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Keeping it Simple with Winter Fun in Speech and Language

January 06, 2022

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I hope everyone enjoyed their break! Services have now begun, and I am enjoying the spirited holiday retellings. There are numerous ways to incorporate speech and language skills into holiday sharing, but first, let us distinguish between the words speech and language.  The words speech and language are often confused when speaking to school services.  Speech pertains to articulation of sounds in isolation, words, and connected speech, while language pertains to the understanding and use of vocabulary knowledge and syntax (sentence structures/grammar).  This winter there are ample avenues for exploring your child’s speech and language skills.  While cozied up indoors, one could play a simple naming game by asking a child to name as many winter words as possible starting with the /b/ sound (boots, blustery, blankets, blow).  Another good speech game would be using a winter multi-syllable word (icicle, blustery, toboggan, hibernate, gingerbread) in a silly sentence while pretending to speak as though you have peanut butter in your mouth.  This game cues, strengthens, and grows precision while articulating.  Shifting into language…some great winter-themed language games would be asking your child to name items specific to winter weather (winter foods, clothing, animals, household items) or asking your child to recall their favorite day of break and why.  These are great, simple speech and language games that grow important learning and academic skills.  So get in your car or cozy up on the couch with your child and give them a try!  It’s sure to be fun for the entire family.