Do you have a lot of useless advertisement flyers that come in the mail? Before they hit that recycling bin, how about using them as another tool to target your child’s speech or language goals? The SLPs at the Boston Ability Center developed a list of ways you can use the flyers to make collages or cool pieces of art, all while working on your goals!
1. Working on specific speech sounds?... /l/, /ch/, /k/, /s/, /r/.. just to name a few! Have your child search the flyers for words or pictures that start or end with his/her target sound, cut them out, and paste them on the collage! If your child is working at the phrase or sentence level, he/she can come up with silly sentences using one or multiple words/pictures on the collage!
2. Working on naming and categories? You and your child can identify a category of items that you want to search for (fruits, vegetables, drinks, toys, colors, etc). There are so many different kinds of categories out there! Find an item in your category, cut it out, and paste it on your collage!
3. Working on inferencing or making "smart guesses?" While looking at the flyers with your child, you can describe one of the pictures that you see (ex. "I want a fruit that is yellow and has a peel") and see if your child can guess the picture that you described. Or if your child is working on expressively using descriptive features, your child can describe a picture to you.
4. Working on answering questions? Search for pictures, cut them out, and glue them on individual index cards or pieces of paper to play a game like ‘Headbanz’.
5. Working on 1, 2, or 3 step directions? Make up a direction/s that your child has to follow. For example, "Cut out the lettuce picture" or "First cut out the toy, then glue it on the paper."
6. Working on prepositions? Instruct your child on where he/she will have to glue the pictured item (ex. "Glue the lettuce on the top of the page" or "Glue the apple under the dog").
7. Working on using semantic features to describe items? Use an "Expanding Expression Tool" (EET) for each pictured object to name its color, what it looks like (ex. shape, size), what its function is, where can you find it, etc.
Looking for more ways to target your child's speech and language goals from the comfort of your own home? Contact frontdesk@bostonabilitycenter.com to put put in touch with one of our SLPs!
