5 Fun St. Patrick's Day Ideas for Speech Therapy
That tricky leprechaun keeps things exciting in our speech room! We have 5 fun St. Patrick’s Day speech therapy activities that are perfect for mixed primary groups as well our preschool friends.
1. Decorate!
Changing up the decor in our therapy room adds to the homey and comfortable feel that we try to keep in our room. Simple dollar store finds and a runner of seasonal material are easy ways to decorate!
2. SENSORY BIN!
A sensory bin is the perfect place to put dollar store props! Hats, beards, glasses, bow ties, shamrocks, coins, beads leis, and even green garland add to the multi-sensory, St. Patrick’s Day theme. It’s a perfect place to hide drill cards or vocabulary. We also added paper shamrocks with one, two and three step auditory directions. Our following direction activities incorporate props and gross motor actions. Skills are better generalized because they are taught in natural context.
3. PORTABLE SENSORY BIN!
Put some of those props in a table top sensory bin out of a plastic container with a lid. We used a 12x12 container that usually holds scrapbook paper. Containers with lids are perfect because they can also provide a clear beginning and clear ending to a therapy session for little ones that may need that defined. We hide small objects, vocabulary cards or articulation cards in the portable table top sensory bins. It’s easy to take your show on the road if you push in a variety of environments as well.
4. DRESS UP!
Let your kiddos put on some inexpensive paper glasses or green and yellow leis while they’re practicing! Something so simple increases engagement in work tasks. Why not dress up and have some fun???
5. Leprechaun tricks
What sparks the most language and excitement in your St. Patrick’s Day speech therapy? Why leprechaun tricks of course!!! That tricky leprechaun plays a new trick on our kiddos in the days leading up to St. Patrick’s Day. The anticipation of the daily trick leads to some fun predicting and inferencing even before they walk in! Our leprechaun turns milk green, stacks chairs, leaves footprints, turns tables, spills bins, decorates with toilet paper and even plays games when we aren’t in the room! Leprechaun tricks foster skills like problem solving, memory, WH questions, auditory directions and concepts development just to name a few!
Give some of these ideas a try in March! You’ll have just as much fun as the kids!
Tiffany Hamill says
These are great ideas and so fun! Your students must really love this time of year! Love the craftivity too!