from painting to photography to sculpture and more.  Children love art and are drawn to these pieces.  While these festivals require a great amount of supervision for children (so they do not touch/break pieces) they can provide incredible opportunities for children to view varying types of art.  There will be interesting mediums used, colors, scenes, etc that lend themselves to discussion, interpretation, inferencing, and more.  I love using art to discuss opinions and subject matters.  Art Festivals are a particularly good location to take older children who can more deeply understand and discuss the work.  It also provides an opportunity for them to interact with the artists (formulating questions, social skills) as well as participate in crafts for children (following directions, creating).

Museums:

For those rainy days, local museums are a must.  Even the smallest local history museum can provide several hours of language opportunities for children.  Children’s museums, aquariums, art museums, and others can be great opportunities for discussing various topics.  The best way to increase language at all museums is to follow a child’s lead to what they are interested in, ask follow up questions, discuss opinions, model language, and discuss content-specific vocabulary with children.  Particularly with items and experiences that are new and unknown to children, take time to imbed definitions of new vocabulary when discussing various items in the museum.  Again, many museums will offer day camps and activities as well as special talks for children and families throughout the summer.  US Museums can be searched for here and Children’s Museums can be searched for here.

Other Summer Toys & Activities:

Summer is a great time for these outdoor activities in back yards and local locations across the world.  Some of the best language-stimulating activities and toys for summer include:

Bubbles  –  Pools  –  Walks  –  Camping  –  Picnics  –  Water Fight  –  Sensory/Water Tables  –  Gardening  –  Crafts  –  Sidewalk Chalk  –  Sports  –  & More!

Finding activities and toys to keep kids engaged, developing, and entertained during the summer is important.  For children with language, speech, social skills, and other developmental difficulties/delays, imbedding these skills into the summer activities is crucial.  The more that you practice working on language during these activities, the more natural it will become and the easier it will be to do so with nearly any activity that you do with your child.

In addition to those listed above, Care.Com provides a great list of ideas to keep kids busy and engaged in the summer months.  There are also many books and websites that list great local ideas for your specific city.  Simply search online to find these resources.  Enjoy your summer!

Here are the products that each blogger is offering and links to their store and product:

Sublime Speech: Editable SLP Assessment Templates

Activity Tailor: Articulation and Language Therapy Joke Books: I’m Joking!

Allison’s Speech Peeps: Articulation Context Clue Cards Using Tier 2 Vocabulary

Busy Bee Speech: Interactive Articulation Binder for Speech Therapy

Consonantly Speaking: Playdough Mats for Articulation: S&Z Edition

Crazy Speech World: American Inventors Nonfiction Texts for Comprehension, Grammar & Vocabulary!

The Dabbling Speechie: NO PREP Build a Sentence Activities

Home Sweet Speech Room: Speech Farkle

Kristin Minden: Spring Speech Homework Bundle

Let’s Talk Speech Therapy: AAC and You–Handouts for Classroom Teachers

Let’s Talk with WhitneySLP: Spring-Related Sequences

Live Love Speech: Grab n’ Go Social Skills

Mrs.T SLP: Winning & Losing Games: Social Story Mini Books

Ms.Jocelyn Speech: Social Scripts: Tone of Voice

Peachie Speechie: Shamrock Listening Comprehension Sentences

Rock Chalk Speech Talk: “Woof!” A Dog-Themed Speech and Language Unit

Simply Speech: No Prep St. Patrick’s Day Articulation Homework

Speech Bubble SLP: Language Trifolds

 Speechy Musings: Speech and Language Therapy Centers for Articulation

Speech Time Fun: St. Patrick’s Day Yes No Questions

Speech to the Core: Everything You Need! Spring

Super Power Speech: Spring Up with Language (Level 2)

Queen’s Speech: The Voice Monsters {Voice Therapy Techniques}

Teach Speech 365: Get the Gold Reverse Interactive Book

Word Nerd Speech Teach: No Prep Spring Speech and Language Pack

Good Luck!

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