Free Printable: 18 Speech Activities by Stage
Not Yet Talking
Focus on building the foundation: joint attention, imitation, and sound play, before words are expected.
Narrate everything you're doing, in short simple phrases
Pause and wait 5 full seconds after any question or prompt
Imitate your child's sounds back to them, then wait for a response
Blow bubbles, then pause with the wand ready, waiting for a reach or sound
Sing the same 2-3 songs daily, leaving off the last word for them to fill
First Words Emerging
Reinforce single words and build toward combining two.
"Choice" questions: hold up two options and name each one
Expand what they say: child says "ball," you say "yes, big ball"
Read the same board book daily, pausing on the same page to let them fill in a word
Narrate a favorite routine (bath, snack) the same way every time to build predictable vocabulary
Use simple signs alongside words for "more," "help," and "done"
Combining Words Into Phrases
Model two and three word combinations naturally, without correcting or demanding a repeat.
Expand two words into three: child says "go car," you say "go in the car"
Describe what you see on walks, naming color plus object ("red truck," "big dog")
Play simple pretend games that require back-and-forth talk (feeding a stuffed animal, phone calls)
Ask open "what" and "where" questions during play, not yes/no questions
Sort objects together while naming categories out loud ("this is for eating, this is for building")
Building Sentences and Conversation
Support back-and-forth exchanges and early storytelling.
Ask about their day using specific prompts, not "how was it" ("what happened at snack time?")
Tell a simple story together, taking turns adding one sentence each
Play "I spy" using full sentence descriptions, not just colors
Ask "why" follow-up questions to their statements to build explanation skills