4 ways to incorporate speech practice into your busy schedule
Parents- I’m sure the idea of adding another thing to your already busy schedule feels impossible. Between caring for other children, work, and maintaining your sanity, completing practice activities with your kiddo is hard to do. Don’t worry, I got you. Here are 4 ways you can incorporate speech into your daily routine, without having to miss a beat!
Speech in the car. There is no rule that says speech has to be done in the home or the clinic! You can target your kiddos speech goals while driving them to school or going to the grocery store (also the grocery store is a great place to practice speech skills!). If your child is working on their speech sounds, ask your therapist for a list of target words. Have them practice the list every time you hit a red light. If your child is working on early language skills, such as commenting or labeling using simple utterances, you can narrate the drive by saying things like “let’s go,” “turn around,” or “look at the ___.” You can even make it more simple using words like “stop/go,” “open/close,” or “on/off.” Really, your options are endless, and you can make it work no matter what your child’s goals are.
Speech while cooking. Cooking provides numerous opportunities to model language, and practice things like following directions, commenting, requesting, and more! Just like with the car, your kiddo can practice their speech sounds while working on a nice meal. Google is a great resource when looking for topic specific words to target specific speech sounds. If your kiddo has goals to expand their vocabulary, think of all the different objects and foods you use when cooking. They can be exposed to a wide variety of language, even if they aren’t yet speaking! Not only are there many objects and things you use while cooking, you perform a variety of actions, such as cutting, stirring, pouring, and more!
Speech during bath time. Bath time provides an excellent opportunity to practice early language skills. Not only are there a variety of objects (soap, water, bubbles, toys, etc.), but you also perform a variety of actions during bath time (pouring, washing, splashing, etc.). Not only can you model bath time related language, but many kiddos love to play with toys in the tub too! I often see bath specific toys that cover a wide range of vocabulary like animals, vehicles, sports balls, and others. Toys allow you to model common language that they will be exposed too, allowing your kid a fun bath time and another task checked off your list.
Speech while doing laundry. Now this might not be the most exciting activity to incorporate speech into, but there are many great ways to expand early language while doing so! When washing laundry, you have to grab the laundry, sort the laundry, put the laundry in the washer, turn the washer on, take the clothes out, and fold/hang them. These are all great early language actions and positional words. While folding and hanging, you can identify what part of the body the clothes are for, or even ask your child to show you where they are for (identifying common body parts like arms, legs, feet, head)! Clothes have all different colors, patterns, and designs, making them a great describing opportunity, which is a common skill kiddos work on in speech. Make laundry fun by including your kiddo and practicing their speech skills!
It may be difficult to add to your already busy schedule, but there are so many fun ways to incorporate your child’s speech goals into your already established routine. Practicing these skills is so important, so think of ways that you can add some practice into your schedule. I bet it’ll be easier than you think! Just remember- narrate narrate narrate! If the goals are related to speech sounds, ask your SLP for a list of words to use to meet the specific needs of your child. And last but not least- don’t forget to have fun!