Looking ahead to the next time leap year rolls around on the calendar? Leap into action by planning a speech therapy session full of leap day-themed activities! No matter your caseload, you can bring the excitement of February 29th to each and every session.
Leap Year Boom Cards for Speech Therapy
One deck, all the goals. This Boom Cards speech therapy resource (get it here on Boom Learning) includes an easy-to-read passage to teach students about leap year, plus multiple coordinating activities.
You're covered for language, articulation, and even pragmatic language goals with this one! It also has a few time-fillers if you need them... trivia, jokes, and more!
Leap Day Books for Speech Therapy
Search the following book titles/authors wherever you access digital versions of books (your local library, YouTube, websites, online stores, etc.).
Leap's Day by Stephanie Bee Simmons
It's My Birthday Finally! A Leap Year Story by Michelle Whitaker Winfrey
Leopold's Long Awaited Leap Year Birthday by Dawn Desjardins
The Truth About February by Valerie Hanks-Goetz
Leap Day Videos for Speech Therapy
This BBC video from 2020 provides an explanation of leap year with some helpful visuals.
This animated video from Colossal Cranium provides an explanation about why we have leap years.
CBS News provides this video about leap day that includes an interesting interview with people born on leap day.
For students that have a good grasp on leap year, you can show them this video about a leap second (another type of shift that was added in 2012) from National Geographic.
Leap Day Calendar Activity for Speech Therapy
For older students, you can do so much with just a blank calendar. First, print a February calendar (or digitally display one such as this fillable option) and fill it in with various events and activities. This could be snow days, school Valentine's Day activities, or any normal, daily happenings.
Then, target formulating sentences using various verb tenses.
Target past tense verbs about what has already occurred throughout the month.
Elicit future tense sentences to discuss what's upcoming, including leap year plans. (Ask students how they plan to spend the extra day).
Don't forget about the opportunity to address more complex sentence structures such as modal verbs (could, might, would, etc.) as you see fit.
Tabletop Leap Year Activities for Speech Therapy
If you have any toy frogs, leap day is the perfect time to dust them off and put them to use! For your youngest clients, wind-up toys are literally always a hit. Even if you don't have a frog one, many wind-up toys also jump/leap. And wowza, they elicit a lot of language from kids.
Plastic jumping frogs have always been one of my favorite ways to use cards as stimuli. Just scatter the cards on the table and have the child "jump" the frog to see which card it lands on. Then, use that card to practice whatever skill!
On that note– If you need to freshen up your sessions with some new flash or task cards, don't forget that Boom Card decks can be printed! It's a great way to get even more bang for your digital materials buck.
For older kids that might be too old for toys, make origami frogs! Google "origami frog" to find a picture tutorial (or a video like this from Art for Kids Hub). The directions can be somewhat complex, so this is a great activity for students with higher-level language goals. When finished, students can compete for the frog with the highest or longest jump.
Leap year is a fun topic that can be enjoyed by students of all ages. Leap day is an opportunity to do something unique and special with your speech therapy students. Get even more ideas and ways to incorporate academic subjects into your leap day activities!
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