Simply Snowmen – Winter Activities for Speech Therapy

The winter months are filled with days that children often dream of making their own snowman. Since this is not always possible, why not grab some snowman themed books, crafts, and snacks to tie in with your speech and language sessions? Speech therapists can easily switch the focus on any of the following activities, depending on each individual’s IEP goals or age level.

Snowmen in Stories

Books are a great way to get kids interested in a lesson or possible unit. There are many picture books available in schools, libraries, and stores that focus on these fun winter fellows. Some suggestions to look for that have great tie in potential are:

• Snowballs by Lois Ehlert
• Snowmen at Night by Carolyn Buehner
• Snowmen All Year by Carolyn Buehner
• Snowmen at Work by Carolyn Buehner
• The Twelve Days of Winter by Deborah Lee Rose
• The Biggest Snowman Ever by Steven Kroll
• Snow Party by Harriet Ziefert
• Snowman in Paradise by Michael Roberts

As always remember to take a book walk with your students before starting. This will help them to get more involved in the process and is a great way to boost their conversation confidence.

Snowmen Crafts and Snacks

There are countless snowman crafts that you can make with just a few items on hand. If you are working with a specific book, be sure to search on Pinterest with the name of the book and craft. Snowmen at Night has a variety of options that you can pick from. A favorite is the snowman project that No Time for Flash Cards made using construction paper (black and white), some orange paper, ribbon scraps, googly eyes, toilet paper, glue, scissors, and a white crayon. The steps are easy to follow for kids of all ages. For older students, why not add on a sheet of paper and ask the kids what their snowman would do at night.

Another option is the Stained Glass Snowmen on Twelve Months of Fun. To add something extra for speech to this activity, children could put words that they are working on within the snowman’s body. Then make some laminated dots for them to match with the words at home. This will extend to practice at home with a cute decoration.

Assuming no food allergies, snacks are another great way to create something and practice talking, sequencing, and modeling. A quick and easy snack will require some the following for each mini snowman: an Oreo cookie, vanilla frosting, two pretzel sticks, three large marshmallows, two mini marshmallows, and food writing pens. Happy Home Fairy shares the steps involved here.

If you stay away from snack during sessions, think about sending the instructions home to families. Remember to translate them for multilingual individuals so it can be a fun tie-in for all involved. Include questions and suggestions for them to practice vocabulary that goes along at home.