Easy Speech Therapy Ideas for End of the Year + Free Craft

End of the Year Speech Therapy Craft Ideas to Celebrate Progress

As a speech language pathologist, the end of the school year was always a great time to reinforce all the progress the students made throughout the year and crafts are such a fun way to do this! Engaging end-of-year craft activities in speech therapy sessions can offer a fun and effective way to review skills and concepts learned throughout the year.

These crafts can serve as tangible rewards and also help in setting goals for students to strive towards during their break.

Using crafts in our speech therapy sessions always allows our students to combine their artistic expressions with educational objectives – win win!

It is important to select crafts that will advance language skills, social interaction, and fine motor coordination.

In this post, we will review how to select educational crafts, review and provide our favorite resources for advancing language and social goals through crafts for younger students to high school students.

We will also cover some fun themed crafts and give some tips for implementing crafts in your therapy sessions!

Throughout this post you will find some of our favorite free crafts along with a special free end of the year speech therapy craft we made just for you!

Be sure to download our sand castle themed freebie below!

Key Takeaways

Craft activities enhance speech therapy by promoting skill review and goal setting.
Carefully selected crafts integrate educational themes and advance language development.
End-of-year crafts can reflect on progress and prepare students for continued growth.

Selecting the Perfect Craft

In our quest for the perfect end-of-the-year speech therapy craft, we considered several factors.

A fun craft is key to maintain engagement while addressing therapy goals.
It should be adaptable to suit different ages and skill levels, ensuring that all students can participate effectively.

Age Appropriateness:
Our selection must resonate with our students’ interests and be appropriate for their age group.

Therapeutic Relevance:
The activity must reinforce the speech and language goals we’ve targeted throughout the year.

Materials Required:

Construction paper
Glue
Scissors
Markers/Crayons
Decorative items (stickers, glitter, etc.)

Consideration	Objective
Flexibility	The craft must allow room for customization to cater to individual speech goals.
Motivation	It must be engaging enough to keep the students motivated until the end.
Complexity	The craft should be simple enough to not frustrate, yet challenging enough to be a great activity for skill development.

We should also ensure that we incorporate opportunities for students to practice their speech and language skills during the crafting process itself.

This could involve following multi-step directions, using descriptive language, or practicing specific speech sounds. Our crafts should be a reflections of the progress made throughout the year!

Incorporating Educational Themes

When we design our end-of-the-year speech therapy craft activities, it’s essential to integrate educational themes that reflect the time of year. By incorporating elements associated with the end of the school year and the onset of summer, we make our session not only enjoyable but also enriching.

Summer Vocabulary: We can introduce summer-themed vocabulary words through our crafts. For example, while creating a paper sun, we might explore words like scorching, breezy, and sunglasses. This approach helps students to engage with language relevant to the upcoming season. If you are looking for a highly rated summer homework bundle for your students to practice articulation, language and social skills, then check out our Summer Homework Bundle!

Summer Themes: Our craft sessions often include making items like farewell cards or countdown calendars, featuring summer motifs. We choose images like the sun, beach, and ice cream, providing a platform to discuss summer activities and anticipate the excitement of the season.

School Reflections: As we craft representations of the school building or classroom scenes, we encourage students to share their favorite memories. This not only aids in storytelling skills but also ensures that our therapy aligns with the sentiments of saying goodbye to another academic year.

We believe there is lots of value in reflection, so the freebie we created prompts students to think about their favorite school year memories, and reflect on the relationships they built.

End of School Year Celebration: Crafts can be designed to celebrate the accomplishments of the past year. We might make achievement ribbons or certificates, focusing on the language of celebration and achievement—honoring the hard work our students have put in.

Check out this list of End of School Year Activities to help you celebrate!

We blend these themes seamlessly into our craft activities, creating a holistic learning environment that acknowledges the significance of the time of year, while firmly embedding speech and language goals. Through careful planning, we ensure that our end-of-the-year activities are not only fun but provide a robust platform for educational development.

Advancing Language and Social Skills

In crafting end-of-year speech therapy sessions, we focus on activities and lesson plans that are tailored to the developmental levels and language targets of our students. We aim to provide engaging, age-appropriate projects that support the advancement of both language and social skills across different educational stages.

Activities for Younger Students

For younger students, interactive activities are a great way to foster both language and social skills.

Utilizing PBS Kids resources, we can integrate beloved characters into language activities that address WH- questions and basic spatial concepts.
Scavenger Hunts: Are a fun activity that encourages children to ask and answer questions and follow directions.
Interactive Books: Engage students in storytelling, boosting their narrative skills and vocabulary.

Here are some of our favorite crafts for younger students!

Summer Bucket List by Crafty Vee’s is a great craft for younger students to draw what they want to do over the summer!
FREE Snap! End of Year Picture for Speech Therapy by Teach Speech 365 is a highly rated, easy craft where students take a “snap shot” of their favorite speech memory from their year.

Lesson Plans for Elementary Students

We design lesson plans for elementary students with a dual purpose to improve language skills and enhance social interaction. At this age, we recommend the use of bulletin boards as a collaborative project where students can practice their English language art skills. This age should also focus on language therapy sessions that target games and role play in custom plans.

Here are some of our favorite end of the year crafts for elementary aged students!

Popcorn Speech Craftivity FREEBIE by Forever and a Mae is a fun articulation craft for the end of the year! Students make popcorn buckets and then can be prompted to highlight their favorite memories!
June Speech Lesson Plans (FREE) by Super Power Speech is a set of lesson plans, crafts and activities for the end of the year! These are great for elementary students.

Engaging Projects for Middle School

Middle school students enjoy projects that have real-world applications, bridging the gap between speech therapy life and everyday communication. Having students participate in debate teams is an activity that can incorporate crafts through creating a topic board, but also will help them learn to articulate their thoughts, respect turn taking and engage in persuasive speech.

Here are some end of the year projects for middle school aged students!

Strawberry Craft Writing Bulletin Board End of the Year by Michelle Griffo from Apples and ABC’s is a template to create a bulletin board with a strawberry end of the year theme! This is great for elementary and middle school students.
Goal Setting Craft and Writing Activity by Melissa Sidebotham is an activity and craft that gets students thinking about their future goals and the ones they have already accomplished.

High School Students’ Speech Therapy

High school students benefit from a more sophisticated approach that can also integrate occupational therapy and physical therapy.

Here are some highly recommended crafts and projects for high school aged students!

End-of-the-Year Time Capsule Activity FREEBIE by The Language of Educational Art is a worksheets, activity and craft to prompt students to reflect on the last day of the year.
FREEBIE Summer Writing Craft by Tech Teach Create is an end of the school year, engaging writing crafting for middle and high school students!

Creating a Theme Schedule

At the end of the school year, we focus on integrating engaging themes into our speech therapy sessions. This approach helps us maintain student interest and celebrate their progress.

Spring and Summer Speech Therapy

Spring is a great time to introduce new thematic activities. We can use spring crafts to target speech goals while embracing the season. Check out our list of over 285 Spring Themed Activities for Speech Therapy!

As summer approaches, we shift to summer speech themes. We have compiled a list of Ocean Themed Speech Therapy Ideas, as well as Nature Themed Speech Therapy Activities. Both would be perfect for your summer themed sessions!

Speech Therapy Activities Throughout the School Year

For consistent engagement, we maintain a theme schedule throughout the year:

Month	Theme	Activity Example
September	Back-to-School	School-themed vocabulary games
October	Fall/Halloween	Pumpkin decorating for following directions
November	Thanksgiving	Thankful lists for expressive language
December	Winter Holidays	Holiday narratives for sequencing
January	Winter	Snowman-building for social interactions
February	Valentine’s Day	Heart crafts for fine motor coordination
March	Spring	Plant life cycle for new vocab
April	Earth Day	Recycling activities for categorization
May	Transition/Summer Readiness	Practice for summer break routines
June	End-of-Year Party	Celebration games for group communication

The end-of-year party provides a perfect time to engage in end-of-year speech therapy activities that review the year’s work and look forward to the vacation ahead.

Check out the fun craft freebie below that prompts students to reflect on their year, while also building excitement for summer!

FOR YOU! At Speech Therapy Store, we love some great themes! Check out all of our Seasonal Blog Posts! We have comprehensive lists and freebies for everything from first day of school and all about me free activity, 250+ of the Best Fall Speech Therapy Activities, the best valentines day crafts, to weather themed speech therapy ideas and even St. Patricks Day Activities!

Integrating Speech and Language Goals

When we create end-of-year speech therapy crafts, our main objective is to reinforce our students’ speech and language goals in an engaging manner. It’s important that the crafts specifically target areas they need to improve, such as articulation of speech sounds or vocabulary development.

Using Target Words in Speech Crafts

We use crafts as a fun and hands-on way to practice target words. Target words are chosen based on the individual language goals of our students, which might include expanding vocabulary, mastering specific speech sounds, or improving sentence structure. Here’s how we integrate these targets into our craft activities:

Selection of Target Words: We carefully select words that align with the speech sounds or language goals our students are working on. For example, if a student’s goal is to work on the /s/ sound, we might choose words like “snow,” “sled,” or “scarf” for a winter-themed craft.
Repetition in Context: As our students craft, we encourage them to say their target words multiple times. Repetition in the context of a meaningful activity helps solidify the word and its correct pronunciation.
Visual and Tactile Cues: Visual aids, such as pictures of the target words, can be incorporated into the crafts. We might also use tactile cues, such as textured materials, to help students connect the physical sensation of creating the craft with the speech sounds they produce.
Practicing Target Speech Sound: We might design a craft that allows multiple opportunities for students to practice a particular sound. If the goal is the /r/ sound, our craft might include creating a rocket or a robot, with the student practicing the sound each time they add a part to their craft.

Session Planning and Materials

As we approach the year’s end, it’s critical that our speech therapy sessions are engaging and festive. By incorporating a craft activity, we can ensure our students remain motivated while targeting speech goals. Below is a guide on how to plan these sessions and what materials we need:

Lesson Plans
We always begin by outlining our lesson plans. These plans should align with the goals for each student and integrate the craft activity effectively. Here are some lesson plan Ideas and Templates!

Materials Needed:

Paper (various colors)
Safety scissors
Glue sticks
Markers/Crayons
Sequins or stickers for decoration
Printed speech targets (words, phrases)

Steps for Integration:

Select a craft that correlates with speech targets.
Prepare a step-by-step visual guide.
Gather all necessary materials beforehand.

Visual Schedule
Creating a visual schedule that breaks down the session into segments can facilitate a smoother transition between activities. Ensure it is placed where all students can see it. Check out this free visual schedule with directions on how to use visual schedules!

Remember, the key to a successful end-of-the-year speech therapy craft session is preparation and adaptability. By having our materials ready and a clear plan in place, we set the stage for an enjoyable and therapeutic experience for our students.

Crafts as Therapy Tools

Crafting can be an integral component of speech therapy sessions, serving as a versatile medium to reinforce language skills and facilitate engagement. We use these creative activities as both a method to assist in achieving therapeutic goals and a delightful way for children to end their sessions.

Therapeutic Crafting Techniques

Materials Selection: We carefully select materials that are safe, age-appropriate, and conducive to our speech therapy objectives. Our choices are often colorful and tactile to enhance sensory experiences.

Visual Aids: We incorporate visual prompts in our crafts to help children understand and remember key concepts and vocabulary.
Step-by-Step Instructions: Simple instructions are broken down into clear, manageable steps to support language comprehension and executive functioning skills.

Encouraging Communication: Through crafting, we stimulate dialogue by:

Asking open-ended questions related to the craft.
Encouraging discussions about colors, shapes, and procedures.
Promoting use of specific language structures and vocabulary during the crafting process.

The Utility of Simple Crafts

Simplicity and Efficiency: A simple craft is often the perfect way to conclude sessions. It doesn’t overwhelm the child yet functions effectively as a therapeutic tool.

Reinforcement of Goals: We select crafts that align with the specific objectives of speech and language therapy sessions, ensuring the activity is not only enjoyable but also therapeutically relevant.
Examples of Simple Crafts: Bookmarks, picture frames, and paper masks are great ideas for simple crafts that can be completed by the end of the session, providing a tangible reward for the child’s effort.

Incorporating crafts into speech therapy and language therapy sessions allows us to enrich the therapeutic experience. By doing so, we create an environment that is conducive to learning, while ensuring that each activity is purposeful and targeted to the child’s individual needs.

Tips for Successfully Implementing Therapy Crafts

When we approach therapy crafts at the end of the year, we want to package our sessions in a nice little bundle of productivity and fun. Here are some strategies to help us achieve that:

Plan Ahead: We always start with a clear plan. Knowing our goals for each session helps us tailor the craft activity to meet specific therapeutic outcomes.
Personalize: We make the craft resonate with our client’s favorite things. Personalization increases engagement and makes the activity more meaningful.
Simplicity is Key: It’s not about complexity; a great idea is often a simple one. We ensure crafts are manageable to avoid frustration and facilitate a sense of accomplishment.
Incorporate Variety: We mix up the types of crafts to keep things fresh. This prevents our clients from growing bored with repetitive activities.
Focus on the Process: We emphasize that the craft itself is not the perfect way to an endpoint; it’s a tool we use for speech development. It’s about the journey, not just the finished product.
Encourage Creativity: While we guide our clients, we’re careful not to dominate. We foster a space where they feel free to express themselves.
Functional Materials: We choose materials that serve a dual purpose, such as items that require manipulation to promote fine motor skills alongside speech goals.
Feedback: After crafting, we discuss what we’ve made. This reflection solidifies new vocabulary and concepts.
Safety First: The last thing we want is an unsafe environment. We ensure all materials are age-appropriate and supervise usage closely.

Following these tips helps us close the year with activities that are both beneficial and enjoyable for our clients.

Conclusion

We love to use themed crafts throughout the year, but end of the year crafts specifically are a great way to keep students engaged and purposefully target concepts they have learned during the year.

Below you will find a free, end of the year speech therapy craft that prompts students to reflect on their year and relationships while building a sand castle.

We hope that your end of the year activities go smoothly and are a time of reflection and success for you and your students!

GRAB YOUR FREE END OF THE YEAR SAND CASTLE CRAFT HERE!

Frequently Asked Questions: End of the Year Speech Therapy Craft

In this section, we outline some common inquiries about end-of-the-year speech therapy crafts, with answers to help you find creative and reflective activities for your students.

What are some engaging speech therapy crafts for preschoolers to close out the school year?

For preschoolers, we recommend crafts like “speech bubbles,” where children can decorate paper bubbles and practice saying words they’ve learned throughout the year. Another hit is “Phoneme Flowers,” where each petal represents different sounds they’ve mastered.

Where can I find free resources for end-of-year speech therapy activities?

Free resources are abundant online. Websites such as Teachers Pay Teachers offer a variety of free downloads, and speech therapy blogs often share end-of-year activities. Always ensure that any free resource is downloaded from a reputable source.

Can you recommend some printable craft activities for speech therapy sessions?

We suggest using printables like “Articulation Badges,” which children can color and wear to celebrate sounds they’ve learned. Another option is “Pronunciation Pathways,” a board game-style printable that reviews various speech goals.

How can speech therapy crafts help in reviewing the year’s curriculum?

Speech therapy crafts can be tailored to review specific goals. For example, creating a “Year in Review” book allows students to illustrate and write about key concepts they’ve learned, reinforcing their language skills and retaining the curriculum content.

What end-of-year speech therapy crafts are suitable for a group setting?

Group crafts like a “Speech Skills Tree,” where each student adds a leaf with a target word or skill, or a collaborative speech sounds mural, can foster team spirit and allow for a collective review of the year’s achievements.

Are there any speech therapy craft activities that also serve as keepsakes for students?

Yes, activities such as “My Speech Journey” bracelets, where each bead represents a milestone.

Want Even More Lesson Plans for Speech Therapy?

Want the Best of the Bests?

Be sure to check out our most popular posts below!