Summer Activities related to Speech

​Some of my most fond memories are being outside all day long in the summer until the street lights came on. We don't even remember what we did all day, but we had a blast doing it. BUT what exactly did we do?

​Summer was such a freeing time as a kid. My cousins and I could always be found running around bare-foot and always asking, "Mom, can we have 5 more minutes?" Our favorite activities always included hide-n-seek, building a garden, having picnics outside for lunch, and collecting rocks. Because what wasn't fun about rocks when you were a child?

​ALL activities can be used to promote growth in speech and language, however, using these activities can be great for targeted key goals:

​1. Hide-n-seek.

This activity gives children plenty of opportunities for learning their name, turning taking, attention, and prepositions. So many more great skills!

​2. Planting a garden.

Your children can learn so many new actions, such as dig, bury, pick up, etc. It creates understanding of planning and organizing where the different plants will go. Planting a garden also promotes learning categories (tools/materials needs for gardening, fruit vs vegetables, vegetables that are great for growing vs not, which need a post to grow up, etc).

​3. Having a picnic (real or pretend).

A picnic is a wonderful activities for learning new foods, categorizing them, understanding prepositions (i.e. on the blanket, next to the plate, etc), turn taking, use of manners, etc. A pretend picnic promotes the imagination and creativity.

​4. Collecting rocks.

Although this activity may seem odd, it is a great opportunity to learn descriptive terms (i.e. sharp, hard, broken, shiny, etc) and compare/contrast different rocks by color, size, etc.

​These are just three simple activities that can be done with every day items. Not only do the activities themselves provide opportunities, but also the movement and exposure to new environments. These activities can be done ANYWHERE with ANYONE. The tasks are simple and can easily be built on to enhance your child's abilities.

​As my daughter is getting older, I already see the growth in her abilities. Hide-n-seek started as peek-a-boo and now she is learning to hide behind things or covering her face with her hands. She understands, "Uh oh, Where did Parker go?" She will immediately pop out and make an approximation as if telling me "here". Starting with your children at a young age can engrain these basic skills into their everyday routines.