Speechy Sunday - Art Projects

Some of you have asked for fun speech therapy ideas, so I'm trying to honor that.

It makes me happy to be creative, so art projects are one of my all time favorite ways to play with kids. My mom once made a resolution to do something creative every day (like writing in a journal, or making a card for one of her grandkids), and she said it really made her happier!

In honor of the snowy weekend we've had here in Durham, here are some fun snowy art projects. I've done these with my preschool kiddos and with Flannaberry. For speech kiddos, you can have them "earn" each piece they need for the art project by doing whatever "speech work" you want them to do. For example, you could have them say "sssss" with their teeth together and tongue behind their teeth (for kiddos with a frontal lisp) 5 times for each art item they need for the project. If you're not working on sounds, you can just describe what they're doing ("ooh, you're gluing the cotton ball onto the paper!", "that's soft cotton," etc.) to facilitate language and vocabulary building.


Cotton Ball Snowman

Materials:

1 bag cotton balls
several buttons
glue
1 large sheet blue construction paper
3 white circles (1 small, 1 med, 1 large)
1 brown marker (to make the arms)

First, help the child glue the white circles on the paper to look like a snowman. Then, put glue all over the white circles, and let the child stick cotton balls on them. Then, add buttons for eyes and a nose, and as buttons on the snowman's belly. Then draw arms. Easy and fun!



Glitter Snowflakes

Materials:

white paper
scissors
glue & paintbrush
glitter

You'll need to make the snowflakes yourself unless the child you're with is in first grade or older. Then, let the child paint some glue onto the snowflake. Then, put the snowflake on a cookie sheet or plate with raised edges so you don't get glitter everywhere, and let the child shake some glitter onto the snowflake. Voila!



Pipe Cleaner Snowflakes

Materials:
2 silver or white pipe cleaners
lots of big craft beads (blue and clear preferred)

Cut 2 pipe cleaners in half. Line them up and twist them several times in the middle until they seem secure. Spread the arms out like a star. Add 3 beads to each "arm" of the snowflake. Twist the ends around the last bead to secure the beads on. Then hang up on a window to display.

Hope you enjoy these fun activities with a child in your life!


What's something creative you enjoy doing as an adult?