Happy Spring! And Happy Easter! And Happy Winter Is Almost Over! We have a big Easter party coming up. My Grandpa Schafer throws a mean Easter party. It is one of my favorite family traditions. All of my aunts, uncles, cousins get together for an always competitive shin dig. I always dye the most beautiful eggs and I always find the most eggs. My grandpa says so.

This year the boys and I thought we would make some Easter treats to hand out in the baskets. And to put a little spin on things, I am going to make this super easy and affordable Spring/Easter craft into a speech and language project for you to do at home (or if you are a speech therapist, in your office). Let’s get started!

Here is what you will need:
Clothes pins
Plastic Bags (sandwich size)
Pipe Cleaners
Markers
Googly eyes and glue (this part isn’t necessary but it makes them super cute)
Candy!

We started by coloring the clothes pins. I just left the clothes pins all clipped together and Hank colored them like it was one big canvas. He thought it was great. We would still be coloring next Tuesday if we did one at a time.

Now take a break. Eat some candy. Stop the baby from eating dog food. Normal stuff.

Next we took a cup and scooped candy in our baggies. I had these cute ones from Hobby Lobby, but any old bag would do. Then we pinched the middle, gave the bag a twist, and clipped on our clothes pin. Add pipe cleaners and eyes and wah lah! Butterfly treats for all!

 

Wanting to make this into a speech or language activity? Here ya go!

Working on sounds in the beginning, middle, or end of words? The sounds “b,” “p,” and “m” are the easiest sounds for little mouths to make. Even if your little one isn’t quite making the sounds yet just hearing you say the sounds over and over again will increase their chances of production!

Beginning:  Bug, Butterfly, Buzz, Pinch (clothes pins), Push (0n eyes), Bag, Marker

Middle:  Scooping (candy), Open (the bag and clothes pin), Table, Purple, Jelly bean, Clothes pin, Yummy, Flapping (wings)

End:  Cup, Scoop, Clip (on the clothes pin), Top (color the top side), Glob (of glue), Pipe (cleaner), Zip (the bag)

If you are wanting to incorporate language into this activity, here are a few ideas:
– Work on following directions. Give one step at a time. If your kiddo has trouble with following basic directions, have them repeat the direction back to you. Keep the direction simple, i.e. “Find the green marker and color the clothespins. What are you going to do?”
– Work on positional and directional words, such as “on,” “off,” “in,” “out,” “open,” and “close.”
– Work on learning colors. Talk about the colors of your markers, candies, and pipe cleaners.

Wasn’t that fun?  I love craft time.  Especially if speech, language, and butterflies are involved.