Want to try something more novel and fun this summer in your speech therapy sessions?! Whether you’re a private practice speech-language pathologist or working at your school’s extended school year program, I have rounded up some great resources that your preschool aged and elementary students will love! Check out these coconut themed summer speech therapy activities! Coconuts are super summery and will be an unexpected theme for your students! These activities can also be incorporated into a larger beach theme!
*This post contains Amazon Affiliate links*
Coconut Tree Articulation Craft
This one page articulation craft will save you so much time! The page has all the pieces your students will need to build a coconut tree! There is one or more word targets on each piece. Just add scissors, crayons, and glue! These crafts are completely no prep and a great way to target a wide variety of speech sounds. Nothing screams summer vacation like a coconut tree!
There is a page for every sound in the initial, medial, and final positions! There are also pages for /l/, /r/, and /s/ blends, including tri-blends and ending /s/ blends!
I think your articulation students will love these summer speech therapy activities! These crafts are currently exclusive to The Speech is Sweet Club and will make their way into my TPT store next year!
Coconut Speech Therapy Resources
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Freebie
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. is a classic! This is such a fun alphabet story and there are so many ways to use this book for speech therapy! You can snag this blog-exclusive freebie and ideas in a blog post I wrote many moons ago! Gotta love no prep worksheets! Check it out HERE! This freebie tackles a variety of language skills such as prepositions, spatial concepts, and following directions. This is also a great book to target the CH sound.
Flamingo Articulation Freebie
Okay, okay… am I stretching this one a little bit? Yes! haha! Coconuts is definitely a novel theme and I haven’t made many materials with this theme in mind throughout the years, but there are a few coconut trees featured in my Flamingo Articulation packet! Hey, it works! lol.. This is a great resource to include as you make your summer therapy plans.
Coconut Themed Speech Therapy Toys
I found the perfect coconut themed toy (I actually bought the leaf/pumpkin version for my son last fall)! This montessori style toy is great for encouraging language development and fine motor skills.
This toy/game has so much going on, which makes it perfect for summer speech therapy sessions! You can collect coconuts off of the tree (you knock them off with a little hammer) and you can pick pineapples! It also comes with three sorting baskets to match the different colored coconuts! Let’s check out all the ways you can use this in therapy. You can work on so many language goals:
- Following Directions (First, collect a brown coconut and then pick the largest pineapple)
- Comparatives/Superlatives – There are six total pineapples of different sizes. You can practice small/smaller/smallest, large/largest/largest, etc!
- Sorting: Students can sort the coconuts according to color. This tree is also dual-sided and they can put the coconuts back on the tree according to color (see below).
- Compare/Contrast – Talk about pineapples vs. coconuts. Students can also compare the different pineapples and the different coconuts.
- Beachy Vocabulary (coconut tree, coconut, pineapple, parrot, etc)
- Object Function – This comes with a little hammer/mallet and a pair of tongs. Discuss how to use the tools!
- Prepositions – Put the green coconut at the bottom of the tree, next to the tree, under the tree, etc!
- Basic concepts – big/little, short/tall, small/large, etc
- /k/ target sound – practice the word “coconut”
- Reinforcement – This can be used alongside any activity for some extra fun!
This is a great little toy that can be used outside of a coconut theme too! It would be great for speech therapists to use all summer long or alongside a beach/ocean theme in ESY!
Coconut Picture Books
Summer Themed Fiction Books
A Coconut Named Book by Austin Weaver
This is such a sweet and sentimental read! I actually teared up reading this to my son (so just a heads-up haha)! A little boy finds a special coconut and names him Bob. He becomes a teddy bear of sorts, he takes Bob everywhere! One stormy night, Bob falls off of his father’s boat and he loses him. He cries, but many years later he rediscovers Bob on the beach. This time around, Bob is a beautiful tree. I don’t want to spoil every detail though, trust me it is a very sweet story! I’m sure it’s also available at your local library too! Use this book to work on:
- WH Questions
- Compare/Contrast Bob with student’s favorite toy
- Sequencing
Mrs. Magee’s Coconut by Allia Zobel Nolan
Unfortunately, this book is out of print, but I was able to find a used copy! You may be able to find it at the local library too! This is a super silly and will definitely make your students giggle! Mrs. Magee buys a coconut at the grocery store, but when she gets home she can’t crack it open! She hits it with a golf club and then the coconut goes on an adventure of a lifetime! haha! This book can be used to address:
- Rhyming
- Problem Solving
- Where Questions
- Sequencing
Non-Fiction Book
Coconuts by My Incredible World
This book is packed with real world photos of coconuts and fun facts! Wow, I learned so much about coconuts and have a newfound respect for them. For instance, the coconut tree is nicknamed “the tree of life,” because nearly every single part of the tree can be used. Also, did you know coconuts are stone fruits like peaches? Each page provides just one fun fact, which I think is perfect for young kids. Use this book to work on:
- Expository Text Features (blurbs)
- Describing
- Object Functions – Wow, coconuts can be used for so many things!
- Vocabulary – This book can help vocabulary development as its full of tier II words!
I think these coconut books are great to add to your summer-themed books pile!
More Summer Themed Speech Therapy Activities
Looking for more summer inspiration? Check out these blog posts:
Summer Speech Therapy Activities
Sandcastle Themed Therapy
Popsicle Themed Therapy
Conclusion
What ESY speech therapy themes do you use? Why not try a coconut theme this year?! I hope this round up of summer speech therapy activities was helpful!
P.S. The Speech is Sweet Club is a membership that I created specifically for speech-language pathologists! It includes tons of summer themed materials to use during your summer sessions and beyond! It’s the ultimate time-saver!
Have a wonderful day and thank you so much for visiting my blog! SLPs, let’s have an amazing summer vacation!
