Free Printable Nature Story Cards That Help With Expressive Language

Inside: Kids will have fun using their imagination and these free printable nature story cards to come up with creative short stories and more!

Soon we’ll be wrapping up our at-home summer camp series about outdoor and nature activities for kids.

If you haven’t been following along, be sure to check out all the activities we’ve done so far including:

• shaving cream sensory play
• animal emergent reader book printables
• water blaster splatter painting
• forest animal coloring pages
• animal alphabet maze worksheets
• DIY ladybug rock art

Today, I’m sharing these free printable nature flashcards.

In the past when I’ve shared some flashcards, we’ve turned them into an ocean printable matching game or into a solo dinosaur memory game, but today I want to take a different approach and share how to use them to help expressive language.

Read on below to see how you can help your children learn more about language.

Nature Storyteller Cards

Both my children struggled with speech delay and had a lot of frustration around communicating their wants and needs.

As they both get older, their speech has improved, but there’s still room for improvement.

Using these camping story cards, we’re able to work on their speech, foster creativity, introduce them to new vocabulary and so much more.

It’s super simple to do too and it can be done one on one or in groups.

First, print out the flashcards on thick, white paper. After they’re printed, laminate them so you’ll be able to reuse them over and over again.

Cut them out (I also round the corners so they’re not sharp from the plastic) and you’re ready to go.

To play one on one, simply introduce the cards to your child and talk about what the picture and the accompanying word is on each card. Have them become familiar with what they are if they don’t already know.

For young kids, have them select 3 cards they want to tell a story about.

If your child is hesitant, it might be helpful for you to tell a story first so they understand exactly what they’re doing. It may also help to give your child an opening that they can use to get their imagination going like, “once upon a time”.

Let them lead as much as possible, but if they get stuck, offer a sentence or two that will help the story progress.

Older children can choose more or all of the cards to incorporate into their stories.

If you want to do this with all of your children or in groups, simply let the children take turns, one at a time, choosing a card and building onto the story the child before them began.

This language activity gets better and better with practice so keep playing and see how wild, crazy and imaginative the stories can become!

Remember you can also print out two sets of these flashcards and use them as a memory game or check out this page loaded with creative ways to use flashcards. 

Don’t forget to download your free nature story cards by entering your email in the form at the bottom of the page.

More Free Printables For Kids

• Dinosaur Memory Game Printables
• Summer Connect The Dot Worksheets
• Fun Color By Number Printables

Download Your Free Nature Story Cards