STEM has us so excited at South Florida Speech Solutions. Why may you ask? Because language is at the center of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) curriculums. Teachers are requiring kids to not only provide the result, but also the “why” and “how” of their conclusion.

When they solve a math word problem, they record in their math journal what worked, what didn’t, and why. This push for building STEM skills inspired me to implement some great new products in my speech therapy sessions.

Yesterday, new PAL Award winner, “Clifford the Big Red Dog Animal Science” came along with me to a speech therapy session with a 5-year-old boy who is in the carryover stage of articulation therapy. I could have just as easily worked on language goals with all the talking that evolved from using this kit. We loved talking our way through the experiments, making edible play dough to form our animal tracks and using the little animal figures to learn about what they eat. Kids learn some great vocabulary along the way that might just be coordinated with a science unit for language delayed kids.

The Young Scientists Club invites children 3 and up to join Clifford the Big Red Dog and pal Emily to perform 14 fun experiments, learning about animal science. Not only do kids learn the language of general science like lab tray, measuring, and magnifying - but also the vocabulary specific to animal studies, such as: habitats, animal tracks, fossils, bugs, camouflage, life cycle, carnivores and more.

What do you see in the habitat? Is it wet or dry? This is followed by an “Explanation” section that provides parents with great topics for further discussion located at the bottom of the activity page. My little friends loved the activities which included putting reusable stickers on the window of the 6 habitats, while placing associated animals in them, mixing and making edible play dough to cast an animal track, creating their own fossils, hiding cut-out animals for camouflage hide and seek, discovering the inside of an egg, making a bird feeder and even a habitat diorama.

Most of the props and ingredients are included in the box, which makes moms very happy. After a few experiments, my friend declared, “I want to do more science!” That immediately made my day!

A fun, interactive, and educational way to learn language skills by incorporating new concepts and vocabulary, making predictions, and observing changes through experiments. Sign me up!

Curious about how we incorporate STEM and other fun and interesting games into our speech therapy sessions? Contact us today or send us an email now at info@southflspeech.com and make sure to share this with your friends.