Making Winter and the Holidays Communicative
The holidays are full of excitement, family traditions, and special moments. They’re also a great time to support communication and connection.
Communication happens all day long, not just during therapy or structured activities. It happens while decorating cookies, looking at holiday lights, opening gifts, sharing meals, and spending time with loved ones.
For children who use AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication), being included in these moments is just as important as participating in the activities themselves. The good news? You don’t need extra materials or special planning.
Tips for Communication Partnersđź”—
When practicing these skills, keep these strategies in mind!
- Model Speech Device Use: Use the speech device yourself to demonstrate its use. Say the word out loud as you select the icon on the device. Take time to explore the device together! This can be a learning opportunity for everyone.
- Patience Is Key: Understand that communicating with a speech device takes time. Encourage communication by pausing and providing time for the user to respond during the conversation.
- Stay Flexible & Have Fun: During the school break, emphasize having fun! Incorporate device use and modeling during motivating activities.
- Encourage Choice-Making: Offer choices instead of yes/no questions to encourage communication. Example: “Would you like hot chocolate or apple cider?” instead of “Do you want a drink?”
- Be Consistent: Model on the device throughout the day with different activities. Language learning takes time!
- Celebrate All Attempts: Acknowledge and praise all efforts to communicate, even if the message isn’t clear initially. This builds confidence and encourages further communication attempts.
- Program Winter Vocabulary: Add your child’s favorite winter vocabulary to the device! Practice asking for favorite holiday food and drinks, singing holidays songs, or identifying winter vocabulary in the environment.
- Expand Communication Partners: We encourage families to invite extended family and friends to become a part of the AAC experience. By including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins as communication partners, you can create a more inclusive, supportive environment for your speech device user.
Activities for Winter Breakđź”—
Try out these activities to keep the conversation going during winter break!
Holiday Scavenger Huntđź”—
Organize a scavenger hunt using our Scavenger Hunt handout! Provide clues on the device or use the device to label winter vocabulary that you find.
Holiday Song Sing-Alongđź”—
Use the device to participate in singing or reciting holiday songs. Use this verbal routine to allow the user to fill-in words (e.g. Jingle All the ____), providing ample processing time.
Hide and Seekđź”—
Play a modified game of hide and seek with toys. Hide a toy and ask the speech device user, “Is it here?”, or “Is it there?” focusing on yes/ no and object locations. They can choose where to search next by identifying locations on the device. For more advanced users, select words such as over, under, behind, etc.
Holiday Simon Saysđź”—
Play a festive round of “Simon Says” using the speech device, with holiday-themed instructions like “Simon says, stand tall like a Christmas tree.” This fun adaptation encourages speech device interaction and brings holiday cheer to the classic game.
Obstacle Courseđź”—
Set up an indoor obstacle course. Practice verbal routines such as “ready, set… go!” when starting the course. Give simple instructions on the device such as “stop, go, fast, slow, jump, crawl, etc.” Take turns completing the course and giving instructions so the user has a chance to explore the device.
Express Gratitude with the Speech Deviceđź”—
Have each family member use the speech device to express what they are thankful for. Practice saying “thank you” on the device after receiving a gift!
Practice Greetingsđź”—
As family or friends come to visit, practice saying “hi” and “bye” on the speech device. Try having your guests model on the device, as well as having the user select the icons!
Make Hot Chocolateđź”—
Help the device user make some hot chocolate and talk about the steps to make it and the ingredients you are using. Model the above words on their device. Talk about if you like it/don’t like it and if it is “yummy/good.”
Snowman Craftđź”—
Cut out 3 circles for the snowman’s body. You can cut out some accessories for the snowman including a hat, scarf, and nose or you can draw these on using markers/crayons. Talk about his body parts and the clothing you can put or draw on him.
Vocabulary to Modelđź”—
Rest assured, there’s no need to model an entire sentence on the device. As you talk, try selecting one or two important words. These small moments make a big difference. To help get you started, try the examples below, modeling the capitalized words.
Visiting a Winter Character (e.g., Santa, Grinch, reindeer)
Focus Words: hi/hello, I, want, go, up, down, stop, like, not, you, on, off, good, feel, funny, reindeer, big, scary
What to Model:
- “HI, Santa!”
- “Do you want to go UP?”
- “Do you want to come DOWN?”
- “That’s a big REINDEER!”
- “Do you LIKE it?”
Making a Gingerbread House
Focus Words: put, on, take off, more, yummy, colors, candy, cookie, smell, eat, don’t eat, sticky, help
What to Model
- “Let’s add more CANDY.”
- “This smells YUMMY.”
- “It’s STICKY!”
- “Do you need HELP?”
Looking at Light Displays
Focus Words: look, see, wow, like, love it, too loud, more, again, that, watch, fast, slow, good, amazing, lights
What to Model
- “WOW! LOOK at that!”
- “I LOVE these LIGHTS.”
- “Do you LIKE these LIGHTS?”
- “Those LIGHTS are AMAZING.”
Cookie Decorating
Focus Words: in, out, on, off, put, more, stop, all done/finished, yummy, silly/funny, help, eat, cookie, my turn, your turn, good, not, later, again
What to Model
- “Let’s put MORE frosting on.”
- “MY TURN!”
- “YOUR TURN!”
- “That looks YUMMY.”
- “Let’s do another COOKIE.”
Going on a Sleigh Ride
Focus Words: go, stop, look, up, down, more, like, not, want, fast, slow, cold, fun
What to Model
- “We’re going FAST!”
- “It’s COLD outside.”
- “This is FUN!”
- “Do you WANT to keep GOing?”
Lighting the Menorah
Focus Words: look, light, go, more, stop, all done, beautiful, numbers, see, colors, on
What to Model
- “Do you like all the COLORS?”
- “Look at the LIGHTS.”
- “The candles are BEAUTIFUL.”
- “HOW MANY candles are lit?”
Playing Dreidel
Focus Words: put in, spin, go, stop, all, none, you, your, my, turn, again
What to Model
- “Do you want to play AGAIN?”
- “SPIN the dreidel!”
- “MY TURN.”
- “YOUR TURN.”
Giving Gelt
Focus Words: give, get, more, all done, happy, thank you, money, share
What to Model
- “That makes me HAPPY.”
- “THANK YOU!”
- “Do you want to SHARE?”
- “You got MONEY!”
Lighting the Kinara
Focus Words: look, light, colors, more, stop, all done, beautiful, numbers, on
What to Model
- “Let’s LIGHT another one.”
- “Look at the LIGHTS.”
- “The COLORS are BEAUTIFUL.”
- “HOW MANY candles are lit?”
Communal Feast (Karamu)
Focus Words: eat, drink, food, together, family, more, yummy, all done, thank you, happy
What to Model
- “Being with our FAMILY makes me HAPPY.”
- “It’s fun when we all get to EAT TOGETHER.”
- “This food is YUMMY.”
Holiday and Winter Booksđź”—
Reading together is another great way to model language and incorporate your device. Here are some book recommendations and tips for reading!
Vocabulary: read, book, turn the page, let’s read again, I like, I don’t like.
Winter (Non-Holiday Specific)
- Sneezy the Snowman
- Pete the Cat: Snow Daze
- The Snow Thief
- Why I Love Winter
- The Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow
- The Mitten
Hanukkah
- The Night Before Hanukkah
- Biscuit’s Hanukkah
- Clifford Celebrates Hanukkah
- Hanukkah Pajamakkahs
Kwanzaa
- Kevin’s Kwanzaa
- The Night Before Kwanzaa
- My Family Celebrates Kwanzaa
- Celebrate the World: Kwanzaa
- Soulful Holidays
Christmas
- Pete the Cat Saves Christmas
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- All Aboard the Christmas Train
- The Polar Express
- If You Take a Mouse to the Movies
- Pete the Cat’s Twelve Groovy Days of Christmas
Happy Holidays!đź”—
Save these activities or share them with your family by downloading them below!
