Helping your child with their speech and language skills at home can be fun and healthy at the same time. It can also be simple. Christa B., one of the Better Speech therapists, found this healthy recipe for the holidays. She is recommending several families she's been working with use it, but the target speech or language skills are modified for each child.
In this article we will discuss:
The simplicity of this recipe shows that working on speech and language goals at home can be super easy. You can modify this simple recipe using fruits you have at home. You can even cut out colored pieces of paper and pretend to make the fruit salad.
The Recipe is Simple:
-1 kiwi or green apple cut into half moons
-about 5 raspberries
-a slice of an cutie or orange
Peel the kiwi and slice into half moons. Your child can stack the moons to make a tree (show the photo or ask them to imagine what it would look like). You can make the tree as tall as you like and make it narrow on top. When it is stacked as high as you like, decorate it with the raspberries as ornaments. You can also use red grapes or blueberries. For the star on top, you can use a slices of a cutie or orange.
So simple to get a kiwi Christmas tree :)
While you are creating your kiwi tree or making any other recipes, you can target the following speech or language activities.
Language Activities
These simple activities target vocabulary for toddlers to kids in early elementary school:
Verbs: talk about measuring, scooping, cutting, spilling, mixing
Nouns: talk about bowls, spoons, flour, fruit, berry
Take Turns: my turn and your turn when you take turns measuring or scooping.
Want to improve your child's speech during winter?
For kids that are even younger or still at an earlier developing language ability you can make modifications such as:
Making Sounds: what sound does each action make? Sssss for stirring, Ch-Ch-Ch for scooping, k-k-k for cutting. You can make up your own and model the sounds for your little one
Verbs: use the verb in its most simple form and find the simplest verbs: mix, stir, cut, spill. Even if is not grammatically correct when you use it, model the simple form for your child to learn at first.
Here are some complex language activities for toddler to early elementary kids:
Comparisons: Line up fruits or bowls but size and talk about small, smaller, smallest before you get cooking.
Compare and Contrast: Compare soft and hard fruits, big and small spoons, wet and dry ingredients.
Sequencing Steps: Before you start cooking, talk about the recipe in steps. When you are done, recall the steps. If your child is having a hard time with this, model the steps by saying them out loud without asking your child to repeat or think of the steps on their own. Use words like: first, second, third, next, last.
Naming: Name foods you love or would like to make
Categories: Sort foods and other items into categories like vegetables, fruits, hot things, things we eat for desert, items we eat (berries) versus items we don't eat (plates)
For the original recipe from Super Healthy Kids, click here.
Speech Activities
For the kiddos working on saying their sounds, cooking activities are a great way to practice!
Below are words to practice while cooking. We have target words for all sounds in all word positions (beginning, middle, and end). If your child is working on any of these sounds, pick a word and practice it while you cook. Functional and easy!
Read articulation therapy for how to do speech therapy at home and access free word lists!
For more information on specific sounds, read about our apps for speech therapy!
Sounds Initial Medial Final B Bake Barbecue Rub D Done Griddle Add F Fork Waffle Half G Garlic Eggplant Egg J Jar Vegetables Storage K Cold Baking Cook L Lukewarm Boiling Bowl M Mix Timer Steam N Napkin Marinate Tablespoon P Pour Open Whip R Roast Syrup Stir S Simmer Season Slice T Teaspoon Saute Heat V Vanilla Oven Stove Z Zest Cheesey Please TH Thank you Something One Fourth CH Chop Kitchen Bunch SH Shake Baking Sheet Mash Thanks to Speech Therapy Activities for the excellent list.
At Better Speech, we offer online speech therapy services convenient for you and tailored to your child's individual needs. Our services are affordable and effective - get Better Speech now.
About the Author
Cheri Gipson
I am a speech-language pathologist who specializes in language skills and pronunciation. I obtained my Master’s of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Western Illinois University and I have worked in the field of speech pathology for over 20 years. One of the things I enjoy most is helping people learn.
In my spare time, I enjoy writing tips on how to improve online teaching for both the larger language schools and also as a private ESL teacher. Teaching is my passion, and I love seeing students make progress. Every day is a new adventure, and I am grateful for the opportunity to help people learn and grow!
