Children love playing simple games such as Simone Says! I use this game in speech therapy sessions to target listening skills and following directions. You can play this at home (get the whole family involved!) Explain the directions: only do the task if you hear "Simone Says."
(I don't always use this rule with the younger ones though).
To work on simple following directions/listening skills, here are some simple ones to use:
“Simone says clap your hands”
“Simone says touch your nose”
“Simone says stomp your feet”
“Simone says clap your hands and stop your feet”
You can try using 1-3 directives and see how well your child can follow directions. If your child is struggling with more than one step, model the task for them and see if they can imitate! If they can, build up from there (model two tasks and see if they will imitate both ect..)
To work on expressive language, have children take turns calling out simple commands to each other (or to you). They will love watching others do what they say!
You can also be creative and have them do other things such as:
“Simone says give your sister a hug!”
“Simone says ring the door bell”
“Simone says make a duck sound ect…”
Get the whole family involved and take turns being Simone! You also can use other names besides "Simone" if you want to! Don't forget to occasionally leave out the "Simone Says" to see if they remember the directions (although this may be harder for younger children).
If you are working on articulation, you could call out something like this:
"Simone says find an object with your speech sound and touch it"
"Simone says say any word with your speech sound"
"Simone says jump up if you speech sound is /r/"
If your child's target is /s/ have them be Simon (this will give them a lot of practice!)
If you are working with students who need visual supports or AAC you can use my adapted Simone Says visual! Get a PDF version of it here for FREE in my TPT store! To use the visual, simply point to the task you want the student to complete or have them point to the task they want you or the group to complete. (I use a lot of modeling while I am using this communication board). You must have a TPT account to download (you can get one for free!).