Welcome to our blog on the innovative use of toy farms in play-based articulation speech therapy!
As a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), you are always seeking engaging and effective methods to help children develop their speech and language skills. The toy farm, with its array of animals and possible play scenarios, offers a rich, interactive environment perfect for fostering articulation practice in a fun and natural way.
In this post, we'll explore how to use a toy farm into your therapy sessions can enhance children's engagement and boost their motivation!
Let's dive into the possibilities that this playful approach with this popular speech therapy toy brings to your therapy toolkit.
Through a variety of different play activities, such as feeding, sleeping, brushing, and tending to the animals, you can target a huge variety of target words! Here is a huge list of ideas, including elicitation ideas for each word. Remember to choose words that suit your client best!
W Word List for Farm
WAY: Move the animals out of the way of the other animals.
WHOA: Race the animals. Say, “whoa” if the animals go too fast!
WHITE: Point out the white spots on the animals.
WALK: Walk the animals and talk about what they’re doing.
M Word List for Farm
MOO: Make the cow say, “moo”.
FARM: Say, "farm” each time you put an animal in the barn.
YUM: Feed the animals and say, “yum” when they’re eating.
MUD: Draw mud with a washable marker. Ask the child what it is.
N Word List for Farm
NIGHT-NIGHT: Put the animals to bed and say, “night-night”.
ONE: Ask the child if there is one or two of an animal.
ON: Put the rooster on the fence and say, “on" each time.
IN: Put the animals in the barn and say, “in” each time.
P Word List for Farm
PIG: Label the pig and ask questions like, “who says oink?’
SHEEP: Label the sheep and ask questions like, “who says baa?”
UP: Lift the animals up out of the barn. Say, “up” each time.
PUT: Put the animals to sleep. Say, “put” each time.
B Word List for Farm
BARN: Say, “barn" each time you put an animal in the barn.
BAA: Make the sheep say, “baa”.
BIG: Talk about which animals are big.
BROWN: Find all the brown animals.
T Word List for Farm
OUT: Take the animals out of the barn and say, “out” each time.
WHITE: Find animals with white on them. Label the colour.
EATING: Feed the animals. Ask the child what the animal is doing.
TWO: Count the eyes and ears of the animals.
D Word List for Farm
DIRTY: Make some animals dirty by drawing mud with a washable marker. Ask the child which animals are dirty.
FEED: Feed the animals. Ask the child what you are doing.
DOOR: Open the door to put the animals in.
HIDE: Hide the animals in the barn. Say, "hide" as you hide them.
F Word List for Farm
FEED: Feed the animals. Ask the child what you are doing.
FOOD: Give food to each animal. Complete the phrase, “give them _____."
OFF: Put animals on the top of the barn and then knock them off. Say, "off" before you knock them off.
V Word List for Farm
VEGETABLE: Pretend to feed vegetables to the animals.
VET: Pretend to be a vet and give the animals their shots.
SHOVEL: Pretend to shovel grain for the animals to eat.
MOVE: Move the animals from the field into the barn.
S Word List for Farm
SLEEP: Put the animals to sleep. Ask what the animal is doing.
FAST: Make the animals run fast (bonus - make them run SLOW!).
HORSE: Label the horse each time you play with it.
SEE: Hide the animals in the barn. Say, “see” when you find one.
Z Word List for Farm
ANIMALS: Talk about the animals at the farm.
FUZZY: Sort the animals into fuzzy and not fuzzy categories.
SEEDS: Pretend to feed seeds to the animals. Ask what you are feeding.
NOSE: Point to the nose of each animal. Label as you point.
K Word List for Farm
OINK: Make the pig say, “oink”.
COW: Label the cow each time you play with it.
WALK: Walk the animals and talk about what they’re doing.
WAKE: Say, “wake up” to the sleeping animals.
G Word List for Farm
GO: There’s a storm coming! Say, “go” as you get the animals in the barn.
PIG: Label the pig each time you play with it.
GOAT: Label the goat each time you play with it.
J Word List for Farm
VEGETABLE: Pretend to feed vegetables to the animals. Ask what you are feeding! BONUS: Cabbage is a vegetable with this sound!
JUG: Use a jug to give the animals water. Say, “jug” while you pour.
JUMP: Walk the animals and talk about what they’re doing.
JOB: Give the farmer different jobs to do around the barn.
SH Word List for Farm
SHOVEL: Pretend to shovel grain for the animals to eat.
SHEEP: Label the sheep and ask questions like “who says baa?”.
WASH: Pretend to wash the animals. Model wash while doing so.
BRUSH: Pretend to brush the animals. Model brush while doing so.
CH Word List for Farm
CHICK: Label the chick and ask questions like, “who says cheep?”
CHASE: Have the farmer chase a loose animal!
CHORES: Give the farmer different chores to do around the barn.
PASTURE: Set the animals out to pasture to eat.
L Word List for Farm
SLEEP: Put the animals to sleep.
LOOK: Hide animals around the barn and look for them.
LAY: Lay the animals down to sleep. Say, “lay down” each time. PAIL: Use a pail to feed the animals. Fill in the blank, “take food out of the _______.”
R Word List for Farm
BARN: Say, “barn” each time you put an animal in the barn.
RED: Talk about the colour of the barn.
HORSE: Label the horse each time you play with it.
FARMER: Ask questions like, “who feeds the animals?”
TH Word List for Farm
BATH: Give the farm dog a bath.
THERE: Ask the child where to put the farm animal.
MOTHER: Find the mother of each animal.
FATHER: Find the father of each animal.
H Word List for Farm
HAY: Feed the animals some hay.
HERE: Put the animals here and there.
HELP: Help the farmer take care of the animals.
HORSE: Label the horse each time you play with it.
Incorporating a toy farm into play-based articulation speech therapy is a game-changer for pediatric SLPs. This creative and dynamic tool not only captivates children's attention but also provides numerous opportunities for targeted speech practice in a natural and enjoyable setting. By utilizing the various elements of the toy farm, you can create a therapeutic environment that is both effective and fun, making each session something children look forward to.
Embrace the power of play and watch as your young clients make remarkable strides in their articulation skills. Don't miss out on this innovative approach—bring the farm into your therapy sessions and witness the positive impact on your clients' speech development.
Want a copy of these ideas (and more!)?
Includes the Farm Toy Cheat Sheet AND the K unit! The K unit includes a K word list, low prep activity ideas with detailed instructions, dramatic play ideas, gross motor ideas, fine motor ideas, and game/toy/books/songs suggestions!
