I remember the following quote like it was yesterday, “Erik, you’re just too loud in speech therapy.”
Ummm what?! Ugh!
The person who said that to me shall remain nameless, but let’s just say that the nameless person was one of the most boring educators I have ever met in my entire life. I simply can’t help it that I have an insatiable appetite for wacky speech therapy and sometimes wacky speech therapy can get a bit loud. Big deal!
But ya know what? I know that I am not the only speech-language pathologist that likes to get a bit wacky and loud from time to time. I know you do, too! That’s exactly why I wanted to share with you some of my favorite loud and wacky speech therapy ideas – these will bring out your inner wacky in no time. I am giving you full permission to let loose and have fun all in the name of helping your students grow and mature as fabulous communicators.
1. Wacky stuff!
Have your students play catch with something wacky — shoes, books, etc. Anything but a ball! Encourage them to describe (in a wacky voice, of course) the way the wacky objects feel.
2. Wacky race!
Have your students participate in a three-legged wacky race down the hallway of your school. Encourage them to use teamwork and positive words during the competition. Oh, and ask them to make wacky faces as they are racing!
3. Wacky ABCs!
Have your students try to say the alphabet . . . backwards! Now if that isn’t wacky, I just don’t know what it! Encourage them to explain to you why it was so tricky for them. (WARNING: the laughter from this activity could get REALLY loud, haha!)
4. Wacky zombies!
Have your students pretend that they are zombies. Encourage them to walk very slowly around the room, drag their feet, moan, and occasionally try to eat your BRAIN! But here is the wacky part, they can’t be human zombies . . . they have to be ANIMAL ZOMBIES! How about a cow zombie? Or a bird zombie? Or even a pig zombie? Ask them to describe what they think their animal zombie’s day would be like. On a wacky scale of 1 to 10, this activity comes in at a whopping 11.
In closing . . .
The best speech-language pathologists are the loud ones who aren’t afraid to invent and reinvent wacky speech therapy ideas. Trash your speech therapy room, play with boogers, and have a BLAST! I pray that my ideas can magically spark unexpected creative explosions in your mind. I invite you to mash up and remix my ideas to create newer and cooler ones (I know you can do it!).
So what are you waiting for? Be wacky. Be loud. And be the best darn speech-language pathologist you can be.
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.