HAY there! One of my favorite themes to use in my speech therapy sessions is farms and farm animals! We all know using themed activities can make therapy planning a breeze and provides rich opportunities to target a variety of speech-language concepts. From the adorable animal sounds like "moo" and "baa" to exploring farm life through books, crafts, and games, this farm theme promises to be an engaging and effective way to support your child’s speech and language development.
Farm-Themed Speech-Language Targets
Here’s why farm themes are fantastic for speech therapy:
Early Sounds: Farm animal sounds often use early speech sounds like /m, p, b, d/, and simple sound combinations (e.g., CV, VC, CVCV). Think "moo," "baa," "cow," "eat," "up," and "neigh."
Animal Vocabulary: Practice naming animals and their actions, sounds, and adjectives. Compare and contrast animals using tables or Venn diagrams to build vocabulary.
Descriptive Language: Describe farm animals and objects using words like furry, noisy, and tall.
Prepositions: Practice spatial concepts by placing animals behind, in front of, next to, in, on, etc.
Wh-Questions: Use farm-themed Wh-questions to practice comprehension and expression skills.
Following Directions: Give and follow directions involving farm animals or objects. For example, "Put the horse in the barn," or "Find the cow that goes ‘moo.’”
Categorization: Sort and categorize farm animals based on size, habitat, or type (e.g., mammals, birds). Group farm-related vocabulary into categories like animals, tools, and buildings.
Storytelling: Sequence the steps of planting crops or taking care of animals. Practice retelling a farm-themed story using beginning, middle, and end concepts.
Articulation Practice: Use animal names to practice specific speech sounds or target sounds in sentences.
Conversation Skills: Discuss favorite farm animals or equipment and explain why. Use conversation prompts to practice generalizing articulation sounds and fluent speech.
Farm-Themed Wh-Questions
Here are some fun Wh-questions to get those little minds thinking:
Who takes care of the animals on the farm?
What animals do you find on a farm?
When do chickens lay eggs?
Where do the cows graze?
Why is a scarecrow placed in the fields?
How do tractors help on a farm?
Farm-Themed Books
Incorporate these favorite farm-themed books into your sessions:
Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
Moo, Baa, La La La! by Sandra Boynton
Good Night Farm by Adam Gamble
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
On the Farm by David Elliot
The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
The Cow Who Clucked by Denise Fleming
Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy E. Shaw
Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton
Little Red Rolls Away by Linda Whalen
Barnyard Banter by Denise Fleming
These books are fantastic for early literacy and engaging story times. They were a hit with my own kids and now enrich my therapy library.
Farm-Themed Activity Ideas
Want to save time with ready-to-use, no-prep resources? Check out these farm-themed speech therapy activities available at the Speak Up with Miss Jill TPT store:
Toys
Farmer's Market Color Sorting Set My kiddos love this fun toy! It’s great for younger children when working on food vocabulary, colors, sorting and categories. With older children, I often set up a hide-a-seek game where they get to find a piece as reinforcement for completing speech and language tasks. It’s perfect for enhancing cognitive, linguistic, and motor skills through playful learning.
Peek-a-Boo Farm Animals I find that kids love opening things to find surprises inside. The cute little barns that are included in these are perfect for that! I use these animals all the time with my early intervention children. There’s also a ZOO version that get just as much use in my speech room! They’re great for role-playing, discussing animals, colors, and numbers, and understanding concepts like open/close, top/bottom, and in/out.
Barn No speech-therapy room is complete without a barn! Obviously, there are countless ways to use a barn with animals in your sessions! I have this version with many doors that are locked and latched in different ways, and these are a big win with my kiddos!
Games
I’m always using board games in therapy. They are a great way to reinforce a child’s speech and language practice. There are so many games out there that will fit right in with a farm theme!
Farm Snakes and Ladders is a fun version of the classic Chutes and Ladders game. A pretty great introduction into game-playing scripts and perfect for up/down concept development. I like to use it for sentence-level speech practice or for sentence structure activities (“The pig is sliding in the mud.”).
Stamp Farm is one of my students’ all-time favorites! Kids have to help build fences so Farmer Sally can give all of her animals enough space. They get to roll the dice and use ink stamps to place the corresponding animals around the farm. This is a quick game, so it serves for fast reinforcement for practice.
Count Your Chickens I love to play cooperative games with my speech students. Here, you work together to get all the baby chicks from the farm back to the coop before Mama gets there. It’s really simple, so you can play it with kids as young as 3, but it’s also quick, so you’re sure to get lots of practice for those speech and language goals.
Thanks for stopping by to explore these farm-themed speech therapy ideas! Using a farm theme in your sessions can make learning fun and effective, offering plenty of chances to practice key speech and language skills. From early sounds and vocabulary to storytelling and conversation skills, these activities are both practical and engaging. I hope these ideas inspire you and add a bit of farmyard fun to your speech therapy sessions. Happy farming, and here’s to making speech therapy moo-re enjoyable and productive!
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