By now your students are halfway through the summer, enjoying their freedom with pool parties, popsicles, and sunshine. With less than a month left before school begins again, it’s important to continue providing natural learning opportunities to incorporate language skills and growth. July 4th is, in my opinion, one of the best national holidays and just so happens to be a great day to focus on a variety of language skills. Traditional Fourth of July activities includes a ton of interactive activities such as BBQ parties, fireworks, parades, and picnics. Below are some ideas to incorporate articulation, receptive, and expressive language skills for a variety of age groups:

Many of our speech and language students are as ready to shift into summer gear as we are. They’ve worked hard during the school year: Abided by a structured routine, woken up early, rushed out the door, and actively engaged in mental activities for seven hours out of the day. It’s time for them to relax and reap the benefits of the hot summer sun, later alarm clocks, and spontaneous play. Unfortunately, the end of the school year also means the end of specialized services for many of our students that have speech and language delays. Continuity and follow-through are important, especially with the facilitation of these skills. Below are some ideas and activities to send with your students on the last day of school:

This and every April 22, many of us will recognize Earth Day without really understanding the reason. There are lots of wonderful things to celebrate about the Earth: the fact that it gives life to us and every creature familiar to us, for starters. But why exactly celebrate Earth Day?

St. Patrick’s Day is the holiday that makes me feel super lucky because it comes right in between winter break and spring break and planning for it feels effortless. Disagree? See below how you can make this holiday fun, engaging, and super simple!

I don’t know about you, but I’m the speech therapist that always wants to go big for the holidays. Holidays are a great time to continue working on your students’ goals whether it’s learning seasonal vocabulary, direction following to make cute crafts, or reading themed stories to focus on grammar, comprehension, and retelling skills. Valentine’s Day is especially fun because it’s all about friendship, kindness, and love! Below you will find some therapy ideas that will work for your whole caseload.

It’s no secret that the holidays are upon us and it all starts with the three-month stretch beginning in October. It’s a time of reflection that comes at the close of a year; the way we huddle a little more with our families, gather our friends around tables to toast and celebrate memories. And if you have stepped into any store lately, you’ve seen that retailers are already in full-on holiday mode. Trees are twinkling and the Christmas music has been cued and piped through the speakers.  Depending on your personality, you either feel excited for the shopping season ahead or anxious as you wind your way through the decked halls.

It’s almost the most fulfilling holiday of the year, which means giving thanks for all we have and also to everyone we are thankful for. For many teachers, this time of the year means report cards, teacher conferences, some training, and other possible professional responsibilities…but it also means some time off after all that is conquered!

Earth Day is one of the holidays that can be easily overlooked, especially in special education. So consider, what does Earth Day mean to you?  Is this just another day for you or do you focus on sharing the importance of our planet to your children and/or students?

This time of year always seems to be especially busy!  Our calendars are filled with IEP meetings, stacks of evaluations to finish, and state-wide standardized testing is looming over us.  So, when I sit down to plan St. Patrick’s Day activities for therapy this time of year, I want to make sure that it hits three criteria: 1. easy prep, 2. low cost, and 3. engaging for students!  Below are some therapy ideas for St. Patrick’s Day activities that check all three boxes.

Valentine’s Day can be a great time to celebrate friendship, love, and family with our therapy students. Not to mention, it can almost always involve sweets! As the case with any holiday, you can easily adapt the goals you are working on with your students to incorporate the holiday theme. Below are a variety of activities you can use with your speech and language students during therapy sessions for Valentine’s Day.