Using Easter Eggs to Target Therapy Goals: Language

"Hoppy" Spring!

Holidays and seasonal activities provide great opportunities to address your child's goals from speech therapy, whether you are working on articulation/producing speech sounds or understanding & using language to communicate. This article will review ideas for language goals.

One example of a common spring material you can utilize is Plastic Easter eggs! Easter eggs offer endless possibilities when it comes to targeting goals in therapy or working on carryover/generalization of skills at home in natural settings. Easter eggs can be purchased in the spring at most retailers, especially dollar stores! Below are a few ideas to help you get started on using your Easter eggs, starting with language. Enjoy!

Language

If your child is working on imitating actions, gestures, and/or sign language:

  1. Scatter/hide eggs and go on an egg hunt. Model using an index finger point and clapping when you find and egg.
  2. Create a requesting opportunity by placing eggs in sight but slightly out of reach.
  3. Model actions easy for child to imitate: shaking the egg, opening the egg, putting it in a basket.
  4. Use core sign language: HELP open the egg, request MORE eggs, and be ALL DONE as you put each egg in the basket.
  5. Try simple, 1-step directions: PUT IN the basket, GIVE ME the egg, PICK UP the egg.

If your child is working on using first words:

  1. Hide small objects in the eggs. You can then work on comprehension by having your child point or grab a named object, or label what you find inside!
  2. Continue creating requesting opportunities by hiding eggs in sight but out of reach and modeling core words.
  3. Use predictable verbal routines! You can utilize games such as an egg toss, egg race on a spoon, or a treasure hunt and model single words and phrases of both nouns and words. E.g., ready, set, GO! when throwing an egg!
  4. Let your child pick which egg they want to get next by requesting specific colors of eggs or small toys to put in the eggs.

If your child is working on expanding their sentences:

  1. Expand every word or phrase your child says. "Found it," can become, "Look, I found the green egg!"
  2. Model basic vocabulary concepts such as location, colors, numbers, and size. For example, "The big egg is UNDER the table!"
  3. Create challenges with egg hiding by giving directions: "Put the 2 small eggs next to the TV!"
  4. Act out silly actions and pretend play with the eggs to model action words to increase verb usage. For example, "I am cracking my egg to cook! Now I am feeding baby the egg!"

Enjoy!

Sarah Larsen, M.S., CCC-SLP