Fruits and Vegetables: A Pear-fect Theme for Berry Fun Speech Therapy!

Kids love food! While it may be true that junk food tops that list, it’s great for kids to learn about healthy eating! A fruit and vegetable theme in speech therapy can not only provide this opportunity, but they can also be a fun and effective way to work on speech and language as well. Check out some of my favorite ways to target goals while learning about healthy eating!

Books

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle 

2. Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert 

3. Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins 

4. Fruit Bowl by Mark Hoffmann 

5. Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett 

6. Rah, Rah, Radishes! A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre 

7. Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey 

8. Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn 

9. How Are You Peeling? Foods with Moods by Saxton Freymann 

10. Oliver's Vegetables by Vivian French 

Games

1. Fruit and Veggie Bingo – Go grab this Fruit & Veggie Bingo game! Bingo is a game almost any child can play. This version includes beautiful photos that will provide a perfect opportunity for language/vocabulary expansion; categorization; associations; and reinforcement for speech drills!

2. Memory Match – Use these vocabulary cards, print two of each, and you have an easy game that children will love that can target a huge variety of speech and language goals!

3. I Spy with Fruits and Vegetables – Print these vocabulary photo cards or toy or stuffed fruits and vegetables. Place them around the room, and play “I Spy” with them! Huge language opportunities here, but you can also use finding a food as a reinforcement for speech drills.

4. Fruit and Veggie Sorting – ALL of my kiddos LOVE this! I usually hide the fruits & veggies and then the kiddos have to find and sort them by color. This activity always provides so many opportunities for  vocabulary, categorization, associations, as well as speech drill reinforcement!

5. What's Missing? – Once again, I find these fruit and vegetable photo vocabulary cards indispensable! Display a group of fruit and vegetable pictures, then remove one and have the child identify what's missing.

6. Let’s Feed – The Very Hungry Caterpillar Game – This is a really simple board game, appropriate for children as young as 3. I love this game as a reinforcer for speech drills, but I also think it’s perfect for sequencing, especially if preceded by the story, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”.
   

Crafts

1. Fruit and Veggie Stamps – Arts and crafts are an amazingly fun way for kiddos to practice speech and language. So many different goals can be targeted!

2. Watermelon Craft – Go get this free template! Such a simple craft, that I like to use for speech reinforcement, in particular. 

3. Cute Corn – Another super-simple craft to go along with your fruit and veggie theme! Simply cut white paper in the shape of a cob, fill it up with yellow dauber dots, and add some curled green paper strips at the bottom!

Motor Activities

1. Fruit Basket Toss - Toss bean bags or soft fruits into a basket from varying distances.

2. Veggie Obstacle Course - Set up an obstacle course where the kiddos have to jump, hop, or run over, around and next to different fruits and vegetables. 

3. Fruit and Veggie Yoga – I use a “peanut” rolling yoga ball. I place fruit and veggie photos just within reach of where they will land after rolling. Then, whatever food they choose, they must then go and find a matching tiny toy version that I have 

Integrating a fruit and vegetable theme into speech therapy sessions offers a multifaceted approach that can enhance engagement, learning, and enjoyment. It can even be more fun for us SLPs too! When we use a variety of books, games, crafts, and motor activities, we can create a rich and diverse therapeutic environment that supports speech and language development in a fun and effective way!