Make a New Year's Time Capsule and Practice Speech Therapy at Home
Updated: Aug 25
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As moms, we are always looking for ways to make our lives a little easier. We're excited to share this easy New Year's tradition for kids that can help your toddler with speech therapy. All you need is a few simple items and a little bit of imagination!
Activities for toddlers establish meaningful traditions. A special way to celebrate the New Year and to keep track of what is happening in your child's life over the coming year, is with a time capsule. Not only is a time capsule great way to later remember what happened in your child's life, it’s a fun project to work on together. And demonstrates how you can practice speech therapy at home with your toddler while creating memories!
Here are some ideas for how to make a time capsule out of items you have lying around the house while targeting your child's speech and language goals.
Make Your Time Capsule
An indoor time capsule can be made out of a box (wood or shoe box), plastic Tupperware container, an old tin cookie container or even a glass mason jar. You can hide all of these in the house (kitchen or your child's room) or someplace where no one will find it like the attic or basement. Write a note for where you put it so that you wont forget at the end of the year!
For an outdoor time capsule, get a weather-proof container such as an old coffee can or plastic container with a sealable lid. You can bury it in the garden or keep it in an outdoor garage.
Learn how to practice speech with kids at home
Next, your child can decorate it with stickers, labels with their name and other things they write or draw. Glue these items on the outside or inside.
Then, along with your child, decide what you will be storing inside. Your child's time capsule can hold personal items such as a photo from the holidays that just ended, homework from the previous semester to remind them of how far they've gotten, goals they write out for the year and wishes written to them from family or friends.
Time capsules can also have a theme such as:
Newspaper articles and items from their birthday
Collections from how their favorite sports team did this year
Arts and crafts projects
Favorite recipes and foods
Speech and language skills to target while working on your New Year's Time Capsule
These types of activities are very flexible, so you can ask your speech language pathologist to modify the activity or suggest how your child's speech goals can be worked into the activity. (If you are not currently enrolled in speech therapy, Better Speech is the #1 Online Speech Therapy service with a proven program customized to your needs. Get in touch with us!)
Here are some suggestions for working speech therapy into your time capsule project:
Talk about the materials you are using to make the time capsule: glass, jar, box, sticker, marker, glitter, paper. It helps to repeat the words and describe how you are using the materials, like "let's put the sticker on the box," "pick out the sticker, let me see the sticker, now let's stick on the sticker."
Describe what you are putting inside or decorating: red paper, blue glitter, big photo, small toy. Again, repeating the words and describing the action helps.
Talk about people in the family if you put photos inside: grandma, uncle, sister, dad.
If the time capsule is for what happened in the past, use past tense verbs: went, swam, walked, played, ate. Depending on what stage your child is at, you can keep things more simple or add complexity, like "Remember when we went swimming? What will we do in the summer, do we go swimming? Who went swimming with us? Who will go swimming with us?"
If the time capsule is about what will happen, talk about goals and planning things out. Use words that describe a sequence like: first, then, next, last.
Take turns putting things in the time capsule for kids that are learning to take conversational turns.
These are just our suggestions but remember that all of these activities can be modified to your child's goals. Our Better Speech SLPs can help you make the modifications needed to help you and your child practice at home.
At Better Speech, we offer online speech therapy services convenient for you and tailored to your child's individual needs. Our services are affordable and effective - get Better Speech now.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age is the time capsule activity appropriate for?
This activity works well for a wide range of ages, from toddlers to teens and even adults working on speech goals. Younger children can draw pictures or answer simple questions out loud, while older kids can write or record themselves. The key is to adapt the prompts to match your child's current speech and language level.
How does making a time capsule actually help with speech therapy goals?
A time capsule gives children a meaningful reason to talk, describe, and express themselves, which makes practice feel natural rather than like a drill. It targets skills like sentence formation, vocabulary, storytelling, and articulation in a low-pressure, fun setting. When speech therapy goals are embedded in real activities, children tend to stay engaged longer and retain what they practice.
What should we put in the time capsule to get the most speech practice?
Focus on items that spark conversation, such as a photo the child describes out loud, a short recorded voice message, a drawing they explain, or written answers to prompts like 'My favorite word right now is...' Encourage your child to narrate each item as they add it. The describing and storytelling involved in that process is where most of the speech work happens.
Can we do this activity without a speech therapist guiding us?
Yes, this is designed as a home practice activity families can do independently. That said, having a licensed speech-language pathologist involved makes a big difference in targeting the right goals. Better Speech offers licensed, insurance-ready care with no waitlists, so you can get professional guidance quickly and then apply it to fun home activities like this one.
How often should we do speech practice activities like this at home?
Short, consistent practice sessions of 10 to 15 minutes several times a week tend to be more effective than one long session. Activities like a time capsule can be spread across multiple days, for example adding one item each day in January. Your child's speech therapist can recommend a specific home practice schedule based on individual goals and progress.
About the Author
Aycen Zambuto
I’m a seasoned educator in speech therapy with over six years of experience helping people navigate challenges in communication. Throughout this time, I’ve found joy in guiding individuals through a variety of therapeutic journeys, from toddlers with apraxia to seniors with dysphonia.
I’m passionate about demystifying this complex world of speech therapy and helping readers around the globe achieve clear and effective communication. When I’m not writing about speech, you’ll often find me reading, traveling or spending time with friends and family.
