By: Lindsay Barret MS, CCC-SLP

If you look around your home, something you’ve likely been doing more of these last few years than ever before, you will find several items you can use to target your child’s articulation skills. All you need is creativity and a few common household items. The list below is meant to serve as a guide. If you don’t have these items accessible, there is still plenty you can do to support your child’s articulation. We hope to make articulation homework feel approachable and make it easier to integrate homework time into your child’s routine.

If your child’s target speech sound is at the sound, syllable, word, or sentence level:

  1. Throw around a ball, stuffed animal, balled up pair of socks, or anything you can find that is safe to throw. In between tosses, practice the target sound at the appropriate level (i.e., sound, syllable, word, sentence) determined by your speech therapist.
  2. Look around the room for items that contain your target sound. Play I Spy or hide the items around the room and play Hide and Seek. After each item is located or spotted, practice the target sound.
  3. Use Play-Doh or other art materials such as markers and paper to create items that contain your target sound.
  4. When reading or watching television, make a list of words that contain your target sound to practice.
  5. Roll cans of food (make sure they are secure and closed), plastic bottles, or balls and have a race to see who can cross the finish line or hit the wall first. Whoever loses practices the target sound.
  6. Create an obstacle course with household items such as books, a pillow, boxes, blankets, etc. After following each step or after the entire course is completed, practice your sounds.
  7. Spread shaving cream on a flat, wipeable surface and draw pictures that contain your target item in the cream, practicing your sound after each drawing. This also doubles as a great sensory activity, helping children connect with and challenge their tactile system.

If your child’s target speech sound is at the conversation and generalization level:

  1. Make a story using words that contain your target sound. Use items around the home for story inspiration.
  2. Give clues about household items that contain your target sound and have your communication partner guess the item being described.
  3. During cooking, cleaning, or any other household activities, describe the process/steps while maintaining accurate sound production.
  4. Summarize your favorite book, movie, or television show while practicing your sounds.
  5. Go for a walk and spot items that contain your target sound.
  6. Give a kitchen utensil, can of food, toy, book, bottle, or just about anything as a “talking stick” to identify the speaker and take turns during conversation, passing the item around to switch speakers, while maintaining accurate sound production.
  7. Use any of the above conversation topics and throw a ball or aforementioned item around, either in between throws or while tossing the item, depending on your child’s ability to sustain their divided attention between talking and tossing the item.
  8. Put items in a box that contain your target sound or draw items on a piece of paper, cutting out each item, and place them in a hat, box, or container. Pull items out and create a story using them.

We hope we can create a sense of ease, giving suggestions for homework that requires as little planning and additional materials as possible. We encourage families to get creative and use these items not only to target articulation, but also to connect as a family and have fun.

Have questions about your child’s articulation skills or speech therapy? Check out “Articulation Therapy: Frequently Asked Questions” for more information.