Gobble Up Language Skills This Thanksgiving! 🦃🗣️🖐️

 

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time for family, food, and giving thanks – and it's also a fantastic opportunity to boost your child's language skills in a fun, natural way! At Expressions Therapy Services, we believe every moment is a chance to learn. Here are some "Turkey Talk" activities you can try with your little ones this Thanksgiving Day: 1. "I'm Thankful For..." Alphabet Game: Go around the table and have everyone say something they are thankful for, starting with a different letter of the alphabet. This encourages vocabulary, letter recognition, and expressive language.

2. Recipe Readers: Get your child involved in the kitchen! Read recipe instructions together, identify ingredients, and talk about the steps. This works on following directions, sequencing, and expanding vocabulary (e.g., "stir," "mix," "pour," "bake").

3. Sensory Story Time: As you're preparing or eating your meal, describe the sensory details: "Listen to the sizzling turkey!" "Feel how soft this mashed potatoes are." "Smell the yummy pumpkin pie!" This helps develop descriptive language and sensory awareness.

4. Thanksgiving Action Charades: Write down various Thanksgiving-related tasks on slips of paper and have your family act them out! This is fantastic for motor planning, expressive language, and turn-taking.

*Carving the Turkey

*Mashing the Potatoes

*Rolling the Pie Dough

*Jumping in Fall Leaves

*Washing the Dishes

*Setting the Table

5. "What's Different?" Dinner Table: Before dinner, subtly change one or two things on the table (e.g., move a plate, switch a fork). See if your child can identify "what's different!" This targets observation skills, vocabulary, and ability to describe changes.

 

Have a joyful and language-rich Thanksgiving from all of us at Expressions Therapy Services!