No-Prep Holiday Activities For At Home Practice
With the holidays approaching, it can be a busy time for many families. You might be overwhelmed with cooking, cleaning, shopping, wrapping presents, meeting up with friends or any number of other holiday-related activities! No matter what you celebrate, we know that you don’t want to have to worry about planning themed activities to practice your child’s speech or language goals. That’s where we come in! Below you’ll find a list of no-prep activities and reminders of ways to incorporate practicing speech and language goals during the holiday season. Happy Holidays!
1. Practice with holiday-themed vocabulary: You don’t need flashcards to practice speech sounds or vocabulary. Think of the goals that your child has and how it might fit into your decorating routines. For example, does your child need help with improving their vocabulary and adding new words to their repertoire? The holidays are a great time to practice core words including “on” (turn the lights on, put the icing on the cookie, put the bow on the box, put the ornament on the tree), “eat” (Santa likes to eat cookies, let’s eat our holiday meal, what do you think reindeer eat), and “see” (I see the snow, Do you see a tree, he sees the candles). It is also a good time to focus on repetition of words that they may see in their environment often at this time of year. Children often learn best when they see multiple examples of words in their daily environment. Here are some examples of high repetition words! “Lights,” “snow,” “present,” “tree,” “star,” “candle,” “bell,” “cookie,” “song,” “cold,” “stocking,” “candy,” “train.”
2. Practice while baking: Cooking and baking are great routines with a lot of opportunities for repetition! The holiday’s often come with additional cooking or baking which is the perfect time to practice following directions, learn new vocabulary, and practice speech sounds. Whether you’re making latkes, cookies, or candied yams, holiday food is a great conversation starter. Below are some examples of targets that you can utilize while cooking or baking your holiday feast!
Following directions: “put it in the bowl,” “stir fast,” “get out your spoon,” “set the timer for 30 minutes,” “first, wash your hands,” “pick out a green sprinkle,” “give me the white icing,” “show me the biggest potato,” “get the smallest measuring spoon”
Introducing new vocabulary: “spatula,” “baking sheet,” “timer,” “oven,” “stir,” “mash,” “push,” “decorate,” “spread,” “taste,” “like,” size concepts (a little bit, a lot, some, etc.), colors, time concepts (1 minute, 5 minutes, an hour, etc.)
Targeting speech sounds:
/s, z/ words: dice, drizzle, freeze, ice, juice, salt, scoop, simmer, sprinkle, zest
/l/ words: blend, boil, caramelize, chill, cool, flip, fold, layer, mold, oil
/r/ words: brush, burn, cream, decorate, dry, freeze, fry, microwave, rise, roll
3. Practice with holiday themed books
Books are one of our favorite ways to learn new vocabulary, improve comprehension, and develop literacy skills. If reading is already a part of your routine, adding in some holiday books can be a great way to celebrate and learn together! There are so many wonderful holiday books available, but here are a few of our favorites!
Olive, the Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh
The Wish Tree by Kyo Maclear
What Do You Celebrate?: Holidays and Festivals Around the World by Whitney Stewart
Little Blue Truck’s Christmas by Alice Schertle
Chanukah Lights Everywhere by Michael J Rosen
