Easy Winter Speech Therapy Planning

As we move into a new year, I wanted to look ahead at my speech planning and focus on fun speech therapy themes this year. I LOVE using themes in my therapy sessions, and I have found that using a theme is an easy way to plan therapy across groups and pull in specific goals for each child. These fun winter activities for speech therapy offer everything you need for easy, effective speech planning with activities that target a variety of speech and language goals. Whether you’re a speech therapist, preschool teacher, or homeschool educator, you can use these winter preschool themes to create fun, hands-on learning experiences.

This free printable resource includes ideas for books, crafts, games, sensory play, and motor activities, all tied to engaging winter themes like Snowy Adventures, Arctic Animals, Winter Clothing and Winter Fun. I’ve also included 5 pre-made resources for some of the crafts, games and motor activities.

By using the same activities across multiple groups or individual sessions, you can save time and maintain consistency in your planning. Plus, it helps avoid the dreaded “planning rut” by offering fresh, creative ideas for each session.

The best part about this winter-themed resource is that it can target multiple goals using the same activities, making it versatile for different speech and language needs.

Here are just a few examples:

1. Vocabulary Building: Each week includes target vocabulary words (e.g., “snow,” “penguin,” “hat”) that are easy to reinforce during activities.

2. Answering WH-Questions: Books like The Snowy Day and Over and Under the Snow provide excellent opportunities to practice answering questions about “who,” “what,” and “where.”

3. Articulation Practice: Many of the included games and motor activities focus on certain speech sounds or can be used for multiple trials with a specific speech sound.

4. Following Directions: Crafts and sensory activities naturally lend themselves to multi-step direction practice (e.g., “First, fold the paper, then cut the edges”).

5. Social Skills: Games and partner activities encourage turn-taking, asking for help, and sharing.

Extending the Learning at Home

These printables can also be sent home with students for extra practice. Encourage parents to engage their children in the winter crafts and games provided in the resource. Simple instructions for games like bingo or the snowball toss can be included to promote carryover of skills outside your speech session.

Key Benefits of Using Themes

1. Engaging Themes: Themes keep children interested and excited about learning.

2. Multi-Sensory Learning: Combining visual, auditory, and tactile elements helps reinforce language concepts.

3. Adaptability: This printable set can be used in a variety of settings, from speech therapy sessions to preschool classrooms and even homeschool environments.

4. Easy Prep: With minimal materials required—such as paper, glue, and simple craft supplies—these activities are quick to set up and highly effective.

I hope this resource gives you some new ideas for therapy this winter. I know I’m excited to have some new and fresh ideas for January!

Want More?

Sign up for our email list for more themes throughout the year, along with a speech therapy thematic planner that targets specific goals and progress coming soon!