If there’s one thing that will get children more excited about speech therapy (or speech and language therapy), its games and activities that are Christmas themed! The best bit is that often the kids don’t realise that they’re actively engaging in therapy – they just think they’re having fun! We know that kids are much more likely to get more out of their therapy when they’re motivated and enthusiastic!

As Christmas is just around the corner, we thought it would be fun this week to suggest a few Christmas themed activities that you can do with your child to help improve their speech and language.

From Jennifer Mitchell, Speech-Language Pathologist at www.speechtx.com:

• Name That Carol. Hum a Christmas carol melody and ask your child to identify it. If they need help, have some visual cues (pictures) on hand (like a reindeer for Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer!)
• Christmas Top/Bottom. Get 10 or more pictures of Christmas items (e.g. present, tree, wreath, candy cane, bell etc) and cut them into two halves: top and bottom. Mix up the pictures. You child must ask for the top or bottom of a picture to match their own: (e.g. “do you have the top of the Christmas tree?”

From Speech Teach UK at http://www.speechteach.co.uk/p_general/downloads.htm:

• Christmas Colouring. Print off Christmas themed colouring sheets (downloadable at the above address) and let your child decide what to do. Talk about what you’re doing, what colours you’re using, and take their lead – (e.g. if your child says ‘tree’, encourage more language by saying, ‘yes, that’s a big Christmas tree!”). Try and talk throughout the activity about what you’re doing and encourage more language from your child.
• Christmas Vocabulary. Teach your child some new words about Christmas. Print off Christmas themed images (downloadable at the above address) and if you can, try to find some matching objects (e.g. Christmas tree, presents, wreath, candle etc). Talk about each picture – what it looks like, the colours, what it might feel like, what it does etc. Match the objects to the pictures to help your child make those links.

From Speaking of Speech at http://www.speakingofspeech.com/ 

• Scavenger Hunt. Create a Christmas-themed scene using pictures. Items could include Santa, a stocking, a sleigh, a snowman, an elf and a chimney. Include other items on the board to create a detailed picture, similar to a “Where’s Wally?” scene. The child gets a picture card grid with a set of Christmas pictures to find. When the child finds a picture, they should say, “I have found the elf” or “I have found the snowman.” And can then colour in the picture. Continue until all items have been found.
• Christmas Concentration. Make two laminated copies of Christmas themed picture cards. Shuffle all cards and place face down on the table. The child turns over two cards to try for a match. If they get a match, they must say a sentence aloud using the word from the picture. If the parent gets a match, they should also say a sentence using the picture as a cue. Play continues until all cards are matched.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

If you think that your child may benefit from speech therapy, Integrated Treatment Servoces could be of help. Contact us here: https://integratedtreatmentservices.co.uk/contact-us/enquiry

Sarah Bennington, December 2011

Written on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services. Integrated Treatment Services is a private Speech and Language Therapy service based in Leicestershire and the East Midlands. It specialises in providing highly-skilled Speech and Language Therapists, but also associates with other therapeutic professionals, including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists and Arts Therapists.