All I Want For Christmas Is...
Worthwhile Speech and Language Activities for the Christmas Season
Launch the media gallery 1 player“All I want for Christmas is…” If you haven’t heard this statement yet, just wait. Thanksgiving is over and we are heading into the full swing of the Christmas season. I am sure your children are being bombarded on TV with the commercials for all of the things they absolutely NEED for Christmas. They will be making their lists and either sending it to Santa or giving it to you.
Christmas lists are a great speech and language activity for you and your children to do together. Go over their list with them and ask them which items have the sound they are working on in it or have them sequence their list in order of priority (e.g. which they want the most, just a little, or least). Talk about their size---which one is the biggest, smallest, longest, shortest, etc. Talk about the colors they come in and how many toys they have on their list that have blue on them, red, etc. Then talk about where they will put them if they get it. If it’s a big item, they will need to think about where they want to put it and if they will be able to play with it there or have to move it to play with it (critical thinking and reasoning tasks). By asking them questions about it, you are working on asking and answering question skills. Count the number of items they have on their list or how many pieces go with a particular toy or activity. Talk about if they will be willing to share their toy(s) with their brother, sister, cousin, etc. Talk about where you would go to find some of these items. Will they be able to go to Dollar General or Wal-Mart in Kirksville or Centerville, or go to a bigger city to find it (or will it be made at Santa’s workshop)? Talk about what you need to do to get to that store. Once there, where in the store might you find it? Maybe take some the ads or catalogs you receive in the mail and talk about the items and let them match the items on their list with the items in the ad or catalog, or maybe they find something they can add to their list. On Christmas day, if they get this/these gifts how will they feel, or if they don’t get them, how will they feel?
In addition to the Christmas list, there are so many other holiday activities that are great speech and language learning activities, such as decorating the tree, making Christmas cookies, wrapping presents, and going to Grandma & Grandpa’s house. You can also talk about the new year, and what they want to happen in the new year. When in the car, play games such as finding objects/signs that start with a certain letter or counting the number of semi’s on the way. Sing Christmas songs together or play board games with them on their vacation. The time that is spent with them can be so worthwhile and along the way, you’ll be making memories with them that may last a lifetime! So start a new tradition this year---one that you can all do together! I pray you have a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. Thanks again for loaning me your children during the day.
Your Speech-Language Pathologist
Kimberly S. Knight, M.A., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
(660) 947-3361 ext. 391
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