Articulatory gymnastics for children 3-4 years old

Though the word "articulatory gymnastics" may seem technical, it actually refers to a simple, enjoyable method of assisting young children in the development of their speech abilities. This can be a very helpful practice for children ages 3–4. Their language skills are developing at this point, and articulatory gymnastics offers a fun way to encourage and improve the development of their speech.

Children are developing their ability to control the muscles in their mouths and lips during this time. Playful exercises that aid in the practice of these motions are part of articulatory gymnastics. Simple exercises like blowing bubbles, making goofy faces, or mimicking animal sounds can all help with articulation and speech clarity.

Including these activities in everyday routines helps them develop their speech and adds enjoyment to the learning process. Children are more likely to participate and practice these activities on a regular basis when they are made into games. This method improves their speaking confidence in addition to aiding with pronunciation.

About the method

The purpose of the articulatory exercise complex is to strengthen the speech apparatus muscles. The infant will struggle with pronunciation if they are weak. The child’s ability to pronounce different sounds and their combinations gets easier as their lips, vocal cords, cheeks, neck, and tongue grow stronger. And eventually, pronouncing words correctly becomes automatic.

Gymnastics serves a therapeutic and preventive role by helping to correct improper speech patterns and preventing the development of speech defects. The exercises improve blood flow to the speech muscles and reduce muscle tone, which is preventing the baby from freely pronouncing some sounds. Static exercises help the child learn how to position the speech apparatus correctly, and dynamic tasks will aid in the mastery of pronunciation.

For kids ages three to four, articulatory gymnastics is a fun and useful method to help them with pronunciation and speech development. Youngsters can improve their ability to clearly form sounds and words by participating in enjoyable exercises that involve the mouth, lips, and tongue. This activity is a great addition to early childhood education because it helps the child’s speech development and improves their communication skills and confidence.

Who is indicated and contraindicated for classes?

Such speech gymnastics is certainly useful for all children. Basic speech skills are formed at the age of 2-3 years, and unfortunately, speech defects are also formed at that time. It is reasonable to start classes from the age of three, and if the child belongs to the category of early speakers, then at 2.5 years. After three years, some deviations and anomalies in the pronunciation of sounds become obvious. So, at this age, stuttering is clearly evident. Many children, due to the weakness of the muscles of the speech apparatus at this age, “chew” half of the alphabet, which makes it difficult to understand what exactly the child is saying. Stuttering and dysarthria may also appear.

Gymnastic articulation exercises will establish diction, strengthen voice delivery, improve pronunciation, quicken speech, and enhance intelligibility.

But, there are instances and circumstances where engaging in this kind of gymnastics is temporarily or never worthwhile. Congenital cardiac defects, breathing difficulties when gymnastics is combined with other activities, and mental illnesses where the child is unable to comprehend the "introductory" or what is expected of him are among the contraindications. Stomatitis or sick teeth are another transient contraindication. Articulation gymnastics is not advised in the following conditions: wounds, tonsillitis in full swing, inflammation of the tongue, palate, inner surface of the cheeks, etc.

General requirements

If you choose to engage your child in this kind of gymnastics, keep in mind that you must begin with simple exercises and work your way up to more difficult ones. Static exercises are the most basic and accessible for novices; they require you to hold your speech muscles in a specific position. When performing dynamic exercises, take your time. These exercises are still regarded as fairly challenging for children ages 2-4, but you can introduce more dynamic tasks as the static group gains proficiency.

Playful teaching methods are crucial to prevent the baby from becoming disinterested in exercises and refusing to complete them.

Systematization is required; gymnastics must be practiced on a daily basis for an adequate amount of time. Lessons last three to four minutes each day. These "five-minute" classes are engaging and will keep the child from growing weary. Try to fit no more than two or three exercises into each task. Make sure to practice previously acquired skills and tasks, and limit your choice of new, unfamiliar tasks to one per lesson.

Gymnastics is performed while seated. The child needs to practice letting go of their arms and neck. The ideal place to teach is in front of a mirror. The child can see his lips, his own face, and his pronunciation in it. He can also compare it to your own facial expressions, your mouth’s position, and your lips’ movement.

It will be helpful to have printed or drawn cards with pictures that will explain some exercises. For the "Hedgehog" exercise, for instance, you’ll need a picture of a happy, colorful hedgehog. This will help the child visualize the task more clearly.

If something does not work out, do not criticize, do not scold, and do not offend the baby. Feelings of resentment and disappointment will only make his muscles tense, damage his self-esteem, and make him stop working out. Instead of being stern, the mother’s voice should be quiet and soothing.

  • "Pipe". Ask the child to stretch his lips forward like a tube and hold them like that for as long as possible. To complicate the exercise, you can ask the child to say something like "doo-doooooo".

  • "Kitten"s breakfast". Show the child a picture of a kitten drinking milk from a bowl. Ask the child to open his mouth and demonstrate how cats lap milk. Make the task more difficult by asking him to open his mouth wider, smile at the same time, and stroke the roof of his mouth with his tongue while "lapping".

  • "Hedgehog". This is an active exercise. Show the child a card with a hedgehog and read the poem: "He looks like a ball, a sweet, kind, nice hedgehog". At the beginning of the verse, the child takes a breath, and at the end of the couplet, you need to actively exhale and on the exhale as loudly as possible say "pykh-pykh".

  • "Gates". Mom reads: "We open the gates, we invite everyone to visit! ". The child"s task is to open his mouth wide, hold it in this position for 5-7 seconds and smoothly close it.

  • "Balloons". Ask the child to inflate his cheeks like balloons. The task is to hold them in this position as long as possible, and then sharply clap your palms on your cheeks, blowing out the "balloons".

  • "Clocks". Mom shows a card with a clock with a pendulum. Reads: "The clock is moving quietly, five minutes, seven minutes" (at these words, the child sticks out his tongue and tries to describe a circle in the air with the tip, like clock hands). Mom continues: "Well, the pendulum is a master, tick-tock, tick-tock! " (after making circular movements with the tip of his tongue, the child moves on to moving the tip of his tongue to the right and left, like a pendulum).

"A snake and a puppy." Ask the child to demonstrate to them how a puppy breathes on a summer’s day; the tongue is loose, broad, and rests on the lower lip. Next, request to demonstrate how the snake achieves this by moving and sharpening its tongue.

Include exercises to help with the pronunciation of any "problem" sounds if there are any defects in the sound:

  • “Zoo”. Show a card with a tiger and ask the child how a tiger roars – “R-r-r”. Show pictures of animals whose names contain a sound that is difficult for the child and ask them to pronounce the name and show how the animal “talks”: to pronounce the sound “R” – tiger cub, badger, fish, giraffe, to practice the sound “L” – lion, husky, fox, dolphin, doe, deer, lemur, on “Sh” and “Zh” – beetle, bumblebee, giraffe, foal, jackal, on “S” – dog, owl, elephant, fox, gopher.

"Tongue twisters." You can employ different tongue twisters and rhymes. Repetition of the "problem" sound is the primary prerequisite. You could say something like, "Ra-ra-ru, ra-ra-ru, I’ll take a walk around the yard, ru-ru-ra, ru-ru-ra, it’s time to go home!" if the pronunciation of the letter "R" isn’t clear. Similar tongue twisters can be independently created for any sound that the child struggles with.

Exercise Description
Blowing Bubbles Have children blow bubbles through a straw or bubble wand. This helps strengthen lip muscles and improve breath control.
Animal Sounds Ask children to imitate different animal sounds, like a lion"s roar or a pig"s oink. This exercise engages the vocal cords and mouth muscles.
Straw and Cotton Ball Place a cotton ball on a table and let children blow it across the surface using a straw. This helps with breath control and lip strength.
Facial Expressions Encourage children to make different facial expressions, such as smiling, frowning, or puckering their lips. This exercise promotes muscle coordination in the face.
Whistling Teach children to whistle by blowing air through pursed lips. This activity strengthens lip muscles and improves breath control.

Young children can benefit from articulatory gymnastics as a fun and useful tool for improving their speech and language abilities. These exercises offer children, ages 3 to 4, an opportunity to interact playfully with their speech organs in addition to serving as practice. Children can become more confident in their communication skills and enhance their pronunciation with easy and entertaining exercises.

Parents and caregivers can add games and interactive exercises to their routine to make these exercises fun and effective. Making goofy faces, blowing bubbles, or mimicking animal sounds are just a few of the activities that help develop precise and coherent speech. The secret is to foster an environment where kids are inspired to practice by being consistent and encouraging.

All things considered, articulatory gymnastics improves a child’s overall communication skills in addition to helping with speech development. These activities can have a long-lasting positive impact on a child’s capacity for confident and clear self-expression when they are made fun and interesting.

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Svetlana Kozlova

Family consultant and family relationship specialist. I help parents build trusting relationships with their children and each other. I believe that a healthy atmosphere in the home is the key to happiness and harmony, which I share in articles and recommendations.

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