tips
Real Life, Real Tips
As a speech therapist and a mom, I’m always looking for ways to naturally weave language learning into everyday moments with my daughter.
I want to share some of our real-life adventures to illustrate how therapy goals can happen organically at home – no flashcards required!
'The Grateful Tree' Activity
This November, we created a “Grateful Tree” — a simple craft that turned into a powerful language activity.
We drew a big tree trunk and branches on poster board, then spent the week thinking of things we’re grateful for. Each gratitude got drawn, coloured, cut out, and stuck on our tree as a leaf.
Every leaf required describing (“my pink ballet shoes”), explaining (“I’m thankful for Daddy because he makes me laugh”), and conversation.
As the tree grew throughout the month, so did the talking! We shared memories, described people we love, and practiced emotional vocabulary — all while building a tree full of color and connection.
The best part? My daughter practiced countless vocabulary words, sentence structures, and speech sounds without ever sitting at a table with flashcards.
💬 How to Adapt “The Grateful Tree” for Any Speech or Language Goal
🍼 Early Language Learners
Focus: labeling, imitation, and early word combinations.
How: Label each picture as you draw (“dog,” “ball,” “mama”) and use repetition (“Dog! Woof woof! Big dog!”).
Encourage short phrases: “my dog,” “thank you, mama,” “happy tree!”
Use gestures or simple signs for thank you, love, happy.
Keep the language simple and sing-songy to engage little ones.
🗣️ Stuttering
Focus: relaxed, confident communication and turn-taking.
How: Create a calm, slow-paced sharing routine (“My turn, your turn”).
Model easy starts (“I… I’m thankful for…”), and stretch out speech in a playful, natural way.
Focus on expression and participation, not fluency perfection.
📚 Literacy / Pre-Reading
Focus: print awareness, phonological awareness, and comprehension.
How: Write the gratitude words on each leaf and sound out each letter together.
Point out first letters and sound connections (“Dog starts with D!”).
Have your child “read” their leaves back using picture cues.
💬 Expanding Utterances
Focus: increasing sentence length, grammar, and complex ideas.
How: Model expansions;
Child: “Dog.”
Adult: “Yes, a fluffy brown dog!”
Prompt for reasons: “Why are you thankful for that?”
Use connecting words: because, and, when, so.
👄 Articulation
Focus: practicing target sounds in meaningful speech.
How: Choose gratitude words containing target sounds:
/k, g/: cookie, grandpa, car, game
/s/: sister, soup, sun
/r/: tree, brother, red, turkey
Practice during leaf creation:
“Say your sound 3 times before glueing on the leaf!”
🌈 Final Thought
The Grateful Tree blends creativity, conversation, and connection — the three ingredients for powerful language growth.
'Outside Soup' Activity
Today’s mission: make ‘outside soup’! First my daughter and I went on a walk and collected leaves, rocks, sticks, flowers, and weeds (hello free gardening!).
We put in all in a big bowl, stirred it up, and served it to our fir tree for lunch.
This simple activity packed in vocabulary practice with descriptive words, sequencing with “first, then, next,” storytelling about our magical soup creation, and WH questions about who, what, where, and why.
The best part? She was just having messy, creative fun while naturally building language skills.
💬 How to Adapt “Outside Soup” for Any Speech or Language Goal
🍼 Early Language Learners:
Focus: imitation, first words, joint attention, and turn-taking.
How: Label each item as you find it (“leaf!” “rock!”) and pause for your child to imitate or fill in a word.
Model simple play phrases: “Mix, mix, mix!” “Pour it in!” “All done!”
Add: gestures or baby signs for extra support (e.g., “more,” “help,” “all done”).
🗣️ Stuttering
Focus: confidence and smooth, relaxed speech in a fun, pressure-free setting.
How: Keep the pace slow and playful. Model easy, stretchy speech (“We’re stirrrring the sooooup”) and emphasize turn-taking instead of performance.
📚 Literacy / Pre-Reading
Focus: phonological awareness, print awareness, and vocabulary.
How: Talk about the sounds in words (“Leaf starts with /l/!”), clap syllables (“stick = 1 clap, flower = 2 claps”), and create a “recipe card” by dictating and writing the steps together.
When done, “read” the recipe back together to reinforce sequencing and print-to-speech connection.
💬 Expanding Utterances
Focus: increasing sentence length and complexity.
How: Model expansions and extensions during play:
Child: “Leaf soup!”
Adult: “Yes! You made green leaf soup in the big bowl!”
👄 Articulation
Focus: target sound practice in a fun, natural context.
How: Choose items containing target sounds:
/s/: stick, soup, stir, spill
/k/: rock, cook, cup
/l/: leaf, little, ladle
Embed target words in phrases: “Stir the soup,” “Little leaf,” “Cook the rock soup.” Keep it light and playful—bonus points for silly sentences!
🌈 Final Thought
No matter your child’s goals, the key is connection. When a child is engaged, smiling, and leading the play, learning follows naturally.