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Fun Summer Holidays for Middle School Speech Therapy [pdf calendar]

June and July are full of exciting and random holidays you can use for speech therapy. Check out these 20 holiday ideas and download a free PDF calendar to save. These free, fun ideas will keep your older students engaged and interactive all summer long!

MIDDLE SCHOOL SPEECH THERAPY

Katie Abendroth

6/28/20254 min read

root beer float for middle school speech therapy

20 National Days for June & July Speech Sessions

Summer has arrived and whether you are taking on private speech clients or working extended school year (ESY) this summer, engagement is key.

Even though speech therapy with your older students needs to be effective, it also needs to be efficient.

You do not need to spend your summer break planning sessions. This post will give you 20 low-prep, outside the box ideas for summer "holidays."

There are national and international days throughout June and July that range from compassionate to downright quirky. Why not celebrate them all?

Be sure to grab your FREE Printable Calendar with June & July Days to celebrate + speech therapy ideas for each day.

As an added bonus, these celebrations can work with all types of learners. Use a neurodiversity-affirming approach and incorporate movement, small group perspectives, opinion writing, or sensory experiences to build language skills.

Why Use Holidays in Summer?

If you think cozy fires and huge meals when you hear "holidays," get ready to flex your creativity. We all need a break and students who are still attending speech therapy during the summer will appreciate a fun spin on sessions.

Breaking up the routine also builds cognitive flexibility for students who adhere to rigid structure. Another reason to use fun holidays throughout the summer is that the repetition of thematic units builds language, but in an age appropriate way.

Most older kids have already experienced summer speech sessions with a beach theme. Yet you can still build language and social skills within the framework of celebrating unique days.

Holidays are also easy to adapt for a range of levels and skill. For students who use words to communicate, you can target articulation, perspective taking, and critical thinking. For mixed groups or less verbal students, incorporate art, food samples, and visual aids to elicit buy-in.

June Holidays

June 1: National Say Something Nice Day
Practice compliments and kindness scripts. Write & mail thank you cards to someone.
June 6: National Yo-Yo Day
Look up the National Yo-Yo Museum as a group. Use a yo-yo demo to build vocabulary and sequencing.
June 11: Corn on the Cob Day
Sensory Vocabulary—how does corn look, smell, taste, feel, and sound? What are your students favorite ways of eating corn? Make popcorn to practice sequencing, then share!
June 14: Flag Day
Explore flags of different countries and describe colors, symbols, and meanings. Write concrete poems & use the flag outline for a final product to post.
June 17: National Root Beer Day
My favorite! Do a taste test, describe sensory experiences, or practice opinion writing when you write product reviews. If you missed this one, National Root Beer Float Day is August 6!
June 18: International Picnic Day
Hold a pretend picnic and build vocabulary around foods, bugs, and nature.
June 20: Take Your Dog to Work Day
Discuss pets vs. service animals, and debate pros and cons. Contact an organization like Canine Companions, and schedule a visit from a service dog in training.
June 21: First Day of Summer
Discuss Summer Solstice vocabulary and make sun catchers. Create a bucket list for summer.
June 26: Chocolate Pudding Day
Do a pudding taste test, describe using Expanding Expression Tool (EET), or using 5 senses.

July Holidays

July 1: Joke Day
Tell jokes, discuss humor, and work on figurative language or idioms.
July 4: Independence Day
Draw fireworks & discuss onomatopoeia (boom! pop!), sequencing, or safety rules. Write a concrete poem using this flag outline.
July 8: Video Game Day
Create a video game dictionary or identify video game words that have articulation sounds to target.
July 11: Cheer Up the Lonely Day
Practice conversation starters or write kind notes to someone who may feel left out.
July 14: Shark Awareness Day
Use ocean-themed vocabulary, read shark facts, and play a "true or false" game. Look up "Shark Week" videos.
July 17: World Emoji Day
Use emojis to describe feelings, write messages, or retell stories.
July 24: Amelia Earhart Day
Create paper airplanes and read fun aviation facts.
July 26: Aunt and Uncle Day
Discuss family trees, write about a special family member, or discuss the geography of where family members live.
July 29: International Tiger Day
Explore tiger facts or debate "should tigers be in zoos?" If you are targeting articulation, my Summer Articulation Stories pack has a pro & con passage about zoos, targeting the phoneme /z/.
July 30: Friendship Day
A perfect pragmatic opportunity. Make friendship bracelets and grab this Pragmatic Bundle with over 100 cards & conversation prompts.
July 31: Avocado Day
Make guacamole (real or pretend), use sequencing cards, or taste test with descriptive words. My kids and clients love the game "Throw Throw Avocado" if you are looking for a hands-on activity.

Love these ideas? Download a FREE printable calendar here: June & July Calendar + Therapy Ideas

Tips for Using Summer Holidays in Speech Therapy

One of the best tips for speech therapy in general, including using summer holidays, is to keep it flexible.

Both you and your students can adapt and pivot. Start with a general activity, but keep it focused on the students in front of you.

Does your client have sensory aversions? Do they need to work on articulation and language? Would visual aids help move the activity forward?

Be realistic with your expectations and let the activity develop. Giving students two or three options for how to complete a task keeps it flexible.

For less prep and more time, be sure to check out the links I added to my TPT store: DDV Speech. With relevant holidays, these print and go options make projects easy to implement, adapt, and complete!