Activities for Practicing Sounds

Learning new sounds and words can be fun when you learn through play! Here are some ideas for games to play with your picture cards:

Road‍

Line the cards up in a row and tell your child to drive a truck or car over them, saying each word as it is driven over.

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Shopping

‍Pretend that you are a shopkeeper, and ask your child to tell you which cards he/she would like to buy.

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Hide and Seek

‍Hide the cards in obvious places around the room, and ask your child to say each word as it is found. (Hide them in less obvious places if your child is up for a challenge!)

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Fishing‍

Attach a paperclip to each card. With a fishing rod (one you already have, or you can make one by attaching a magnet to the end of a string and tying it onto a dowel or stick), ask your child to catch the ‘fish’, saying each word as he/she catches the card.

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Mystery Box

Place all of the cards in a box or bag. Ask your child to close his/her eyes and pull out a card, and name each picture as it is selected.

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Mail Box

‍Make a mail box by cutting a slit in a cardboard box. Ask your child to name the cards as he/she posts them.

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Bowling

‍Place some picture cards on the floor. Ask your child to roll a ball towards the pictures, and name each picture that the ball rolls over.

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Camera

‍Ask your child to take a pretend picture of each picture card, and say the word that they have ‘taken a picture’ of.

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Stamping

‍Your child gets a stamp or sticker each time they say a word correctly (or have a good try!).

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Board games

Your child can take a turn every time they say a word. (For more practice, roll a die to see how many words you need to say to get a turn!)

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Beading

‍Every time your child says a word, they get a bead to string onto a necklace.

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Lego

‍Your child gets a piece of Lego every time he/she says a word, and at the end they get to build something.

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Hopscotch

‍Place picture cards on the floor and ask your child to say the word as he/she jumps onto it.

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Join the dots

‍Your child can draw a line every time they say a word.

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Jigsaw puzzles

‍Give your child a piece of the puzzle every time they say a word.

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Memory

‍Place all of the picture cards face down. Take turns finding pairs of pictures. Whenever your child turns over a card, ask him/her to say the word.

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Go Fish

Play go fish with your picture cards. Remind your child to use their sound correctly when they name the picture they need.

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Snap

Self-explanatory! Just replace your regular card deck with your picture cards.

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I think my child needs help with their speech - what should I do?

If you have questions about your child's speech or would like to have their speech assessed, get in touch! One of our friendly team will be happy to chat to you, answer your questions, and give you advice for your next steps.