Giving Thanks (continued)
Ms. Nickerson agrees that there are numerous arts and crafts projects
that can be used with your special needs child to celebrate thanksgiving.
She suggests interactive finger play games like “5 little
pumpkins," where the child holds up a finger for each pumpkin
and repeats a phrase like “pumpkin one like the color orange.”
One of her favorite art activities that takes less than 10 minutes
is making a cardboard turkey. You can also use this activity to
also teach your child about colors and counting skills Here’s
how it works:
• Trace your child’s hand on five different color pieces
of cardboard
• Cut one finger out of each piece of cardboard
• Draw a circle on a white piece of paper
• Paste each finger on top of the circle, using the thumb
as the turkey’s head
Pumpkin Fun
Pumpkins are not only great for decorating during during halloween,
they are also popular during Thanksgiving. From Pumpkin pie to pumpkin
soup, many families have some pumpkin dish at their Thanksgiving
celebration. In addition to cooking and the various arts and crafts
that can be done with a pumpkins, try using the pumpkin to teach
and reinforce academic lessons. Ms. Young’s top picks include
discussing concepts like:
• size: big, bigger, biggest, small,
medium, large,
• quantity: more/less, greater/fewer.
• counting, addition/subtraction: one through ten; if I take
one away how many do I have, etc
She adds, “for extra fun use the pumpkin seeds for these activities
and then bake them and eat them as a snack.”
Other Resources
The web is abundant with helpful resources on a myriad of topics
and Thanksgiving is no exception. Here's our top pick of websites
explaining the meaning of Thanksgiving and suggested activities
for your special needs child.
The Activity Idea Place
http://www.123child.com/fall/thanks.html
The Activity Idea Place is a Web site geared to early childhood
educators with over 2400 activity ideas, but can be a great resource
for parents. This link includes numerous art activities, games,
math and science, songs, and play activities.
eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/how_5886_teach-children-meaning.html
eHow.com is the world’s largest collection of information
on how to do things. Check out this link on how to teach children
the meaning of Thanksgiving
The Holiday Zone
http://www.theholidayzone.com/thanks/index.html
The Holiday Zone is a Web site with activities, games, projects,
and recommended books and links on numerous holidays. Check out
this link for ways to explain Thanksgiving and numerous activities,
games, poems, suggested books, songs and numerous other tips.
Tinspin's
http://members.cox.net/tinsnips/Pages/thanksgiving.html
Tinspin’s runs a special education resource Web site. This
is one of the best Web sites for activities specifically geared
toward the special needs child. Also, this Web site is a great resource
for any Pre-K or Kindergarten child as well. Check out this link
for numerous Thanksgiving games and activities for special needs
children.”
Shannon King Nash volunteers her time with several special needs
and autism non-profits. Shannon is an attorney, CPA and freelance
writer who primarily covers issues relating to autism and developmental
disabilities. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia School
of Law. Shannon is currently writing a handbook for special needs
parents on the top 10 issues that they should know. Shannon lives
in California with her husband Bill, son Jason, and Charlie, her
chocolate Labrador Retriever. She may be reached at specialneedscorner@hotmail.com
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November 15, 2004
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