10 Fun At-Home Speech Exercises for Kids

Simple, playful ways to build communication skills every day

Speech therapy doesn’t have to stop at the clinic. In fact, some of the best progress happens during everyday moments at home! Whether your child is working on articulation, language development, or fluency, these 10 fun and easy speech exercises can be done at home—no fancy tools required.

1. Sound Hunt

Pick a target sound (like “S” or “B”) and go on a scavenger hunt around the house. Find items that start with that sound and say them out loud together.

Example: For the “B” sound—ball, book, banana, blanket.

2. Mirror Time

Sit in front of a mirror with your child and practice saying sounds or words while watching how your mouths move. This builds awareness of tongue and lip placement.

Great for articulation practice (like L, R, TH.)

3. Animal Sound Game

Mimic animal sounds and encourage your child to repeat them. Add in actions to make it even more fun.

“The cow says moo!” → “Can you say moo too?”

4. Sing It Out

Sing songs that have repetitive phrases and rhymes like Old MacDonald, Wheels on the Bus, or Itsy Bitsy Spider. Pause and let your child fill in the blanks.

This builds language prediction and memory skills.

5. Picture Descriptions

Grab a favorite picture book and ask your child to describe what they see. Prompt with questions like:

“What’s happening here?” “What color is that?” “What are they doing?”

6. Mealtime Chatter

Turn dinner into a language-rich moment. Talk about the food (color, shape, taste), or describe what everyone did that day. Use complete sentences and encourage your child to do the same.

7. Build and Describe

Use blocks or LEGO to build something together. Then have your child describe what they made using action words, size words, and location words.

“It’s a big red tower with a green door on top!”

8. Silly Sound Faces

Make funny faces and silly sounds together! This is great for oral motor awareness and helps loosen up the muscles needed for speech.

9. Role-Play Time

Pretend play helps with narrative and conversational skills. Act out scenes like “going to the doctor” or “buying groceries” and take turns being different characters.

10. Bake and Talk

Baking together is packed with language opportunities: sequencing (“first we add…”), vocabulary (“whisk,” “pour”), and following directions.

Tips for Success:

• Keep it playful – Kids learn best when they’re having fun.

• Model, don’t pressure – If your child doesn’t respond right away, that’s okay. Just keep modeling clear speech.

• Repeat and expand – If they say “car,” you can say, “Yes, a blue car is going fast!”

Final Thoughts

Speech practice doesn’t have to feel like homework. With these simple, fun ideas, you can turn everyday routines into powerful language-building moments. Whether your child is in therapy or just needs a little boost, consistency and encouragement go a long way.