Speech and Language in the Car!

Speech-Language skills can be developed anywhere- even while traveling! Here are some ideas about what games/activities to try, along with the corresponding speech-language skill that can be targeted. 

• I Spy (Verbal Expression and Sentence Expansion)
• Name 10 Things (Categorization, Word Retrieval, Verbal Expression)
• The Picture Game (Visualization, Verbal Expression, Summarizing)
• 20 Questions (Word Retrieval, Categorization, Verbal Expression)
• I Packed My Bag (Auditory Memory)
  • Directions: The first person names something that they would pack in a bag for a trip (ie. clothes). The next person has to name another item (ie. a book), after they name the first item. For example, "I packed my bag with a clothes and a book." Keep going naming items until someone can't name all of the items previously named.
• Rhyme Time (Phonemic Awareness, Word Retrieval)
  • Directions: The first person says a word, then the other person has to name a rhyme of the chosen word. Keep going until someone can't think of anymore rhymes. You can decide if non-words count as well :)
• Group Story (Word Retrieval, Grammar/Sentence Structure Usage and Awareness, Verbal Expression, Auditory Processing, Auditory Memory)
  • Directions: The object is to create a story together, one word at a time. The first person says a word, then the next person says another word until you have a sentence. Keep creating the story until someone can't think of a word to add into the sentence. You can try it at the sentence level as well.

So the next time you're in the car with your loved one, turn off the music or put away the screen and try one (or some) of these games!