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Preschool speech therapy games
A preschool session is won or lost in the first thirty seconds. These games have short turns, obvious cause and effect, pictures instead of text, and something that visibly happens when the child says their word.
Nothing here requires reading, and nothing requires the child to sit through a long explanation before they get to do something.
Who this is for
- Children aged roughly 3 to 5
- Early developing sounds — p, b, m, n, t, d, k, g, f — at word level
- First vocabulary, feelings words, and early following directions
- Children who need a turn to last less than a minute
Goals these target
- Produce early developing sounds at the word level with a model
- Name common objects across everyday categories
- Follow a one-step direction with one critical element
- Label and rate simple emotions
- Take turns and wait for a partner within a structured activity
The games
Robot Repair Shop
Say the word, earn a part, watch the robot come to life. Six short turns per robot and an obvious reward at the end of the block. Ages 3 to 7, any sound.
Open Robot Repair Shop →
Construction Crew
A digger drives over and a brick goes on the house each time the child says their word. Cause and effect a three-year-old can follow.
Open Construction Crew →
Zoe's Playroom
Single-step directions in a playroom, with a real photo badge of Zoe. Start at the easiest level and stay there until it is boring.
Open Zoe's Playroom →
Airplane Adventure
Spatial words the preschool years are built on — in, on, under, behind — while packing a suitcase and boarding a plane. Three turns, then the plane takes off and lands somewhere new, which is usually enough of a reward to buy three more.
Open Airplane Adventure →
Feelings Free
Free. Illustrated children showing each feeling at preschool level, rather than diagrams or photographs of adults.
Open Feelings →
Word Explorer — Preschool
First vocabulary by category with pictures. Useful as the naming half of a session that ends with a game.
Open Word Explorer — Preschool →
Barnaby's Big Day
A vocabulary storybook — for the child who will sit for a story but not for cards.
Open Barnaby's Big Day →
Little Speech Train
Words at each stop with a small gift between them. The rhythm suits a child who needs a break built into the practice.
Open Little Speech Train →Running the session
- One instruction, then actExplain by doing the first turn yourself rather than describing the rules. Preschoolers learn the game from watching one round.
- Keep the reward inside the gameThe robot waking up or the house finishing is the reinforcer. Adding stickers on top usually pulls attention away from the speech.
- Sit beside, not oppositeOn a tablet, side by side lets you model the production and point at the same time without turning the screen.
- Stop while it is still funEnd a preschool block a minute before the child is finished with it. What they remember is how the session ended.
- Let them press the buttonEven when you are judging the production, let the child do the tapping. It is the difference between doing an activity and watching one.
Questions
Is any reading required?
No. Words are shown with pictures and read aloud, and every instruction is spoken.
How long should a preschool session on these be?
Five to ten minutes on any one game. Most of these are built so a block ends naturally — a finished robot, a built house, a full train.
Can a parent use these at home?
Yes. The free games need no account at all. For carryover, the useful instruction to a parent is: say the word, let the child copy, press the button together.
Do the games work on a phone?
They work, but a tablet or laptop is much better at this age — the pictures and the tap targets are bigger.
Related activities
Built and used by a practicing speech-language pathologist. Nothing here records audio or collects information about a child — see the privacy notice. Games run in any modern browser on a tablet or computer.