Halloween is not just about sweets, scary movies and dress up costumes. It is also a wonderful time for crafts, games, baking and spooky educational opportunities. We think it is the perfect time to harness this excitement and work on speech and language skills. Halloween is a holiday favorite of TinyEYE and also our FAVORITE theme for speech therapy games. The kids get so excited about the haunted crafts and spooky themes at their sessions. At TinyEYE, we have even been known to host a few spooky virtual dance parties.
This year we are hosting our very first Tiny EYE Pumpkin Carving contest over on our social media channels. It’s a great way to carve out some time together with your loved ones. And it’s not just our therapists who love to imagine and create, it’s our whole TinyEYE team! We invite you to join in on our scary contest and we even have a “spooktacular” prize up for grabs. The carving starts right NOW and this year we are looking for the true spirit of Halloween. Please head over to our social media channels below to enter :
____________________________________________
Now, with all this spooky inspiration in sight, we are excited to share some speech therapy games from a few of our virtual friends. Thanks to A2 Therapy Works: here is a scary speech craft to take you into Halloween Weekend.
1. Spider Web Sequencing
All you need is:
-black construction paper
-white yarn
-single hole puncher
Punch 25+ holes into the black paper and label each hole with scattered numbers 1-25+ to give the sheet a tangled “web-like” look as the children thread the yarn in sequential order. Encourage them to talk themselves through the activity and you’d be surprised how challenging this task can be for some kids 
P.S. If you want a cute little spider to make it all come together, just some some fun-colored pipe cleaners!
2. Next up is a fun filled Halloween book recommendation from Anna D SLP
The Spooky Wheels on the Bus by J. Elizabeth Mills:
Anna says “This story is the perfect Halloween story for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarten students”. You can encourage your students to play along and act out the scenes in the story. Use this story to target plural ‘s, concepts, describing, s-blends, action words, and vocabulary. If you don’t have the actual book, click HERE for the Youtube link.
Ok parents, as you plan your trick or treating please remember these tips to enjoy a sensory and socially-friendly Halloween! 
COSTUMES – Try it on ahead of time so the child can get used to wearing it, especially if there are multiple parts (mask, cape, shirt, etc). Materials such as cotton may be more comfortable.
TRICK-OR-TREATING – Practice the social interactions at home and plan the route ahead of time. Offer choices for which houses to visit, depending on decorations (lights, sounds, etc).
PARTIES/SOCIAL GATHERINGS – Talk about who might be there. Brainstorm some conversation topics and role play the social interactions at home.
Remember kids who may not say thank you or trick or treat may have a communication disorder. So be kind and most important……. HAVE FUN!!!
