After the long winter, let’s take speech therapy outside! Preschoolers love to explore outside and sailing a stick or leaf down the slide, or a ride on the swing can stimulate a lot of language.
Hold back on your actions for a second, waiting for your child to say something before you reward their communicating with letting a stick slide down or giving another push on the slide. Take a walk and go exploring, naming many of the same objects (bridge, stream, berries, etc) that can be repeated with future walks. One little boy I had been working with enjoyed the walks around the block. I tirelessly kept naming things we saw until one day we threw rocks in the stream from the bridge and he said his first word, “Rock!” I almost jumped into the stream to retrieve the rock as a reminder of that great moment.
Bugs and other animals are of particular interest to kids so collect some, watch them and name what they are doing. You never know where you will find them. My son and daughter-in-law were enjoying their new grill until they found straw and twigs hanging out of it. Over time, a mother wren built her nest and the babies hatched. I am happy to say that they have flown the grill and Andrew can return to grilling dinner!
