5 Ways to Target Speech and Language Skills for Valentine’s Day
It’s time for Valentine’s Day! We love a good theme, and any type of functional activity you can use to target language skills is a win.
Making Valentine cards at home is a great activity that you can use to target many different skills. You can customize open ended activities like this to meet your child’s needs, goals, and interests. Another great thing about open ended activities like this is that you can use whatever you have on hand and make it work.
Suggestions for easy craft supplies: Markers, Glue Sticks, Paint Dotters, paper hearts, construction paper, scrap pieces of paper, tissue paper, etc. Anything works!
So let’s talk about some language skills you can address while making Valentine cards with your child this year.
Following Directions
An example of this might look like “first cut, then glue.” Try making simple directions as natural as possible to fit in with activities while they are getting to exhibit some independence!
Model Spatial Concepts Words
Any easy way to do this is to describe what they are doing. “I like how you put the little heart next to the big heart.”
Model Adjectives and Descriptive Concepts
Model concepts like big/little, colors, and various adjectives (short, pretty, colorful, etc.) to expose them to different vocabulary.
Building vocabulary and increasing phrase length
Model core words and phrases as you make cards together like “put on, let’s get it, let’s do more,” as well as vocabulary related to the activity (scissors, glue, markers, etc.)
Practice Speech Sounds
If your child is working on a specific sound in therapy, try and think of different words within an activity like this at home to target the sound naturally and get good practice.
For example, if your child is working on the /k/ sound in therapy, try thinking through activities and identifying all the words/phrases you could use to target this sound (card, candy, “it’s cute,” color, markers, etc.)
Other tips for modeling language with your child:
• Focus on asking less questions. Instead, make comments or describe what they are doing (“I like how you’re coloring your heart red” vs. “what color is this?”) Asking questions can actually limit spontaneous communication. When we ask less questions we are taking pressure off of them, which typically increases language.
• Repeat what they say, and then add one word. For example, if your child says “big heart,” you could respond with “big red heart.” Try using different descriptive words when adding a word on, vs. adding “please” at the end to each phrase. Using this strategy will help expose them to more language.
• Hold items up to your face while modeling core words or various sounds. Establishing this joint engagement can help them with learning new words, or draw attention to sounds they are working on – especially if they are sounds like /p, b, m/ that use the lips.
There are so many more things you can address throughout one small activity like this! After you make your Valentine’s Day cards, plan a day or time when you can help your child hand them out to people. Together you can talk about who you want to give them to, then can help them practice using greetings, initiating a conversation, use their speech sounds, etc. Get creative!
What are some Valentine’s activities you like to do with your child? We’d love to hear.
Happy Crafting!
