Giving Thanks
by Shannon Nash

Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks for the many wondrous things we have in our lives. Good health, food, friends, family, and for many the official start of the holiday season, are just a few things people feel thankful for on this late November holiday. But perhaps the most important thing you have to be thankful for is your special needs child.

We've talked to two educators – Petrice Young, an early childhood educator from Silver Spring, Maryland and Cynthia Nickerson, an early childhood educator from Saginaw, Michigan -- to get their advice on activities that can help you celebrate Thanksgiving with your special needs child, while teaching other valuable skills and lessons. Here are their top picks:

Books
It should come as no surprise that there are numerous children’s books on Thanksgiving. A recent Amazon.com search on kid’s books and thanksgiving leads to over 450 hits. In addition to helping with vocabulary, spelling and other academic skills, reading also teaches good social skills. Even though many special needs kids have difficulty sitting still during story time, most experts agree, reading is fundamental and essential. Ms. Nickerson adds, “the point is to keep reinforcing reading.”

So how do you choose the best Thanksgiving book for your special needs child? Our experts agree that most books that are age and level appropriate will do the trick. The important message is to choose a book (or several books). Here are a few books that top our list as good picks:

• “The Extra-Thankful Thanksgiving (Little Bill),” by Kim Watson
• “Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks,” by Margaret Sutherland and Sonja Lamut
• “The Pilgrams’ First Thanksgiving,” by Ann McGovern and Elroy Freem
• “A Strawbeater’s Thanksgiving,” by Irene Smalls, Melodye Benson Rosales, and Irene-Smalls Hector (recommended for older children who can read on at least 2nd grade level)
• Gracias – The Thanksgiving Turkey by Joy Cowley
• Arthur’s Thanksgiving by Marc Browne

Scrapbooks & Photo Albums
Nothing shows how much you have to be thankful than putting it down on paper. Scrapbooks are used for everything from celebrating a child's growth to commemorating a successful season for a sports team. It’s no wonder that our educators see scrapbooking as a wonderful tool for teaching your special needs child about being thankful. Ms. Young suggests creating an “I’m thankful” scrapbook that includes photos of things, places, and people that your child loves.

Along the same lines, photo albums can be used to help show your child plenty of things to be thankful for. Old photo albums that focus on family members and places you’ve visited on various vacations are some of the best ways to convey the concept of Thanksgiving.

Videos
Many special needs children are visual learners. Videotapes can be effective aides for teaching your special needs child numerous concepts, including about being thankful.
Try taping your child in his daily activities. Ms. Young suggests taping your child in three to five minute segments, otherwise you may lose his attention span. Add to this tape frequently and before you know it, you’ll have a ready-made story depicting your child’s growth (physically, developmentally and otherwise).

Cooking
Thanksgiving may be the most common holiday associated with food. But don’t just tell your child about the grand meals that the Pilgrims dined on. Show him. “Cooking is a perfect way to teach your child about the five senses – touch, smell, taste, sight and sound,” Ms. Young said. She suggests starting with simple tasks like "slice and bake" holiday cookies. She adds that it’s also the perfect time to introduce or reinforce concepts like hot and cold with apple cider or pies or different textures. Also, she suggests using this time to discuss "sequencing" with your child by having him draw pictures or verbalize how "it" (the food) looked before you cooked it, and after.

Arts and Crafts
Thanksgiving serves as another perfect holiday for introducing arts and craft projects. These activities will not only teach your child about the holiday, but they can also help reinforce valuable social, academic, and sensory skills.

One of Ms. Young’s favorite crafts projects involves leaf collecting. Particularly, in states where you have four seasons and hence a real fall foliage, collecting leaves of various colors and hues can be a great way to review colors with your special needs child. Here’s a simple suggested activity that will take you less than 30 minutes:

• Collect 10 leaves of various colors and sizes
• Paste the leaves on cardboard paper (or iron on wax paper)
• Put the papers in a notebook for safe keeping
• Ask the child to identify the colors

In addition to discussing Thanksgiving with your child, Ms. Young adds, “You can also discuss the seasons with your child and the changes to expect from the present season, upcoming season, and past seasons.”


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