11/27/2025
🍁 Thanksgiving = BIG Language Opportunities! Read below for fun, easy ways to build your child’s speech & language skills right at the dinner table:
🥕 1. Describe the Foods Together
Use simple adjectives to boost vocabulary:
• hot, cold, crunchy, soft, sweet, salty, smooth, sticky
• “The mashed potatoes are soft.”
• “The turkey is hot.”
🦃 2. Talk About What You’re Doing With the Food
Model action words:
• stir, scoop, cut, mix, taste, pour, smell, bake, chew
Kids learn so much from verbs!
🍏 3. Let Them Explore With Their Senses
Great for toddlers and picky eaters. Model sensory words:
• look, smell, touch, taste
• “Feel how squishy the pumpkin is.”
• “This pie smells yummy!”
🥔 4. Offer Choices to Encourage Communication
Give simple, functional options:
• “Do you want corn or potatoes?”
• “Big bite or little bite?”
• “More turkey or more bread?”
🥧 5. Expand Their Language
If your child says “pie,” expand it:
• “Brown pie!”
• “More pie!”
• “I want pie!”
• “Pie is yummy!”
🍽️ 6. Practice Requesting
Use Thanksgiving foods as a natural way to request:
• more, help, open, hungry, all done
• Pointing, signs, words, AAC — it all counts!
🧃 7. Introduce New Words With Each Dish
Some great seasonal vocabulary:
• cranberry, stuffing, gravy, slice, mash, roast, crust
Keep it fun and low-pressure.
💛 8. Talk About Favorite Foods
Turn meals into conversations:
• “What’s your favorite?”
• “Mine is…”
• “Do you like it?”
Builds social language + commenting.
🥄 9. Let Kids Help!
Let them help stir, pour, or dump and model simple phrases:
• “Stir it!”
• “Pour in!”
• “You did it!”
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