As a school-based SLP, tackling preschool language therapy can be both challenging and rewarding. Helping young children develop their language skills is crucial to their academic and social success in the future. However, it can sometimes be difficult to find engaging and effective activities that hold their attention and provide the necessary stimulation for their language development.
After years of experience in the field, I have compiled a list of my top 10 favorite preschool language therapy items! These activities have been tried and tested with lots of students, and have proven to be fun AND effective in promoting language development.
From classic toys to TPT faves, these activities are designed to be engaging, while also targeting specific language goals. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or speech therapist, these are my must-haves in any preschool language toolbox. So, without further ado, let’s dive into my top 10 favorite preschool language items for speech therapy.
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1. Visual Schedule
I always like to have some type of visual schedule when working with preschoolers. They help keep my kids on track so much. If they know something has an end, they’re usually more likely to complete it without a fuss.
There are tons of different types of visual schedules out there. Lately, I’ve been loving using a paint stirrer for mine. They’re sturdier than paper and small enough for little hands.
2. Lift-the-flap books
Board books with flaps are much more engaging for littles who have a hard time attending to a joint task. It keeps their little hands busy and little brains exploring.
A few of my favorites are:
- Where’s Spot
- Disney Baby First 100 Words
- Dear Zoo
- Little People Let’s Go to School
- Little Blue Truck Halloween or Springtime
3. No-spill bubbles
I want my preschoolers to have as much independence as possible, and if they can hold and blow bubbles themselves, I love that. Of course, they need to be no-spill if I hand it to them. We don’t want a big mess or for them to slip and fall on soap.
Fubbles come in all sizes and are easy to find at most stores. This Magic Bear is great too! You just squeeze it and the wand pops up.
4. Cube chair
Many students need boundaries and cube chairs with trays are nice for that. I had one student who loved it so much that he would hold on to it and refuse to get out of it!
Usually, I make it part of the routine that they come into the room, grab their schedule, and sit in the chair. If we can after each activity, they get out of the chair to get the next thing on the list. That way they are not sitting the whole time.
Obviously, each student has different challenges and needs so therapy in a chair might not be what’s best for every student. Plus, they’re a little pricey and a great item to ask your district to pay for.
5. Container toys
Preschoolers love anything that they can open and explore. Container toys like these surprise boxes from learning resources are highly preferred and motivating for the majority of my preschoolers. Plus, they lend themselves to tons of language opportunities!
You can target words like: open, close, more, give me, what is it, in, out, etc. Plus, there are lots of nouns, colors, and numbers. Learning Resources has more container toys for many different themes if you do themed therapy. Check out:
6. Puppets
Puppets are multipurpose and can be used for several goals. For working on joint attention, they are great for on-the-body play like tickles (if your student tolerates it). I also love having the student “feed” the puppet different items to increase vocabulary and target core words.
It’s a big BONUS if you can find puppets in characters or animals that are highly preferred to students too!
7. Critter Clinic
Have you seen the Critter Clinic or similar door toys? This is a favorite of all my preschoolers. Because it requires a key to open the doors, it usually requires them to ask for help. It comes with little animals to put inside the compartments, but you can really put any vocabulary target inside them!
8. Stacking toys
Blocks, ball stackers, cups, etc. are very versatile and motivating for my students. I love these:
Stacking toys give lots of opportunities to target the core words “more,” “big,” and “my turn.” Plus, they’re great for focusing on prepositions and different basic concepts. The set pictured above can turn into balls and roll around, which is motivating and gives more opportunities to turn take.
9. Early Language Mini Units
Most of my preschool students work on similar skills: action verbs, object functions, prepositions, basic concepts, WH questions, etc. Think PLS-5 findings. I’ve been working on research-based activities to target each of these so that I can easily grab activities to target these specific skills.
You can find mini units with engaging activities like smash mats, sensory bins, boom cards, parent handouts, and more for the following goals:
- Action Verbs
- Object Functions
- Prepositions (coming soon)
10. Preschool Data Collection Probes
It can be super difficult to take data with a preschooler. I like things that I can quickly pull out and use with erasers, Play-Doh, or magnet wands to keep them engaged.
These Digital and Printable Preschool Data Collection Probes fit the bill! They’re perfect for progress monitoring since they include like six different target sheets for each skill.
That wraps up my top 10 favorites for preschool language therapy!! What activities do you like best?
This is fantastic! I can see myself using it for a variety of purposes—visual schedules, therapy activities, social stories, communication boards… Thanks a lot for sharing! : speech therapy near me