November is here and we are looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday later this month. That is the focus for both our Floortime Program and Social Skills Training Program.
Our Floortime Program’s theme for November is “Giving Thanks with Grateful Hearts.” Our clients will be supported by the Floortime Specialists to prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday. Discussions may include items to be thankful for, reasons to be thankful, and future plans with family. There will also be a variety of arts and craft activities available for clients to express their creativity and what they are thankful for.
Our Social Skills Training Program will focus this month on gratitude as well. Being thankful is a win-win situation- it makes the people you are showing thanks for feel good and it helps to build positive thinking and awareness of the good things in the child’s life.
Targeted Skills: Expected/Unexpected Behaviors (Social Rules), Thinking of others, Expressive Language
Sample Activities:
Giving Thanks: Our Specialist will write a list of what they and their client are thankful for including the reasons why they are thankful for each other. Share the list with each other and the family. This can also be done verbally.
Helping the Host (For Parents): When you have a dinner party at your house, assign the child a role for helping out. Have him/her set the table, greet the guest, or clean up before or after the party. Help him/her complete the task by providing prompts or supports and don’t forget to praise the child for helping out.
Thoughtful Words: Our Specialists will help the child make a thank you card and write something nice. Practice 4 steps of communication.
Giving Back: Discuss ways we can give back. We will let the client share how he/she would like to give back to others. This is a great opportunity to step into other people’s shoes and highlight awareness and gratitude for the things that we have.
These are just some of the ways we will learn more about giving thanks and getting ready for the holiday.
We wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving!
