Fall into Speech and Feeding Fun!
Fall Into Speech And Feeding Fun!
The leaves are falling, the air is crisp, and school is back in full swing. If you’re looking for engaging, autumn-inspired ways to support your child’s language, speech, and feeding skills at home, you’re in the right place! As a pediatric speech-language pathologist, I’m here to share creative and practical activities that blend seamlessly into your fall routines. Whether your child is working on building vocabulary, practicing clear speech sounds, or exploring new foods, this cozy season offers plenty of natural opportunities to help support progress outside of therapy.
Make Fall Sensory Bins
Sensory bins are one of my favorite activities for every season! They not only keep my kids engaged for long periods of time, but they also provide a ton of opportunities to elicit different speech sounds, promote overall vocabulary skills, and encourage requesting and commenting! They can also be used to help our picky eaters become more comfortable with new and different scents and textures!
What You’ll Need:
- Base filler: uncooked rice or pasta dyed in fall colors (orange, red, yellow, brown)
- Mini pumpkins (plastic or real)
- Leaves (fake or real)
- Small apples (real or toy)
- Acorns
- Scoops, spoons, mini baskets, and tongs
- Picture cards or mini objects for articulation/sound targets (e.g., items with /s/, /f/, /k/ sounds)
Optional for our kiddos who have feeding issues
- Cinnamon stick: adds smell and safe to explore
- Dried apple spices: safe way to explore apples in a different form
Don't Forget to MakeTime for Playing in the Leaves!
Speech and Language Goals:
- Articulation Practice: Hide small objects or picture cards with target sounds in the bin. Have your child find and say each word.
- Vocabulary Building: Introduce and describe fall-themed items (“bumpy,” “crunchy,” “smooth,” “round,” “orange,” etc.).
- For example, pick up an acorn and say “wow bumpy” “this acorn is bumpy” “feel this acorn… it is bumpy”. You can compare the bumpy acorn to soft leaves or a big pumpkin to a small pumpkin.
- Following Directions: Give multi-step commands like “Find a leaf and then scoop two apples.”
- Requesting & Commenting: Encourage functional language like “I want the scoop,” “Look! A pumpkin!” or “Can I have more?”
Spice it up to help feeding goals:
- Try adding real food textures like cinnamon sticks and dried apples to your sensory bin. Whole spices like nutmeg or cloves are great for introducing new smells, helping picky eaters get used to different scents in a fun, low-pressure way. You can even mix and match some of the items in the sensory bin to make it all edible if feeding is your only goal! (having an oats and/or cereal base, adding dried apples, spices, cinnamon sticks, coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds,fruit leather strips, soft dried cranberries or raisins, etc.)
It is important to supervise kids with this activity especially if they are younger and will be eating or putting things in their mouth!
Bake a Fall Treat Together
Who doesn’t love a tasty fall treat! Baking is a great way to get your picky eaters involved in a low pressure, fun experience. It is also an amazing way to target speech and language goals including: following directions, sequencing, and narration.
On a chilly fall evening, what is better than the smell of pumpkin, apple and cinnamon wafting from the oven. Whether it’s pumpkin bread, cookies, homemade granola or apple crisps, the list is endless. One simple and easy recipe I like to use is for “ghost cookies.”
Ghost Cookies are spooky Halloween treats made with graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows, and cookie dough, topped with candy eyeballs to give them a playful ghostly look. They are super easy to make and a fun, hands-on recipe to get kids involved in fall festivities. Whether you’re baking as a family or using them for a themed activity, ghost cookies offer plenty of opportunities to boost language skills, from following directions and naming ingredients to storytelling and describing spooky shapes. A perfect mix of tasty and educational!
Ghost Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- Graham cracker squares (one per cookie)
- Hershey’s chocolate bars, broken into squares
- Marshmallows
- Premade cookie dough (store‑bought, plain chocolate chip or sugar cookie style
- Candy eyeball sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat & prep
Set your oven to ~ 350 °F (175 °C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper - Layer base
Place one graham cracker square on each spot on your baking sheet (leave some space between).
On top of each graham cracker, place one or two small squares of Hershey’s chocolate (or whatever chocolate you like). - Add marshmallow
Put a marshmallow (whole or halved) on top of the chocolate. - Cover with cookie dough
Take a portion of premade cookie dough large enough to drape fully over the marshmallow (so the marshmallow + chocolate is underneath). Gently mold the dough over it, sealing the edges so marshmallow doesn’t ooze out too much. The dough should fully or mostly cover the marshmallow and chocolate. - Bake
Bake for about 12–15 minutes (or according to the directions on your premade dough) until the cookie dough is golden and cooked through. Watch carefully so the bottom doesn’t burn. - Add eyeball sprinkles
As soon as the cookies come out (while still hot and soft), gently press the candy eyeball sprinkles into the top of the cookie dough in positions where “eyes” make sense. If needed, you can use a little melted chocolate or frosting as glue to secure them. - Cool
Let cookies cool on the baking sheet so everything sets
Speech & Language Goals:
- Sequencing: “First we put the graham cracker down, then the chocolate.”
- Label ingredients: “chocolate,” “graham cracker,” “cookie dough.”
- Encourage narration: “What are we doing next?”
Feeding Goals:
- Exposure to smells and textures in a relaxed setting.
- Encourage tasting batter or new ingredients (with supervision!).
Bonus Tip: Let your child be the “chef” and assign simple tasks like pouring, stirring, or sprinkling — it builds confidence and curiosity about food!
Fall Craft Time: Make a Leaf Collage
Looking for a way to help get your kids exploring the outdoors while helping enrich their speech and language skills? This is the perfect fall craft for you! There is minimal prep involved, all you need is paper, markers, glue, and some real leaves! This activity is easily adaptable to a wide range of goals, from articulation and vocabulary to responding to “wh” questions and more. Simple setup, meaningful practice, and lots of fun!
Materials:
A sheet of paper or cardstock
Markers or crayons
Glue stick or liquid glue
- Real fallen leaves (collected outside by the child)
What to Do:
Draw a tree trunk and branches on the paper using markers or crayons.
Go on a mini leaf hunt outside and collect colorful, fallen leaves.
Glue the leaves onto the paper
Speech & Language Goals:
- Requesting materials: “I need glue,” “Can I have a leaf?”
- Answering “wh” questions: “Where did you find your leaf?” “What color is it?” “Why do leaves fall?” “When do leaves fall?”
- Follow 1–2–3 step directions: “Pick a red leaf, glue it at the top, and draw a circle”
- Use sentence starters: “I found a…” “My leaf is…”
- Articulation: saying a target sound every time you glue on a leaf.
Written by Christina Vitale
Speech/Language Pathologist