Key Takeaways
- Spring weather opens up outdoor chances to build language.
- A spring sensory bin, a scavenger hunt and planting a garden each target different skills.
- Program seasonal words into AAC devices and model signs and gestures.
Spring is the perfect time to incorporate engaging, language-rich activities into your child’s daily routine! With warmer weather and blooming flowers, families can take advantage of outdoor opportunities to support communication development. Whether your child is verbal, nonverbal, or uses an AAC device, these fun, seasonal speech activities will help boost their language skills.
1. Spring Sensory Bin for Language Expansion
Create a sensory bin using grass, plastic eggs, toy bugs, and flowers. Encourage your child to explore while modeling descriptive words and asking open-ended questions.
How to Incorporate Speech & Language:
- Labeling & Expanding Vocabulary: “This is a yellow flower!” “You found a big bug!”
- Prepositions: “Put the egg under the grass!” “Hide the ladybug inside the flower.”
- AAC Support: Program spring words into the AAC device, such as “flower,” “bug,” “grow,” and “sunshine.”
2. Spring-Themed Scavenger Hunt
Take a walk outside and look for spring items like birds, trees, and puddles.
How to Incorporate Speech & Language:
- Descriptive Language: “The butterfly is colorful!” “The grass feels soft.”
- Using Gestures & Signs: Model sign language for “flower,” “rain,” and “sun.”
- WH-Questions: “Where do birds build nests?” “Why do flowers need water?”
3. Planting a Garden for Requesting & Commenting
Let your child plant flowers or herbs while practicing language in a natural setting.
How to Incorporate Speech & Language:
- Requesting with AAC: “I want dirt.” “Help me water.”
- Turn-Taking: Take turns scooping soil and watering plants.
- Commenting: “I see a green leaf!” “The dirt is wet!”
📚 Recommended Resources:
- Paul, R. (2020). Language Disorders from Infancy Through Adolescence: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Communicating. Elsevier.
- Barton, E. E., & Reichow, B. (2018). Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with Autism: Promoting Language, Learning, and Engagement. Guilford Press.
- The Hanen Centre. (2023). It Takes Two to Talk. Hanen.org
Related reading: Expanding Vocabulary Through Outdoor Exploration and Spring-Themed Resources for Speech and Language Development
How GentleCare can help: Learn more about our Speech Therapy services, or visit our Enrollment page to get started.
Quality ABA Therapy in New Jersey, Now servicing; Cherry Hill, Voorhees, Camden, Mount Laurel, Gloucester, Deptford, Burlington, Marlton and throughout Burlington, Hudson, Middlesex, Union, Camden and Gloucester Counties. We’re currently enrolling! Contact us to learn more and to get started.
