Articulation crafts for speech therapy are a great way to make articulation practice engaging and fun. They can be made from materials you have on hand and offer a creative, hands-on way to work on articulation skills while also working on expressive language skills such as describing, asking questions, following directions, and expanding utterances. You can use these crafts in speech therapy sessions or home program practice.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
“Paint” with a paintbrush dipped in a small bowl of water. The children can “paint” the mouth chart. This is great for tactile learners, who often enjoy sensory input through touch.
Play around with play dough. Use the play dough to form your target words and practice saying them as you roll, press, smash, and poke the dough!
Make edible art. Paint edible glue (like frosting) onto a cookie or cracker with paintbrushes and add sprinkles to decorate the cookies or crackers with your target words.
Use food! Pretzels, marshmallows, cheerios, etc., can be used to create pictures with your target words.
Many children are diagnosed early on with phonological disorders or articulation disorders. As a speech therapist, I work with many students who have difficulty producing certain sounds. Some of the most common sounds that children have difficulty producing are: /k/, /g/, /f/, /v/, /r/, /s/, and /z/. Many times, it is difficult to find craft activities that can target multiple goals at once. These crafts not only target articulation, but they also target expressive and receptive language skills!
For each craft, you can simply write the word(s) that your student is having difficulty producing on each piece of the craft. You can use a speech sound production hierarchy. This is a great way to target all of your student’s speech sounds.
Articulation crafts are an easy and fun way to work on speech sounds while engaging your child’s creativity. The following crafts require minimal preparation time, small amounts of materials and a few minutes to complete. The activities are fun for the whole family.
As an extension of these crafts, you can use them as a springboard for further language development by discussing colors, letters and shapes, as well as words beginning with each speech sound.
If you are looking to make your speech therapy sessions more fun and engaging, try out these articulation crafts. These crafts will make your students feel like they are making something rather than just practicing their sounds. Plus, what better way to practice their sounds than by creating something that can be used on a daily basis? To learn about the different ways to use these crafts in your speech therapy sessions, keep reading.
Speech therapists have the difficult task of helping patients communicate more effectively. By combining craft projects with speech therapy, you can motivate children to practice their articulation skills, which will help them form clearer sounds and improve their confidence.
To make a simple tongue depressor puppet, first find some tongue depressors (also called popsicle sticks). These are available at most craft stores or pharmacies. You’ll also need a pair of scissors, markers, tape and/or glue, and fabric scraps. Cut the fabric into strips and then glue or tape them to the back of the tongue depressor to create hair for your puppet. Use the markers to draw a face on one end of the tongue depressor. Tape on pieces of felt or fabric to create ears or a hat for your puppet if you’d like.
Once you’ve made your puppet, use it as a prop while working with your patient on articulation exercises. Encourage your patient to talk with his puppet while you correct each mispronunciation, repeating the phrases as necessary until he can say them correctly. If desired, use your own voice at times while working with your patient so he feels comfortable talking with his new friend.