Thanksgiving break is almost here and the hustle and bustle of the season is in full swing! These busy fall days often mean some additional commotion is starting to creep into your routine and your SLP classroom might feel a little bit like you have a room full of little turkeys lately! Not to worry though, I have brought you 3 super simple, engaging, and festive Thanksgiving activities this week to help reign in those pre-holiday break wiggles. Give these a try with your littles and keep calm, it’s almost Thanksgiving break!
HOLIDAY-THEMED ACTIVITIES FOR EVERYONE
I think it’s safe to say that most SLPs and classroom educators are always on the hunt for simple activities to bring seasonal enrichment into classroom learning prior to any holiday break.
This time of year is much busier than usual, often filled with parent-teacher conferences and a classroom full of excited little people, which can make this task feel a bit daunting.
Take one thing off your mental planning list and enjoy these 3 engaging, simple, and super fun Thanksgiving activities in your classroom or therapy sessions!
1. “HOW TO CATCH A TURKEY” ADAPTED BOOK ACTIVITIES
First up, I have a literacy-based activity that is sure to grab your student’s attention. I love the “How to Catch a….” book series and “How to Catch a Turkey” by Adam Wallace & Andy Elkerton is no exception.
This book follows the hilariously silly adventure of students on the hunt to catch a turkey running loose in the school before the Thanksgiving play.
My How to Catch a Turkey Adapted Book Piece Set includes 24 questions to use with this story and also includes an interactive option. Each question also includes both visuals and text, making this the perfect resource for all skill levels.
For a paperless option, try my boom cards version, also included in this resource! The boom card activity covers all of the same questions that will help your SLP clients target a variety of skills including yes or no questions, WH questions, story retelling, expanding utterances, vocabulary expansion, practice with adjectives, following directions, and more.
The boom card version also includes an interactive sensory bin activity where your students can “feed the turkey” to uncover visuals from the book.
If you love the “How to Catch a…..” book series as much as I do, be sure to check out my bundle of the Adapted Book Piece Sets!
This money-saving bundle comes with a pack of questions and activities for all 14 of the silly story sets and is a perfect companion to the SLP classroom all year long. This bundle includes both the print and boom card versions of the activities to help diversify your lessons and practice key skills in multiple ways.
2. COFFEE FILTER TURKEY CRAFT
Everyone loves seeing cute seasonal crafts on display in the early education classroom, but often this time of year is already so jam-packed it can be tough to fit them in!
That’s where this coffee filter craft idea comes to the rescue! Not only will you have a Pinterest-worthy flock of little turkeys to display, but your students will also get the opportunity to practice highly valuable skills while creating these adorable turkeys.
Incorporating crafts in your classroom lessons is a great way to practice following directions, requesting items, sequencing steps, expanding on WH questions, and getting practice with spatial concepts.
Not to mention this craft is incredibly easy to pull together with minimal clean-up, making it the perfect Thanksgiving craft to pull out prior to break!
TURKEY CRAFT SUPPLIES
For each of your littles, you will want to prepare 1 brown construction paper cut out of a turkey body, 3 small yellow triangles, 1 small red oval for the wattle, a coffee filter that’s been trimmed like the photo, and a pair of googly-eyes. These shapes are simple enough to freehand and are a great project to pass off to those parent helpers if you have any.
When you’re ready to craft, make sure each child has a set of the pieces listed above along with access to a water spray bottle and washable dot markers.
MORE THAN JUST A CRAFT
Start out by asking your group to decorate their coffee filter as they would like with their dot markers. This would be a great time to incorporate some speech-based target goals like practicing vocabulary or requesting children say a particular word or sound with each dot of their marker.
Next, have each child lightly spray the coffee filter with water to blend the colors together. Set aside and allow to dry.
While those are drying, have your students create their turkey bodies with paper cutouts and eyes.
First off, I like to start by holding up each piece and asking my students what body part they think it will be used for. This is a fantastic way to sneak in some quick vocabulary work!
Next, gluing the small pieces is a great opportunity to request items from your students, sequence the steps for this process, and ask students to recall the sequence used. For example, ask something like, “What did we glue first?”. Remember, even though these turkeys are cute, there is big potential for learning while completing this project!
Take advantage of the full attention of your students during this activity and challenge your group to exercise their skill set. Once everything is dry, have your students complete the final step of gluing the coffee filter to the back, and voila- your turkeys are good to go!
3. PUMPKIN PIE IN A CUP
Okay, friends, you know I had to include some classroom cooking in this fun fall post, right?! Incorporating cooking projects in the classroom is one of the best ways to get your students excited about learning. So much learning happens when children get to take the lead on food preparation and this freebie will help take this one step further.
This Pumpkin Pie in a Cup Visual Recipe comes with a full-color visual recipe card, vocabulary cards and includes a comprehension activity as well.
For a no-print option, simply pull this PDF up on a tablet or computer to use during the activity.
This exercise will help practice measuring, following step-by-step directions, answering/asking questions, and sequencing! Possibly the best part of this activity though is that it’s quick and easy to pull together and no-bake!
Give this simple activity a try with your SLP clients or in your classroom this year to bring a delicious twist to hands-on learning!
If you enjoy these types of recipes and activities, be sure to check out my Cooking & Craft Visual Recipe Pack (vol. 1) which includes 50, no-cook, seasonal recipes, and my Cooking & Craft Visual Recipe Pack (vol. 2) which includes another 30, no-cook recipes for milkshakes, smoothies, snacks, and doughs!
SIMPLE AND ENGAGING THANKSGIVING-THEMED ACTIVITIES ARE A WIN-WIN
Just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean you have to set aside learning to incorporate some holiday fun into your classroom. Keep your students engaged and ready to learn with these 3 quick and festive activities!
SAVE THESE SIMPLE THANKSGIVING ACTIVITIES
Be sure to save these simple Thanksgiving activities for kids on your fall or Thanksgiving Pinterest boards so that you can easily access them when you’re ready!
