Author: kilbertusl

Winter is a magical time filled with opportunities to engage children in activities that can enhance their speech and language skills. Here are six fun and effective winter activities that can help elementary-aged students develop their communication abilities, inspired by strategies from speech-language pathologists. 

1. Baking Holiday Treats 

Baking is not only a delightful winter activity but also a fantastic way to work on language skills. Following a recipe helps children practice sequencing and following directions. You can also introduce new vocabulary related to ingredients and cooking actions. For example, ask them to describe the texture of the dough or the taste of the cookies. 

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/kids-baking-recipes 

2. Winter Storytelling 

Encourage children to create and tell their own winter-themed stories. This activity promotes creativity, narrative skills, and vocabulary development. You can provide prompts such as “Imagine you are building a snowman that comes to life. What happens next?” This helps them practice structuring their thoughts and using descriptive language. 

https://woojr.com/christmas-ad-libs/ 

https://www.imagineforest.com/blog/winter-writing-prompts/ 

3. Holiday Scavenger Hunt 

Organize a scavenger hunt with winter-themed items. Provide clues that require children to use descriptive language and follow multi-step directions. For example, “Find something that is white and cold” or “Look for an item that jingles.” This activity enhances listening skills, vocabulary, and the ability to follow instructions. 

4. Carol Karaoke 

Singing holiday songs can be a fun way to work on articulation and fluency. Discuss the lyrics to help children understand the meaning of new words and phrases. This activity also encourages expressive language as children sing and perform the songs. 

5. Building a Snowman 

Whether you have real snow or use craft materials, building a snowman can be a great language activity. Have children describe each step of the process and the materials they are using. You can also incorporate social skills by having them work together and communicate their ideas. 

https://pjsandpaint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Build-your-own-snowman_Pjs-and-Paint.pdf 

 6. Winter-Themed Role-Playing 

Set up role-playing scenarios such as a visit to Santa’s workshop or a holiday market. This allows children to practice conversational skills, use new vocabulary, and understand social interactions. Role-playing helps them develop pragmatic language skills in a fun and engaging way. 

These activities not only make the winter season enjoyable but also provide rich opportunities for language development. By incorporating these fun and festive ideas, you can help children enhance their communication skills while celebrating the joys of winter. 

Activities: 

https://woojr.com/christmas-ad-libs/  

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/kids-baking-recipes  

https://iheartcraftythings.com/christmas-coloring-pages.html  

https://www.communicationcommunity.com/christmas-themed-scavenger-hunt/ 

https://www.communicationcommunity.com/hanukkah-themed-scavenger-hunt/ 

https://www.imagineforest.com/blog/winter-writing-prompts/  

https://pjsandpaint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Build-your-own-snowman_Pjs-and-Paint.pdf  

We can create authentic connections with our AAC users by remembering one simple rule: model without expectation!

Modelling without expectation means using the AAC device yourself to model language without asking the child to respond. It’s simple! You are showing the child how to express language in a natural setting. Think of how many times a child hears a word before they express it themselves – the same is true for our AAC users. They require lots of modelling of vocabulary before they can use those words independently.

Kate McLaughlin explains more about modelling without expectation in this video. Watch here

Remember that using an AAC device should not feel like ‘work’ for the child. Language learning should be fun. Here are some activity ideas for Touch Chat.

• Does your child love animals? Touch Chat has an extensive animals page. You can explore the different types of animals along with their homes and there’s even a page for animal sounds. Pair this with animal toys that you already have around the house and make a zoo. Maybe the animals have wandered out of the zoo and it’s your job to round them up. There are lots of opportunities to model words such as:
  • Questions: WHERE are the animals, WHO is hiding
  • Core words: look, put, help, come back, go, find
  • Places: zoo, farm, ocean, safari
  • Adjectives: talk about whether the animal is big/little or fast/slow, describe their colors, if they have a short/long tail

• Increase engagement in reading by using the included pre-set vocabulary pages for books such as Brown Bear by Eric Carle and No, David! By David Shannon. This is a perfect opportunity to model while reading with the related vocabulary already there on the page for you. If your child has a favorite book you can add it to the device and include relevant vocabulary. Ask your SLP to help you add a new book page or watch this video on how to edit and add pages in Touch Chat  Check it out here