Speech Therapy Ideas for a Rainy Day

Rainy Day Speech Therapy

April showers bring May flowers. Here are some ideas for speech therapy on those rainy days. I’ve done your planning for you….putting together books, songs, activities, and more to make your rainy days fly by like a breeze!

You can download and save this easy Lesson Plan to skip planning for all of your rainy days. It’s a one stop page for books, toys, and activities you could purchase…along with free songs, read alouds, and an articulation game sample.

Favorite Books for a Rainy Day

Nursery rhymes are my favorite type of book for younger children. The repetition, intonation, and song-like presentation are great for both analytic and gestalt language development. Pairing these songs with gestures can often increase interest, attention, and participation in young children. My two favorite nursery rhyme books for a rainy day are It’s Raining, It’s Pouring and Itsy Bitsy Spider. When we do It’s Raining, It’s Pouring, we often make a silly snoring sound. For Itsy Bitsy Spider, we often do Up/Down with exaggerated hands and make our fingers become little spiders. Rain, Rain, Go Away! is great for kids working on /G/.

For early elementary aged kids, Drop is a cute picture book that shows a drop of water moving through the water cycle. Little Raindrop allows children to explore nature. Worm Weather is an inexpensive option that takes kids through rainy day fun, jumping in puddles.

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring Adapted Book and Boom Cards by Elizabeth Hepler

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring (Amazon Link)

Rain, Rain, Go Away (Amazon Link)

Drop (Amazon Link)

Itsy Bitsy Spider Adapted Book and Boom Cards by Elizabeth Hepler

Itsy Bitsy Spider (Amazon Link)

Little Raindrop (Amazon Link)

Worm Weather (Amazon Link)

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Frog (Amazon Link)

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Frog (printable book companion or digital book companion)

My students’ favorite part of It’s Raining, It’s Pouring is putting bandaids on the Old Man after he bumps his head. This is an option both in the boom card set and with the printable pieces. Kids love this! It’s a great way to tie in body parts and child led play. You can snag this one here.

Read Alouds and Songs

Here are some favorite read alouds and song links for a rainy day.

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring (Youtube Song)

Itsy Bitsy Spider (Cocomelon)

Itsy Bitsy Spider (Ms Rachel)

Itsy Bitsy Spider (Go Fish Song)- this one has a good beat)

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Frog (Youtube Read Aloud with song melody)

Rainy Day Articulation

Boom Cards can be a great way to engage kids on a rainy day. This Rainy Day Articulation is a fun game has all the sounds you need in every word position. There are favorite characters included (like the “Old Lady” seen here). Each page has interactive features and optional visual placement cues that can slide in and out. Grab a free sample right here.

Dot art can be a great way to get a lot of repetitions in for articulation practice. I like to use magnetic bingo chips first, the bingo dot markers to easily get over 100 trials for articulation practice. Then, I send the sheet home for extra practice! There is a dot art sheet with rain included in the It’s Raining, It’s Pouring Set. You can find my favorite magnetic chips, wands, and dot markers in my amazon storefront.

Favorite Toys, Games, and Craft Materials

Bingo Chips & Magnetic Wand (perfect for dot art!)

Dot Art Markers

First, use the magnetic bingo chips….give one for each attempt at a word and hit 100 attempts fast. Get to 200 attempts by adding a bingo dot marker on your second round. Then, send the sheet home with a practice list! Bam, no prep practice for articulation with a TON of trials! My students absolutely love dot art!

Rain Stick (sensory toy!)

This one is great for both visual and auditory stimming fun. Kids like to turn it over and watch the pieces fall. It makes a nice “rain sound”.

Rainbow Toy– a colorful stacking puzzle.

Rainbow Sensory Toy– this one squishes for tactile sensory fun.

Rainbow Ribbons– this is a fantastic ones for kids who seek visual stimulation. These are colorful ribbons that kids can twirls and spin with. We have this at our house….and it has brought us many hours of sensory fun!