Ok some of these Mother’s Day activities may seem a little self-appreciating since a lot of my readers are the mothers of the children they’re working with, but hey, it’s Mother’s Day so you deserve it!  Check out these fun ways to celebrate mothers while improving speech and language skills!

Mother’s Day Activities One:

Make a Card for Mom or Grandma: Vocabulary, Writing, Answering Questions

If it feels weird forcing your child to make a card for you (Moms), then have your child make a card for her Grandma.  They love attention, too!  Fold a piece of construction paper in half and have your child make a card.  Ask your child to draw a picture of Mom/Grandma.  Help her remember all of the different body parts that a person needs, such as a head, eyes, ears, arms, etc.  Then, have your child sign her name.  You can help her remember what letters are in her name or just set her loose and see what she does.  Then, ask your child questions about Mom/Grandma and write down her answers (or for older children, have them write their own answers).  You can ask questions like:

• Why do you like Mom/Grandma?
• What does Mom/Grandma do?
• What does Mom/Grandma wear?
• Where does Mom/Grandma go?
• Who does Mom/Grandma like to hang out with?

Try to ask a variety of different “wh-“ questions (who, what, where, when, why) so your child gets practice answering a variety of questions.

Mother’s Day Activities Two:

Pretend Play, Playing Mommy

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, using pretend play skills are very important to language development.  The ability to pretend (or use one thing to represent something else) is very connected to the ability to use language (where a word represents the real thing).  Take some time to just do some pretend play with your child by getting out some baby dolls and pretend to be mommies.  You can talk about all of the things that mommies do for babies, such as rocking them, feeding them, bathing them, etc.  See if your child can imitate your pretend play or link to play schemes together, like feeding the baby and then putting her to sleep.

Mother’s Day Activities Three:

What do Moms Do?

This should be a fun one!  Ask your child to create a list of all of the things Moms do.  If your child can write, have him write the list.  If not, you can have him come up with ideas and write them for him.  Just see what your child comes up with at first and then start helping him with things he’s forgotten.  For example, you could say “What about your dirty clothes?  What does Mom do with those?”.  Keep going until you have the huge list of responsibilities that inevitably fall on Mom.  Point out to your child how many things that is and then ask your child which of those things he could do to help Mom out.  Have your child choose one thing and then teach him how to complete that task if it’s not something he already knows how to do.  You’ll get tons of language practice out of this activity and a little help around the house as well!  Win-win!

Thank you for checking out these Mother’s Day activities.  If you are a Mom of a child with a speech or language delay, then know that you are an amazing and very special person.  Just the fact that you’re reading this means you want the best for your child and you want to help him in whatever ways possible.  Your child is lucky to have you!  I’m here to help you out and make it easier for you to help your child with a speech or language delay so if you have any questions or need any help with anything, don’t hesitate to head over to my facebook page and leave me a message.  You can find me at www.speechandlanguagekids.com/Facebook

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