There are so many attractions in Des Moines for family fun! Not only are these great options to tire out your little ones, but these can be great opportunities for language input and learning. We put together a list of our favorite five local attractions in the heart of Des Moines and tips on how you can use these to your speech/language advantage.
5 Local Attractions To Build Speech & Language Skills
Blank Park Zoo (Des Moines, IA)
The zoo is a fantastic place to learn all about animals and experience the wild. Animals are also a great way to encourage vocal play in your child. Animal sounds like “moo”, “ooh”, “rawr” can be a gateway to consonant-vowel combinations and increase the sounds in your child’s inventory. Receptive language, or the language your child understands, can also be enriched at the zoo – animal vocabulary is everywhere! Not to mention colors, shapes, and so much more!
Science Center of Iowa (Des Moines, IA)
The Science Center of Iowa (SCI) is full of experiments and cool adventures – enhance your child’s language by commenting on the cool things you see. For example, “Wow! That’s cool.” can model commenting to your child. We frequently comment in social communication, so this is an important language skill to expand your child’s expressive language!
Living History Farms (Urbandale, IA)
Living History Farms is truly an interactive experience for kids to explore life in the past. It’s a staple attraction in the Des Moines area but it also serves lots of opportunities for language development. Try labeling things throughout the property as you tour (i.e., animals, house, farm, tractor, etc.). Lots of mini activities at LHF for kids require them to follow directions and sequence as well.
RecPlex (West Des Moines, IA)
Kids (especially toddlers) can be on the move – sometimes quickly. Explore the use of verbs or “action” words at the RecPlex in West Des Moines while you expend some energy! The RecPlex hosts “Toddler Time” each week for only $1 admission for kids from birth to five years old. Events like these can be a great place to highlight action words like “go”, “run”, “throw”, “play”, “kick”, “jump” and expand your child’s vocabulary.
Urban Air (Ankeny, IA)
As mentioned above, burning energy is a common goal for parents searching for activities with kids. Urban Air has you covered – both with a trampoline park and opportunities for vocal play! Sound words like “boing”and “boom” can boost your child’s vocal productions and encourage them to play with their own voices. Jumping on trampolines is fun – speech can be too!
Opportunities for Speech & Language Development With Enrichment Therapy & Learning Center, P.C
All of these tips can be used at every location interchangeably – the goal is to make the most of your outing and seize opportunities to expand speech/language in a positive, fun way. Check out each location’s website for any potential all-inclusive events or programs for children with complex communication, sensory, and mobility needs! If you have any concerns about your child’s speech and language development, contact Enrichment Therapy & Learning Center!
info@enrichmenttherapies.com
740 Community Drive, Unit A
North Liberty, IA 52317
319-626-2553
infodm@enrichmenttherapies.com
5530 West Pkwy, Suite 300
Johnston, IA 50131
515-419-4270
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