Fall is here and that means Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Now is the time to start doing Thanksgiving themed activities. This fun & interactive turkey activity will improve your child’s speech and language while allowing them to get excited for the holiday!

Supplies:

• Brown & Orange construction paper
• Multi colored construction paper (e.g. red, yellow, blue).
• Wiggle eyes
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Black Marker

Directions:

1. Cut out a brown circle (body).
2. Using the colored paper, cut out feathers.
3. Glue the colorful feathers to the back of the body by fanning out the feathers.
4. Cut out a triangle for the beak from the orange paper and glue to the body. Glue wiggly eyes to the body and a small piece of red paper to the beak for the gobbler.
5. Use the black marker to write on the feathers. There are a variety of goals you can target during this task. See ideas under “expressive language”

Speech & Language Targets:

• Following Directions: Practice following one-step and multi-step directions by asking your child to put on certain pieces in order. Ex: First, cut out the blue feather.  Then, put on the wiggle eyes. You can take turns giving and taking directions.
• Adjectives:
  • Receptive Language: Describe the piece you want your child to pick up.
  • Expressive Language: Have your child describe which piece they want.

• Vocabulary: While you make the turkey, discuss the different parts of the turkey.
  • Target vocabulary terms: eyes, nose, mouth, gobbler, feathers, feet, and face.

• Answering Questions: (Ex: who, what, when, where, why & how).
  • What color feather do you want next?
  • What does your turkey still need?
  • Where might you find a turkey?
  • Who still needs a nose?
  • How many feathers does he have?
  • When do see Turkey’s?

• Social Skills:
  • Have your child work with another child when creating their turkeys.
    • Turn-taking: take turns asking for supplies and during conversational exchanges.
    • Topic Maintenance: Encourage conversations about thanksgiving. Have the children share what their Thanksgiving Day looks like, what they eat for dinner, their favorite memories, family members & how they can help their families prepare for the day.

• Expressive Language:
  • When writing on the feathers, challenge your child to verbally express what they are thankful for. Younger children can name what they are thankful for, and adult can write them on the feathers. For older children, encourage them to formulate longer sentences. Prompt them to talk about events, actions, memories and activities.

 

By: Jayne J. Weiss, MHS, CCC-SLP.