Supporting Language & Social Skills Skills During Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is the perfect mix of family, food, and fun. However, for some kids, it can also be a whirlwind of new faces, long conversations, and a whole lot of waiting before the pumpkin pie! If you’re a parent, this holiday offers tons of natural opportunities to build language and social skills during Thanksgiving — without turning it into “practice time.” Here are some simple, fun ways to help your child feel confident and connected this Thanksgiving.
🦃 Before the Big Day
1. Talk about what to expect
Review who you’ll see (“Aunt Sara will be there!”), what will happen (“We’ll eat, play, and maybe watch football”), and how long things might last (“Dinner is about an hour”).
This builds your child’s understanding of routines and helps them use time words like first, next, and then.
2. Practice introductions
Talk about who will be there and what to say to them. Role-play these greetings:
- “Hi Grandma! Happy Thanksgiving!”
- “It’s nice to see you again!”
For shy kids, come up with one or two go-to phrases and practice together.
3. Build vocabulary
Thanksgiving is full of rich, descriptive language — roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, crunchy pie crust!
Look at pictures or read a Thanksgiving-themed book and talk about how things look, taste, and smell.
🍽️ During the Meal
4. Work on conversation skills
Encourage your child to ask and answer open-ended questions at the table.
Try conversation starters like:
- “What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food?”
- “What are you thankful for this year?”
- “If you could only eat one food forever, what would it be?”
These help kids practice turn-taking, listening, and expanding their answers beyond “yes” or “no.”
🧁 After the Feast
5. Retell the day
Later, ask your child to tell someone about their Thanksgiving. This can be in person, over the phone, text, or email. The goal is to work on retelling using lots of detail.
Use prompts like:
- “Who did you sit next to?”
- “What was your favorite part?”
- “What was the funniest thing that happened?”
Retelling helps strengthen sequencing, memory, and narrative skills. It also helps to work on perspective taking as the child has to figure out if the listener is following along or needs more detail.
6. Show gratitude through words
Encourage your child to make or dictate thank-you notes or short messages:
“Thank you for having us!” or “I liked the pumpkin pie!”
It’s a sweet way to practice writing or speaking in full sentences while teaching empathy.
❤️ The Big Picture
When you focus on language during everyday moments like Thanksgiving, you don’t need extra “teaching time.” The goal is to weave words naturally into what you already do — because your child learns best when they’re engaged, comfortable, and having fun.
What ideas do you have for building language and social skills during Thanksgiving? For more tips, check out my blog HERE.