From Sidewalk Chalk to Scavenger Hunts: 5 Outdoor Activities to Support Your Child’s Speech and Language Development This Spring

By Christine Hinkle, M.A. CCC-SLP

Spring is the perfect time to get outside, shake off the winter blues, and enjoy some sunshine with your child. But did you know that outdoor play can also support your child’s speech and language development? Whether you’re taking a walk, drawing with chalk, or sharing a picnic, everyday activities are full of natural opportunities to build communication skills.

Below are five fun, low-prep outdoor ideas that make talking, learning, and communication part of your springtime routine

1. Take a Nature “Walk and Talk”

A walk outside is the perfect chance to stretch your legs and your child’s speech and language skills. Nature offers endless things to talk about—plus, movement often helps kids feel more relaxed and talkative.

Skills You Can Target: Vocabulary, describing, answering and asking questions, same and different, speech sound production

What to Do:

• Point out and label what you see (“Look at that fluffy squirrel!”)

• Ask open-ended questions (“What do you think that cloud looks like?”)

• Discuss how things you see are the same or different (“These flowers are the same, but this one looks different!”)

• Look for words with tricky sounds your child is working on—like ‘slug,’ ‘swing,’ or ‘stop’ if they’re practicing S-blends—and say them together as you spot them

2. Get Creative with Sidewalk Chalk

Sidewalk chalk turns your driveway or sidewalk into a speech and language playground. Whether your child is drawing pictures, writing words, or making up stories, there are plenty of ways to sneak in speech and language practice.

Skills You Can Target: Storytelling, categories, descriptive language, speech sound production

What to Do:

• Draw and label pictures of word with tricky sounds togethe

• Create a “story path” they can walk along while telling a stor

• Play guessing games (“Can you draw a food that’s orange?”)

• Practice writing or drawing things in a category (e.g., animals, vehicles, weather

3. Work in the Garden Together

Gardening is a hands-on way to teach your child about nature, responsibility, and speech and language skills! One thing gardening is great for is practicing sequencing skills and following directions as you work through each step together.

Skills You Can Target: Sequencing, using and understanding verbs, following directions, vocabulary

What to Do:

• Narrate each step: “First we dig, then we plant the seeds, then we water

• Label gardening tools and actions (“This is a trowel. We use it to scoop dirt.”)

• Let your child give you the directions to build their expressive language skills

• Talk about changes over time—observe how plants grow and describe them

4. Have a Picnic

A simple picnic in the backyard or local park creates an opportunity for conversation and connection. It’s also a great chance to model food exploration and expand your child’s expressive language.

Skills You Can Target: Requesting, social language, WH-questions, food exploration

What to Do:

• Offer choices to encourage requesting (“Do you want crackers or grapes?”)

• “Investigate” the different foods and drinks that you brought (“This juice is cold and sweet.”)

• Ask WH-questions during the meal (“What’s your favorite thing we packed?”)

• Play pretend with toy food or stuffed animals for added language input

5. Go on an Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a fantastic way to build speech and language skills—all while getting some energy out! You can create your own or download a simple printable to guide the hunt.

Skills You Can Target: Sentence structure, commenting, following directions, categories, speech sounds

What to Do:

• Make a list of things to find by color, shape, or category (“Find something round and green”)

• Encourage full sentences when they find something (“I found a green leaf!”)

• Explain how to do the scavenger hunt to your child, and see if they can explain it to you or someone else later (“First we… Then we…”)

• Find things that start with tricky sounds (ex: Find things that start with “s-buddies”)

Conclusion

You don’t need fancy toys or worksheets to support your child’s speech and language—you just need a little creativity and a willingness to explore together. By adding some language-rich moments to your outdoor adventures, you’re helping your child grow their communication skills in meaningful (and memorable) ways.

Each of these activities can be used to target MANY different skills–try one or two of these activities this week and let us know how it goes!