Holidays, here we come!

Winter holidays are around the corner. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, or any holiday during this season, winter is the time to get cozy and celebrate with family and friends. It's also a great opportunity to incorporate speech and language therapy goals into the festivities. New vocabulary, conversations with extended family, holiday songs, writing cards & journals… there are so many opportunities to communicate about what the holidays mean for you.

Here are some fun ideas to include speech and language goals in your holiday traditions: 

Baking and Cooking

This can be great motivation for speech and language practice. Engage kids in conversation about the ingredients, the steps involved, and the flavours of the food. Describe texture, tastes, and smells. 

You can target language goals such as:

i) Target sequencing of events (first…next…last) while you go through the recipe steps. Short-term memory, planning, and attention will be targeted during this activity, too!

ii) Work on vocabulary by introducing new words related to cooking and recipes. Food vocabulary is one idea; there are many other options! For example, think math vocabulary: measure, total, add, combine, half, whole, quarter. 

iii) Use and repeat adjectives for describing the look, smell, feel, and taste: sweet, salty, sticky, yummy, spicy, wet, dry, hot, cold, hard, soft

iv) Target speech goals: find ingredients with your child’s target sound. For example: if your child is working on /s/, you can practice words like: see, salt, soak, soft. If you’re working on more advanced targets with consonant clusters, you can practice: stir, smoke, spoon, scoop, slice, scramble, string, split.

v) For AAC (Augmentative & Alternative Communication) users: bring the device or the communication book into the kitchen - find a safe, dry spot! Find and model core words on the AAC device, such as : more, cook, yummy, make, finish, eat, like, put + in, etc.

Storytelling

Cozy up by the fireplace or candlelight and take turns telling stories. Storytelling enhances narrative skills, vocabulary, and imagination. Throughout time, storytelling has been a way to preserve culture and share history with future generations. Your traditional stories can also be a way to share your family values and spiritual beliefs - and for your child to connect deeper with their community.

For bilingual families, storytelling in the home language is a great way to expose your child to more vocabulary!

For children learning ASL (American Sign Language), you can model new language during storytelling. For example, use new signs to describe the story setting (day, night, home), and work on expanding ASL phrases while narrating what’s happening in the pictures.

Arts and Crafts

Crafting is not only a fun way to create decorations, but also an excellent opportunity to work on expressive language. Describe the materials you're using, discuss the steps of the craft, and let your child give you directions!

For example, if you are targeting verbs, you can model words such as: 

cut, glue, take, put, erase, write, draw, colour, stick, pull, open, help.

BONUS: If your child also works with an Occupational Therapist, ask about fun ways to include fine-motor skill practice in holiday crafts!

Holiday Card-Making

Encourage your child to make and write holiday cards for loved ones. They can write messages, practice spelling (include phonics goals!), decorate their cards with drawings or stickers.

No matter how basic or advanced your child may be with reading and writing, there are ways for all children to participate:

i) Let your child think about the message, and recite it for you to write. Ask “what shall we say to Grandma?” Get them interested in reading and writing a message together.

ii) Practicing letter sounds: your child may be learning letter sounds; let them “help” you write some words. I.e. “Let’s write Merry… hmm, the first sound is “mmm”; we need letter… M!”

iii) Work on phonological awareness and syllable recognition. Ask your child to clap along with you to count out the syllables in words. For example: Diwali… how many beats / syllables are there? Let’s clap it out: Di…wa…li! THREE!

iv) If your child can write, have them practice writing their message in pencil… then proofread it together, and decorate it however they want!

v) If your child uses AAC, you can let your child direct YOU in this activity. You can model action words such as: open (card, envelope), make, draw, write, like, get (pencil, pen), put (stickers), help, finish. You can also find the AAC page with Family names, and let your child select who they want to write to. After showing some words on the AAC device, pause often and wait to see if the child will copy your models or add their own word.

Let them know how proud you are of all their hard work.

There are endless ways to add language learning to your holiday traditions: traditional songs, gift wrapping & exchange, volunteering, games, puzzles, and setting the table. Follow your child’s interests, encourage their curiosity, and keep it fun!