Feature
Owl's Playhouse: your child says a word, Pip acts it out
Owl's Playhouse is the speech game in Help Me Talk. Your child picks a sound and plays a short show of five words. When your child says a word well, Pip the owl acts it out on a little stage. Pip eats the cake, drives the car, or touches the mouth. Your child is not drilling words. They are bossing an owl around.
The short answer
Owl's Playhouse is a speech game in Help Me Talk for iPhone, iPad and Android. Each show has 5 words on one sound, and there are 30 sounds with over 3,000 words. Turns mix saying, listening and naming. A good try makes Pip the owl act the word out. After 2 misses, your child can act the word with Pip instead. It is the first activity of each day in the practice plan, and it is part of the subscription.
US prices for iOS and Android. Prices vary by country; your store shows the price before you subscribe. The new prices are active on Google Play and take effect on the App Store on October 8, 2026.
Why a game helps speech practice
Speech practice means saying the same sound many times. For a small child, that gets boring fast. Most parents know the moment: three words in, and the child is under the table.
Owl's Playhouse gives every word a reason to be said. Say "cake" and Pip eats it. Say it wrong and Pip looks puzzled and waits. Your child wants to see what Pip does next, so they keep trying.
- Short on purpose. One show is five words, so it fits the attention span of a young child.
- Not all talking. Every show has a listening turn, where your child only taps a picture.
- A way out when stuck. After 2 misses on a word, your child can act it together with Pip and move on.
Watch it work
These are real screens from the app. This is the first show of the TH sound, with a different kind of turn on each word.
Inside the app
See a show in Owl’s Playhouse
These are real screens from Help Me Talk. This show is on the TH sound. Each word is a different kind of turn, and Pip the owl acts out the words.
1. Pick a sound, start a show
Five words per show. The badges show the five kinds of turn.
Try it with your child. Free to download.
The five kinds of turn
Each word in a show gets one kind of turn. A small badge at the top shows which one, so a child who can't read yet can tell them apart. The app mixes them so no two turns in a row are the same.
| Turn | What your child does | What it practises |
|---|---|---|
| Say it | Hears the word, then says it | Saying the sound with a model to copy |
| Find it | Hears a word and taps its picture out of three | Listening for the sound |
| Oops, Pip | Names the picture. If the word comes out as a similar word, Pip brings the wrong thing | Hearing the difference, like key and tea |
| You name it | Sees only the picture and says its name. Hint plays the first sound | Saying the word with no model first |
| Boss Pip | Says a short command, like "tap your tooth" | The sound inside a phrase |
How a show works
- 1Pick a sound. Tap the Abc button to choose from 30 sounds, including R, S, L, TH and the vowels.
- 2Start the show. Pip waits on the stage and the first word appears.
- 3Listen, then speak. Tap Listen to hear the word. Tap the microphone and say it. The app checks the try in a few seconds.
- 4Watch Pip. A good try and Pip acts the word out. A miss and Pip looks puzzled, then waits for another try.
- 5Finish the show. After five words the show is complete and earns stars. The next show uses the next five words of the sound.
| Stars | How to earn them |
|---|---|
| 3 stars | Every word right on the first try |
| 2 stars | No more than 2 extra tries, and no more than 1 word acted together |
| 1 star | Finish the show |
How the shows get harder
The words of each sound are in order, easiest first. The kinds of turn change as your child moves through the shows of a sound.
| Shows of a sound | Turn mix |
|---|---|
| Shows 1 and 2 | Mostly Say it and Find it, plus one Oops, Pip or You name it when the words allow |
| Shows 3 to 5 | More You name it and Oops, Pip |
| Show 6 and later | Boss Pip commands join in |
How to get the most from it
- 1Sit with your child for the first few shows. Say the words together and laugh at Pip.
- 2Use a quiet room. Background noise makes the check harder.
- 3Praise the try, not only the result. A miss is fine. Pip just waits.
- 4Stop after one or two shows while it is still fun. Short and often works better than long.
- 5Use the Hint on You name it turns before your child gets upset. It plays the first sound of the word.
Problems and fixes
| What happens | Try this |
|---|---|
| Pip says it didn't hear anything | Hold the phone closer and tap Speak just before your child talks. |
| The app says it couldn't check | That try does not count. Tap Speak and say it again. A good internet connection helps. |
| Your child misses the same word twice | Tap Act it together. Pip acts it with your child. It does not count as said. |
| A word is too hard today | Tap the forward arrow to skip it. |
| The microphone is off | Turn it on in your phone's Settings, or use Act it together for now. |
| You want to start a sound again | Tap the reset arrow. Every sound starts again from Show 1, and the stars are cleared. |
What Owl's Playhouse does not do
It is not a speech assessment and it does not diagnose anything. The stars and Hits count show how practice went, not whether your child has a speech problem. If you are worried, talk to your doctor or a speech-language pathologist.
It does not teach how to make a sound from scratch. For where the tongue and lips go, use the sound lessons in Practice Sounds. The playhouse is for practising a sound once your child can try it.
You can't add your own words. The words, the voice and the app are in English only. Owl's Playhouse is part of the subscription: the whole app is free for 3 days, then $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year in the US.
Practice these sounds
Free word lists, mouth-position guides and games. No app needed.
Questions parents ask
- What is Owl's Playhouse?
- Owl's Playhouse is the speech game in Help Me Talk. Your child says words on one sound, and Pip the owl acts each word out. A show is five words long.
- What age is it for?
- Owl's Playhouse is made for young children who are practising speech sounds. Shows are short and every show has a listening turn that needs no talking. A child who can't say any words yet may do better with picture tools first.
- Which sounds can my child practise?
- Help Me Talk's playhouse covers 30 sounds, including R, S, L, TH, SH, CH, K, G and the five vowels. Each sound has many shows, with the easiest words first.
- How does the app know if my child said the word right?
- Help Me Talk listens through the microphone and checks the try within a few seconds. If it can't check in time, the try is not counted and your child just says it again.
- What if my child can't say the word?
- After 2 misses on a word, Help Me Talk offers Act it together. Pip acts the word with your child, and it does not count as said. You can also skip the word.
- Is Owl's Playhouse on Android?
- Yes. Owl's Playhouse is in Help Me Talk on iPhone, iPad and Android, with the same five kinds of turn. A subscription on one store does not carry over to the other.
- Is Owl's Playhouse free?
- Owl's Playhouse is part of the Help Me Talk subscription. A 3-day free trial unlocks the whole app, then it is $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year in the US. Prices vary by country.
Keep reading
- A 4-week speech practice plan
- Best speech therapy games for kids
- Speech games for 5-year-olds
- An app that listens to your child's speech
- How to do speech therapy at home
- Help your child say how they feel
- Build a sentence with pictures
- A visual daily schedule your child can hear
Last updated 24 October 2026.