Prietto Speech Therapy

From October to February I love to incorporate holiday themes into speech and language activities.

Halloween is a great time to talk about sensory experiences and feeling spooked, scared or surprised. I like to teach “Trick or Treat”, take one and “Thank you”. We use headbands and simple face masks to practice “I’m a ___(bat, witch, pumpkin, monster, etc). Some of my favorite books this time of year are: “How I Met my Monster” by Amanda Noll and “Go Away, Big Green Monster” by Ed Emberley.

Thanksgiving themes of friends, family, foods (and football!) are present in one of my faves: “Thanksgiving at My House” by P.K. Hallinan. We build vocabulary around foods with pretend velcro foods the kids can cut and cook in a microwave and saying “mmm”, “yummy” to “I like ____” and “I don’t like ____”. We also look at pictures to name family members and use family figurines and dollhouses to discuss actions/family members and furniture and rooms of the house.

Christmas time is full of new vocabulary targets: Santa, stocking, presents/gifts, candy cane, reindeer, rudolph, elves, and more. We may practice with little presents saying “open it” and following directions like “Give it to him” or “Give it to her”. And we can’t forget baking…using cookie cutters with cinnamon scented play dough or salt dough to create ornaments. This year Little Blue Truck’s Christmas was a favorite, with animal figurines and Christmas trees, as well as wearing Santa hats, reindeer antlers and Christmas light necklace during our sessions.

January is often colder and even in California, we talk about snow, snowflakes and snowmen. One favorite activity is to freeze mini animals in ice cube trays (with water) and help defrost the animals with pipettes and warm water. Another fun activity is to build a snowman with homemade playdough, scented with peppermint and using add ons like mini clay carrots and buttons.

February is our feeling month. We talk about who and what we love. Follow directions while making special valentines. Talk about shapes (rectangle envelopes, square notecards and lots of hearts). Some of my favorite books about feelings are: “The Feelings Book” by Todd Parr, “The Way I Feel” by Janan Cain and “The Color Monster” by Anna Llenas. I also love Gabi Garcia’s books, including “Listening to My Body” and have used with people who stutter.