You and your child just finished attending a therapy session with your Speech-Language Pathologist. She/he gives you word cards practiced during the session to work on at home. You sit down with your child and he/she will not do the practice with you. What do you do!?

Here are some ideas to make those speech word cards fun and motivate your child to practice:

1. Play a game – allow your child to pick a game to play. Before they take a turn, practice 1 card 5 times. Repeat until the game is over and choose a new one if desired!
2. Use an empty Kleenex box – put your child’s word cards in an empty Kleenex box and take turns pulling a card out. Practice that card 5 times then choose a new one!
3. Use cars – scatter the cards on the floor and push a toy car on the floor. Whichever card the car lands on is the one you practice! Use a variety of cars to make the activity last longer.
4. Make copies – make copies of the cards and allow your child to colour, paint, or even rip the card once the practice has been completed!
5. Use a train track – for each word practiced, give your child a piece of a train track. Once there is enough, build a track then place the cards around the track. When the train gets to the card, practice the word 5 times so the train can continue on the track.
6. Scavenger hunt – place the cards around the house or the yard and go on a scavenger hunt. Once your child finds a card, practice it!
7. Use plastic eggs – place a card in each egg and have your child open them then practice the word inside!
8. Sensory bin – dump rice or beans into a large bowl and place the cards inside. Allow your child to dig around and practice the words she/he finds.
9. Pots and pans – place the cards in different pots and pans. Pretend to cook the cards and choose one to pretend to “eat.” Practice that word 5 times before “eating” it.
10. Go to the park – take the word cards to the park. Place a card at the end of the slide, so each time your child goes down it, they have to practice their word.

It is important for speech to be practiced at home, so your child learns to use the correct sounds in more than one place which increases generalization (practiced sounds transferring into conversation). Make sure to discuss with your Speech-Language Pathologist what level (word, phrase, sentence) your child is at for practice to ensure the task isn’t too difficult when practicing at home. Use all the cues used during sessions to ensure your child has a positive and successful speech practice time at home. Take your turn and practice the same words as your child. Even make mistakes once in a while to see if they can catch it. The more you are involved in your child’s speech practice, the more she/he will be motivated to practice and see progress much quicker!

Written by Registered Speech-Language Pathologist (Provisional) with Wildflowers, Kristen Lipp