SLPs either love or hate crafts. They can be a LOT to prep and make a mess. But I would like to argue that easy, simple crafts can be just the activity you need to help increase engagement with a theme or working on functional communication. When planning co-teaching lessons, I will use a simple craft one to two times a month to help reinforce a concept from the book we used. Often times my students dig doing it and we have opportunities to talk about the craft after it’s completed. Today, I wanted to share some ideas for winter crafts that don’t take a long time to prep and can pair well with your winter theme unit.
Craft Materials to Have on Hand
When thinking about ideas for winter crafts that you can use for therapy, it’s always best to have the craft supplies ready to go. Investing in a small stash can last you for many months, or even the whole year. Your staff prep room may also have most of the supplies, so it won’t be much of a cost from your wallet. Here is a list of craft materials you want to have handy (Amazon affiliate links included):
– String or yarn (Found at Dollar Tree)
–Construction paper (Check your staff room)
–Colored pencils or markers
–Tissue paper squares (you can find some at Dollar Tree too, just not as many colors)
–Paint and Q-tips
Ideas for Snowman Crafts
If you LOVE doing a snowman theme in January-February, you can do a snowman craft to pair with any book. This snowman craft template comes with different targets, so that you can use it with any mixed group. Do ONE craft with everyone, but have the targets tailored to your students speech or language goals.
Similarly, make a fun snowman paper plate craft. This can be great for a whole class lesson to work on functional communication. Or, you can do it with your elementary students and glue or write their speech targets on the back. I often print pages from the Any Craft Companion Resource. The trick is to select four pages and then print four to a page, so that they print on one page.
Grab this FREE visual support step-by-step craft resource for making a snowman craft on this blog post.
Winter-Themed Paper Plate Crafts
Want more winter-themed paper plate ideas!? You can make a hibernating bear, a snow swirl, or a winter tree. These crafts would pair well with a hibernation theme or any snow-related book! If you want more paper plate craft ideas, check out these blog posts for crafts that use paper plates. They are packed with ideas for how to adapt and use for a variety of goals in therapy. I think paper plates are my MOST favorite craft supply.
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Ideas for Winter Crafts for Winter Clothing
Need ideas for winter crafts to use in speech therapy that has very little prep? Your OT therapists will love you for doing these winter clothing tissue papercrafts. Use your leftover tissue paper from holiday gifts and cut it into squares or use the link above in the craft material recommendations to get tissue paper squares in a variety of colors. Have students make requests for tissue paper, target CORE words for “more,” “again,” “help,” “I,” “turn,” and “all done.” These winter clothing crafts would pair perfectly with The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel or The Mitten by Jan Brett. If you need a winter clothing template and CORE boards to pair with the craft, hit the images below to get the winter language lesson plan guides. You can also do this craft with paint and Q-tips. In case you didn’t know, I also have an entire blog post filled with lesson plan ideas for the book, “The Mitten.” Check it out HERE.
Winter Themed Popsicle Stick Puppet Crafts
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What ideas for winter crafts do you have for speech therapy?
Do you have a fun and easy winter craft that you use for speech therapy? I am always looking for engaging crafts that can be used during co-teaching sessions.
Share your favorite winter craft in the comments below!
Looking for more winter ideas? Here are some blog posts that may help you plan engaging winter activities:
–Winter Sequencing Short Stories Blog Post