The holiday season is upon us, which means lots of family time! If you’re wondering what to do with your kids this Thanksgiving, we’ve got you covered! It is so important to keep kids engaged and involved while at home during these times!

Here are some ways you can incorporate fun activities from physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy into your Thanksgiving:

• Let's Chat (activities involving speech):
• Thankful words - Get your kiddo(s) to say what they are thankful for or to say “thank you.”
• Read books that are holiday themed or books that have something to do with fall. Depending on your child's skill and comfort level, ask them questions about the pictures in the book.  Point out certain words or pictures throughout the story to gauge your child's understanding. 
• Have your kiddo make drawings of their favorite thing about Thanksgiving and have them describe what their drawing is. Be sure to compliment them on their creativity!
• Let's Move (activities involving movement): 
• Have a scavenger hunt. This may consist of finding things outside like leaves or even a pumpkin (toy or real). This can be a fun way to get you and your kids up and active! 
• Obstacle course -Make an obstacle course out of things from your living room! Gather things in an open area: pillows, boxes, sturdy items are sure to do the trick!
• Color game - someone calls out a color, and the other person has to run, skip, and/or jump to something that color! This is a great way to work on coordination and comprehension skills!
• Let's Use our Hands (activities involving fine motor skills and our hands):
• Let your kiddos help with making food; anything safe within their ability and under supervision. This could be gathering ingredients, putting ingredients in a bowl, helping stir something in a bowl, etc.
• Turkey crafting activity - Have your little one make their own turkey with different color/shaped construction paper. Then help them put all of the pieces together with glue or tape!
• Make small presents together for guests invited for dinner or anyone coming over. This could be something as simple as a drawing or maybe even a small gift bag.

We would love to see how you incorporated some of these ideas for your kiddos - so please feel free to send us a message with a photo or tag Pediatric Movement Center in your post(s) on Facebook or Instagram!

Ideas and Sources Used:

-https://www.expressable.com/learning-center/tips-and-resources/8-thanksgiving-themed-speech-therapy-activities 

-https://www.countryliving.com/diy-crafts/g4698/thanksgiving-games/ 

-https://www.theottoolbox.com/thanksgiving-activities-for-kids/ 

-https://www.communicationcommunity.com/top-5-thanksgiving/