Great Language Building Toys
When I’m looking for toys to use in speech therapy, I look for toys that are interactive. I like toys that encourage imaginative play and social interaction. I steer away from the electronics and instead look for toys that are engaging and fun to play with another person and that will foster language. Here are a few of my favorite things!
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“Go” “Crash” “Fast” “1-2-3 Go” “Yes” “Stop” “Wow” “Oh no!” Cars, especially fast cars that you can pull back and race are great for language development. Model fun words and phrases, take turns racing cars, and build fun tracks and obstacles. There are lots of great opportunities to work on joint attention and communication.
Next, stacking cups are great for lining up by size, naming colors, building a tower, turning upside down, and hiding things underneath. Words and phrases to target might include top, bottom, big, little, color words, more, my turn, numbers, etc.
Next, this Piggy Bank toy from Fisher Price is extremely popular in the speech room. This little toy does have a battery, and the pig will sing a couple of songs and make some sounds that kids find very entertaining. Words to target with this toy: piggy, oink oink, nose, open, close, put in, take out, colors, numbers, animal names, coins.
toolboxA set of tools provides lots of opportunities for communication and play. hammer, screwdriver, wrench, screw, nail, right here, in, out, turn, fix it, broken, bang bang, tap, help me, open, shut, that’s loud!, thank you
A tent is tons of fun. Talk about the parts of the tent – the door, the roof, the windows, inside, outside. Model phrases in play can I come in?, Is anybody home? knock knock, come out, hi, bye, open the door, close the door, can a teddy bear come in, etc.
Of course, gross motor activities are great for language building too. This balance board is fun for getting moving, pretending, and talking. Try pretending that you are on a skateboard or a ship. Try words and phrases like Whoa! stand up, don’t fall down, hold on, help me, up and down, back and forth, side to side, fun, scary. Other fun gross motor activities include playing with a ball, running a race, red light – green light.
An easel creates lots of great opportunities for language building. This easel has a roll of paper on one side perfect for painting, drawing, and coloring. The other side is magnetic and ideal for magnetic letters, magnetic gears, and other fun items. Practice writing and identifying letters, numbers, words, and shapes. Draw funny pictures and talk about it.
Here is a fun little house is great for pretend play and language-building. Where are you? Who is it? Where is the boy? On the roof, outside, go inside, shut the door, open the door, which door, turn the key, ring the doorbell, knock knock.
Another fun Melissa and Doug toy is this pizza-making kit. This pizza-making kit contains lots of opportunities for labeling items, pretending to service food, pretending to make pizzas, asking customers what type of pizza they like, following directions, and more. Add in a simple notebook and pencil for taking orders, and combine them with other pretend food or boxes you may have around.
Here are more…
Another great language-building toy is this set of toy animals. Name animals, and sort animals by color, size, parts, habitat, etc. Hide the animals and find them, These tiny animals are super versatile and great for endless imaginative play.
I also love the LIttle People Sets. Little People sets from Fisher Price are always a hit. With all of the moving parts, places to put animals and people in, on, next to, top, bottom, inside, and outside, there are really endless ways to model and encourage language.
Even though they are electronic/battery-operated, microphones and walkie-talkies require some verbal output from kids. Even the most reluctant communicators are usually interested in seeing if they can activate the microphone or walkie-talkies with their voices.
Next up are the ever-popular Magnatiles. Recommended for ages 3 and up, these are easy to manipulate and use to construct lots of cool structures.
Another great language-building toy is an interactive game like Frankie’s Food Truck. This one targets food names, shapes, turn-taking, following simple directions, and lots more.
There are so many great toys for language building. Although I didn’t include all of them here, I am always a fan of puzzles, simple ball games for playing catch and taking turns, coloring books, read-aloud books, and wordless picture books.
For some Christmas book suggestions on Christmas Themed books be sure to check out this blog post:
15 Great Christmas Stories for Kids
Also, for some ideas on board games that are fun for language-building, try the suggestions here:
Finally, for some ideas on using Wordless Picture Books, check out this blog post:
15 Amazing Wordless Picture Books
So, I hope this gives you some ideas for great toys to add to your shopping list.