Do you need ideas on what themes you can do in January during your speech therapy sessions? I’ve always enjoyed themed therapy because it allows the kids to stay motivated and engaged during each session. I like to change my themes up weekly, but I know other therapists that change it every other week or even do a monthly theme. Themed therapy will keep you from playing the same game over and over again and it’ll help bring back your joy in work if you’ve lost it temporarily!
I’ve compiled a list of my favorite January themes for speech therapy along with a few books and activities that you can do with each one. I hope you are able to get some inspiration on what you can do in your sessions after!
What themes can you do in January in your speech therapy sessions?
There are many themes that you can do during January! I’ve put together a list of my favorite ones, which includes a U.S. Holiday as well.
- New Year’s
- Penguins
- MLK Day
- Snow Day
- Artic Animals
New Year’s Theme
This is the best theme to do at the beginning of January! One of my favorite activities to incorporate into this theme is a New Year’s Resolution activity. You could even spin this to be a New Year’s Speech Resolution activity if you wanted to! It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, either. You can just grab some paper and have them number the sides of it and write/draw each resolution out.
Some of my favorite books to incorporate include The Night Before New Year’s and Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution.
If you are wanting a lesson plan that is no prep and includes the activity and book companion activities for one of the books, you can check out my New Year’s Lesson Plan.
Penguin Theme
My favorite time to do a penguin theme is in January. I created a Penguin Weekly Lesson Plan because of how much I love them, and my kids also love when I used this theme with them.
Some of my favorite books to use during this theme are If You Were a Penguin and Spike The Penguin With Rainbow Hair. This is also a fun time to incorporate the game Don’t Break the Ice. You can use this game to work on turn taking or any goals where the kids need to hit their target before taking their turn.
MLK Day Theme
MLK Day is the third January of each year making this a great theme to do during your sessions! There is a possibility that the teachers at your school will be doing some activities for this holiday, so you can continue it in your sessions too.
There are many great books about Martin Luther King, Jr. but some of my favorite include I Have a Dream, I am Martin Luther King, Jr., and I am Brave: A Little Book About Martin Luther King, Jr.
All of these books work great to read and work on articulation, WH- questions, sequencing, and more!
Snow Day Theme
Growing up in Texas, snow was something I rarely saw, but I was always interested in it and wanted to know more about it. Whether or not you are in a place where it snows, a snow day theme would be fun! I definitely enjoyed this theme with my kids. You can incorporate a craft into your session on making a snowflake to hang up and decorate the room or you can make some fake snow!
Another fun activity would be to make a sensory bin out of faux snow and include different winter objects inside to target vocabulary, expanding utterances, following directions, and more.
Some of my favorite snow day themed books include The Snowy Day and There Was a Cold Lady who Swallowed Some Snow!
You can check out my Snow Day Lesson Plan if you want to incorporate this theme into your sessions. š
Artic Animals Theme
Another theme that you can do during the month of January is an artic animal theme. I love incorporating anything animal related into my sessions because you can work on describing and inferencing with each one. Amazon has a few artic animal sets that you can get for hands on visuals. These would be great to throw into a sensory bin, too!
Some books that you can use during this theme include Over in the Artic, In Artic Waters, and The Snow Bear.
January Speech Therapy Lesson Plan Bundle
If there are multiple themes that you want to try out during the month of January, take a look at my January Speech Therapy Lesson Plan Bundle. It includes weekly themed plans based on New Year’s, penguins, snow day, and cupcakes!
Each themed lesson plan includes book companion activities, a language scene, and activities for both language and articulation. For more information on my themed lesson plans, you can take a look at the guide here.
I hope that this has given you some ideas on what January themes and activities you can do during your speech therapy sessions. Let me know down below if you do any of these and which one is your favorite!
Happy Planning!
