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Simple Activities to Engourage Speech and Language for children birth-5 years

Teddy Bear Prepositions! 

 

This is a fun way to work on positional vocabulary! Take your child’s favorite teddy bear or stuffed animal and play “hide and go seek.”

 

  • To target expressive skills hide the bear and then ask your child “Where is the bear?” The expected response would be “on the chair, under the table, in the basket behind the book ect…”  

  • To target receptive you can give commands to your child and have them hide the teddy bear.   You could say “I want you to hide the bear on top of something, I want you to hide the bear under something, I want you to hide the bear in something etc…”  

  • Another great expressive tasks is to ask the child where they want you to hide it! 

  • You can also have your child hide the bear and give you clues on how to find it!

Here is a list of prepositions to use: 

  • in/out  

  • on/off    

  • under/over    

  • above/below   

  • behind/in front  

  • beside   

  • in between

Puzzles!

Use a variety of puzzles to not only work on language but also simple problem solving skills. 

Choose a puzzle suited to your child's fine motor abilities (so they don't get frustrated trying to get the pieces to fit!).

 

As you work to complete the puzzles you can work on the following:

  • Asking for help (purposely hide one of the pieces to see if they will ask for it)

  • Describing the picture (after you are finished talk about the picture on the puzzle)

  • Predicting (as you are completing the puzzle you can have them guess what it is going to be)

  • Speech sounds (as you are talking about the puzzle, model slow and clear speech)

  • Narrative skills (make up a story about the picture on the puzzle)

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Bubbles! This is a great stimulating toy that most kids love!! Give them the bubble jar (with lid on tight) and ask them to blow you some bubbles! See if they will request help or communicate is some way they can't open it. While you are playing focus on language such as "pop, bye bye bubbles, more bubbles, blow up, blow down ect..." 

 

 

 

My other "go-to" toy is my barn and farm animals. I work on identifying animals and making animal sounds, which most little ones love!! This is a great time to sing "Old MacDonald!" You can also work on concepts such as in/out, off/on, and over/under by placing animals in and around the barn!! 

 


 

 

 

Mr. Potato Head! This game is great for making requests, naming body parts, and being creative! You can dress up your potato head, give them names, and make up stories about them!! Click the photo to find it on Amazon (afflilate link).

 

 

 

Another great idea for this age group is playing with plastic tool sets or plastic cooking/food toys. This gets them talking and creating play scenarios that are linked to functional vocabulary that they see and hear in their daily lives. I LOVE the food sets my Melissa and Doug! Check them out by clicking on the photo (affliate link).

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