The next activity I want to discuss in our carryover series is books! Books are an amazing tool for all kids and I bet many of you have them incorporated into your routines already. Below I have some activities separated by goal targets. Not all the options will apply to your kiddo so choose the one that fits best. However, options with books are endless. If you don’t see something that looks like a good match for your child, reach out and we can help you brainstorm new ideas!
- Is your child working on specific sounds or groups of sounds (think S, L, R, S-blends, etc)?
- One of my favorite things to do with these friends is a word hunt! During this activity, we read the book like normal but after reading each page we look for words that have our target sounds in them. If your child is younger, you will have to pick out the words for them. Just search the page and ask them to repeat what you say! If your child is older or learning to read, have them search for the words on their own. You don’t have to point out every single sound, but make a goal to find 1, 2, 5 (or whatever number you pick) word(s) per page!
- Is your child working to increase the number of words they are saying?
- I am going to let you in on a secret, when reading to your kids you don’t have to read all or even any of the words! Instead, page through the book and look at the pictures. This activity can specifically be helpful for some of our younger friends. Point to the pictures you see and label them with a single word or a 2-3 word phrase. During this activity, we are focusing on what we are saying to the child. Do not point and say, “Say dog,” “Say snowman,” or “Say hello!” Instead explain what you see, “Hi puppy,” “Big tree!” “Sun!” You might be surprised how many of these things they will repeat back when you don’t add in “say.”
- Is your child working on answering questions?
- Review the content of the story by asking some WH questions (who, what, where, when, why). After reading a page ask a question about the content or even the picture. “Why is Bluey sad?” “Who is she playing with?” “Where are they going?” Hint: some books may even have comprehension check questions online if you Google it!
- Is your child learning fluency-enhancing strategies?
- This activity will depend on your child’s reading abilities. If they know how to read/enjoy reading, have them pick out a fluency-enhancing strategy to use on each page. For example, “On this page, try reading with slow speech/light touch/stretchy speech/etc.” If your child is still learning to read, ask them to repeat a line from the book using a strategy. For example, “Repeat this line using your slow speech……..” You can pick a new strategy for each page or keep it the same throughout the book.
I know it can be challenging to fit in speech/language practice at home with those crazy schedules. However, homework does not have to mean sitting at the table and saying words over and over. It can be incorporated into things that we are already doing. Hopefully, these tips gave you some new ideas to shift your daily story time ever so slightly to fit in some extra practice.
-Hannah-
