Listed below are some useful books and games for Talking Practice at home. Using a range of books, games, cards and puzzles while you help your child with smooth talking practice, makes the practice more fun and enjoyable for your child.

Make sure you chat ideas through at each weekly session with your Speech Pathologist so that you pitch the talking component at the right level. That way, your child experiences optimal fluency while you give parental verbal contingencies.

Books

These books are easy to use at the single word level practice or when a tight structure is needed to achieve more fluency:

You Choose by Nick Sharratt

Just Imagine by Nick Sharratt

The Big Book of Crazy Mix-ups by Nick Sharratt

1001 Things to Spot (Usborne)

The Big Book of Things to Spot (Usborne)

Usborne Find-its e.g. Find the Kitten

Where’s Spot by Eric Hill

Spot Goes to the Park by Eric Hill

Spot’s Big Book of Words

I Spy Mystery, A Book of Picture Riddles

Games

Games are fun but be careful that the fun doesn’t take over and that the aim of the game smooth talking is lost. If your child needs to practice single words or very short phrases, collect all the parts of the game and ask you child to label them and ask other direct questions like ‘what colour is this?’ or ‘where shall we put it?’. Then, play the game as a reward for doing that smooth talking. Later, when the Talking Practice Conversations are more relaxed, you can chat freely together while you play the game, giving contingencies as appropriate and as directed by your Speech Pathologist.

Here are some of my favourites :

Red Dog Blue Dog by Orchard Toys

Fishing by Ravensburger

Crazy Chefs by Orchard Toys

Hoppel Poppel by Haba

Ear Tug by Haba

Caterpillar (Raupenwurfeln) tin game by Haba

Pop Up Dragon by Early Learning Centre

Felt board story boards e.g. by Hema

Beetle Game by MB Games

Mr Potato Head by Hasbro

Puzzles

Orchard Toys Puzzles eg

 

 

Cards

Memory Cards e.g. Animals (Ravensburger)

Top Trumps cards

Everyday Words Flashcards (Usborne)

Happy Families (Usborne)

Structured conversation ideas:

When your child needs to stick to single words in talking time to be fluent, practice can quickly get boring. Plan out different games and books to use for
the week so you don’t feel ‘clueless’ and so that the practice stays fresh and fun. Try some of these ideas:

Lucky dip bag of flash cards or toys or household objects. Maybe an alternative could be the first person to pull out the e.g. Lion card is the winner?!

Prepare a tray of toys or cards or objects and look at them and memorise what is there. The child closes his eyes, take one away, then ask
him which one is missing. Keep going until they are all gone.

Use Snap card pairs to play short games of memory concentration. Turn over one card at a time, label it or ask the one word level
questions and then let him turn over a second card. Same or different? My turn or your turn? etc.

Make a trail to a reward using cards or objects that have to be turned over or uncovered and then labelled or described.

Use a ‘telescope’ made from a kitchen roll or similar and ‘spy things’ around the room.

Darken a room (or not) and shine a torch on things to name.

Sorting games
Sort laundry all the socks vs.all the pants; kids things vs. parents things, red things, white things etc etc.

Or, try sorting a set of 10 objects into two boxes – one for things that e.g. can break and one for things that don’t break. At the end say, ok lets say
all the names of the things that break, ready, go, glass/tea cup/bottle/jug etc…

Other sorting ideas include things that are toys vs food; cars vs trains; or hard vs soft things anything goes!