Winter Snow-Themed Activities for Speech and Language Therapy

Winter is a magical time to incorporate fun, themed activities into speech and language therapy sessions! Snowflakes, mittens, and snowmen bring seasonal excitement to learning, making it easier to engage children while targeting key speech and language skills. Here’s a guide to winter-themed books, games, sensory bins, and more to make your therapy sessions effective and fun.

Winter-Themed Books

Books are a wonderful way to develop vocabulary, comprehension, and expressive language skills. These three winter favorites are perfect for speech and language therapy:

1. There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! by Lucille Colandro

This humorous, repetitive story is great for building sequencing skills and predicting outcomes.

• Targeted Skills:
  • Sequencing: Work on retelling the story in order with visual aids.
  • Verbs: Identify and act out verbs like “swallow,” “build,” and “melt.”
  • WH Questions: Use prompts like “Why did she swallow the coal?” or “What happened next?”
  • Rhyming: Highlight rhyming words to boost phonological awareness.
• Buy on Amazon
• Ausome Speech Boom Card Learning

2. One Mitten by Kristine O’Connell George

This beautifully illustrated book is a cozy story about a mitten that sparks imaginative play.

• Targeted Skills:
  • Descriptive Language: Discuss textures, colors, and patterns of the mitten.
  • Basic Concepts: Teach opposites like “on/off,” “one/many,” or “big/small.”
  • Articulation: Focus on /m/ words like “mitten” and “many.”
  • Narrative Skills: Encourage children to create their own mitten adventures.
• Buy on Amazon
• YouTube Read Aloud

3. A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson

Follow Tortoise as he learns to embrace winter’s lively charm in this beautifully illustrated book.

• Targeted Skills:
  • Problem Solving: Discuss why Tortoise doesn’t want to participate and how he changes his mind.
  • Emotions: Explore how Tortoise feels at different points in the story.
  • WH Questions: Ask, “Why does Tortoise want to hibernate?” or “What wakes him up?”
  • Vocabulary: Focus on winter-themed words like “nap,” “snow,” and “loud.”
• Pair this book with Type B SLP’s No-Print, No-Prep Book Companion, which includes vocabulary, comprehension, and more:
• Get the Companion on TPT
• YouTube Read Aloud

Winter-Themed Games and Activities

TPT Winter Dice Game

This versatile game, available on Teachers Pay Teachers, requires no prep and targets:

• Articulation: Practice specific sounds.
• Pronouns: Use sentences like “She is throwing snowballs.”
• Verbs: Roll the dice to pair with actions (e.g., “build,” “throw,” “slide”).
• Download Winter Dice Game

TinySpeech Winter Snow WH Question Flipbook

This flipbook is perfect for working on WH questions in a snowy context. It also includes a picture scene to practice prepositions and verbs.

• Skills Targeted:
  • WH Questions: Answer “Who is building the snowman?” or “Where is the sled?”
  • Prepositions: Work on spatial terms like “on,” “under,” and “behind.”
  • Verbs: Use action-based prompts to describe the scene.
• Get the Flipbook on TPT

Boom Cards

There was a Cold Lady Boom Cards by Ausome Speech

Boom Cards are interactive and engaging for virtual or in-person therapy. This activity encourages kids to answer questions about the story and feed the old lady. 

• Increase MLU
• Vocabulary
• Find it on Boom Learning

Winter Sensory Bins

Sensory bins are always a hit with little ones. For a snowy-themed bin:

• What You’ll Need:
  • Clear gems, white/blue pom-poms, crafting snowflakes, mini snowman erasers (from Dollar Tree).
  • Articulation cards or targets (e.g., /s/, /l/, /g/ words).
• Targeted Skills:
  • Articulation:
    • /s/: snow, smooth, sticky.
    • /l/: little, bell, cold.
    • /g/: big, get, jingle.
  • Basic Concepts:
    • big/little – Compare the sizes of snowflakes, put all the little pom poms in a container
    •  loud/quiet.-Compare loud jingle bells and quiet snow flakes when dropping them.
  • Prepositions: Practice “in,” “out,” “on,” and “under” while interacting with the bin.

Conclusion

Winter offers a wealth of creative opportunities to enhance speech and language therapy sessions. From delightful books and easy-prep games to sensory fun, these snowy-themed activities will keep kids engaged and motivated while targeting critical skills.

Have fun bringing the magic of winter into your therapy room!