Fall Speech and Language Activities: I hope you will enjoy some fun fall activities with your child at home. I know I am enjoying learning and talking about fall with them in our speech room. I hope my suggestions offer you some ideas for ways to practice your child’s speech and language skills at home. Remember, we are a team, working together to improve your child’s communication. Here are some ideas and suggestions to use the fall theme at home to practice speech and language skills: 1. Visit the library or a book store and choose books about fall, pumpkins and leaves to share with your child. Here are some of my favorites: Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert, Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves by Lucille Colandro, The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Stephen Kroll. 2. Carve a pumpkin and then roast the seeds. Carving a jack-­‐o-­‐lantern is a great opportunity to discuss body parts and feelings. Your pumpkin can have a happy mouth, or angry eyes. How to roast the seeds: Scoop all the seeds out of a pumpkin, rinse them, and let them dry. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over the seeds. Sprinkle with salt and toss. Spread the seeds on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until light brown. Remember any cooking activity is a great way to teach following directions. Give your child one or two-­‐step directions and see if they can follow them. For example, scoop out the seeds and put them in the bowl. 3. Have a mini pumpkin and gourd compare and contrast game. Children love mini pumpkins and gourds due to their “unusual” appearance. Comparing and contrasting their appearance is a great way to teach descriptive words and the concepts of same/different. Sort them into piles…bumpy ones versus smooth ones, striped ones versus solid colors, round shaped versus oval shaped. Be sure to use many adjectives to describe the way they look, feel and smell. 4. Visit a farm and pick pumpkins. While at the farm take the opportunity to discuss farm and fall harvest vocabulary words: plants, leaves, pumpkins, corn, pick, grow, farm, tractor, seeds, plant harvest, sunshine, dirt, water. 5. Go on a fall leaf walk or rake up some leaves and jump into the pile. During these activities you can search for different kinds of leaves, talk about the different trees and how their leaves are certain colors and shapes. Look for acorns and pinecones. Gather up some fall “treasures,” bring them back into the house and create a fall collage. You can also look for items to create your own Leaf Man based on the book by Lois Ehert. If you glue some googly eyes from the craft store onto leaves, they really do look like a leaf man. 6. Practice your child’s speech sounds during any of the above activities. Some sounds you can practice are: “p” in pumpkins, pick, plant, jump, pile, maple; “k” in carve, corn, color, pumpkin, rake, acorn oak, pick; “l” in fall, leaves, look, pile; “f’ as in fall, leaf, face; “s” as in scoop, scary, smile, sort, stripped.