Keeping Up with Speech Goals During Winter Break

Winter break brings a welcome pause from the busy routines of school, a chance to rest, recharge, and spend time with family. But for children receiving speech and language therapy, those few weeks away from structured sessions can also lead to a bit of a “communication slump.”

The good news? With a few simple, everyday strategies, you can keep your child’s speech goals active (and fun!) all winter long with no flashcards required.

Keep Conversation Flowing

Winter break offers so many natural chances for conversation, decorating, baking, playing, or visiting loved ones. Encourage your child to talk about what they’re doing and why.

Try open-ended questions like:

• “What should we do next?”

• “How does that smell or feel?”

• “What’s your favorite decoration?”

Everyday conversations help children practice sentence structure, vocabulary, and storytelling skills; all while bonding with you.

Read and Reimagine Stories

Cold weather makes for perfect reading time! Choose winter or holiday-themed books and pause throughout to let your child guess what might happen next or describe the pictures.

You can even make up your own versions, “What if the snowman came to our house?” Encouraging imagination and prediction builds comprehension, sequencing, and expressive language.

Play with Purpose

Play is one of the best tools for speech development. Board games like Zingo, Guess Who, or Headbandz boost vocabulary, listening, and turn-taking. Pretend play, building forts, cooking pretend meals, or running a “toy store”, helps kids practice real-world communication skills in a fun way.

Cook, Create, and Communicate

Cooking or baking together is a speech goldmine. Kids can follow directions, describe ingredients, and retell each step after finishing.  “First we mix, then we bake, then we eat!” This builds sequencing, attention, and expressive language  and the treat at the end is an added bonus!

Celebrate Communication Progress

Take time to reflect on your child’s progress this year, even the smallest steps matter. Talk about what they’re proud of and what goals they want to work on next.  “You’re saying your /r/ sound so clearly now!” “I love how you told me about your day in full sentences.”

Celebrating progress keeps motivation high and reinforces that speech growth is a journey worth acknowledging.

Winter break doesn’t need to interrupt speech progress, it can enhance it. By turning family moments into language-rich experiences, you’re helping your child strengthen communication skills in ways that feel natural, joyful, and connected.