The other day I arrived at a preschool  armed with a bag of assorted activities.  As my young friend and I began our work several peers joined our group.  One little girl began to stash the blocks we were using in her pockets.  Soon all of the children were following her lead. Suddenly an impromptu activity of putting blocks in pockets developed into an excellent opportunity for multiple articulation and language activities.  We talked about locations using prepositions (in the pockets, out of the pockets, on the floor, under the table), pronouns. (he, she, we, they), practiced speech sounds (block, pocket, etc.) and had multiple opportunities for peer interactions.What began as a more traditional session evolved into a very rich speech and language experience that was truly meaningful to my client, as well as the classmates.

Later that day another unexpected opportunity arose.  I had promised one of my clients that I would bring my running shoes to school so that I could run on the playground.

As Joel and I ran around the playground we were instantly joined by several other children.  Within minutes we were engaged in an activity that offered a myriad of speech and language opportunities.  I suggested running courses that involved following  multi-step directions containing prepositions (e.g. under the slide, around the swings, between the balls) and sequencing (e.g. first run behind the house, then jump over the log).  We easily incorporated target sounds into our activities.  Joel is working on /l/ sounds so we added directions that included the ladder,slide, little ball, etc.. We talked about who was doing what (e.g. She is jumping over the bucket) and many opportunities for social language arose, including using words to inform, control, inquire, negotiate, and imagine.

Both of these experiences reinforced how work on speech and language skills can occur in any setting.  With  awareness of specific target goals it is easy to quickly alter an activity and insert opportunities for practice on specific sounds or words into an already enjoyable event. Although there is clearly a place for more clinical therapy work, I do believe these types of play activities are especially powerful because they automatically provide an opportunity for transfer to everyday life.  Have fun!