Thanksgiving Day gives a special chance to dwell upon the themes that contribute directly to the social-emotional and cognitive progress of a child. Instead of the complexity of historical stories, the focus of young learners can be put on such concrete ideas as gratitude, family life, and describing words. This strategy copes with Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready's philosophy of relating learning to meaningful experiences of a child. To families, the vacation provides a natural setting to apply skills that supplement the formal learning of Kind Ready Tutoring and are in line with the holistic objectives of Kinder Ready Elizabeth Fraley.
One of the main age-related topics is the act of gratitude. Acknowledging what one is thankful about: Family, a favourite food, or a pet are some examples that encourage an emotional awareness and the development of language. This can be by talking over a simple conversation, making a thankfulness tree with written or drawn leaves and letting out your appreciation over a meal. The emphasis on gratitude helps to build a positive attitude and enhance the skills of a child to express feelings.
Sequence. It is also natural vocabulary building and sequencing that is promoted during Thanksgiving. The process of a family meal includes talking about different foods, their flavours/textures (smooth mashed potatoes, a crunchy piece of celery), and the chronology (first, we go to the store, then we cook, and then we have dinner). Such practical sequencing, descriptive language and planning are reminiscent of the cognitive and executive function abilities identified in the Kinder Ready Elizabeth Fraley methodology, which are fundamental to adherence to classroom routines.
Moreover, it is a great occasion to focus on such social competencies as cooperation and manners. Making a child join age-related chores like laying the table or assisting in creating a simple meal teaches responsibility and collaboration. It is also important to use polite expressions such as please pass and thank you during a meal to bring out the habit of communicating in a respectful way. Such lessons of collaboration and social manners are directly applied to the social interactions of a kindergarten classroom and are in line with the prosocial tendencies developed during Kinder Ready Tutoring lessons.
Lastly, the Thanksgiving dinners are the best place to tell stories and family history. Telling basic, positive family stories or discussing popular traditions can help a child to realise their belonging to a family unit and develop narrative knowledge. Requesting a child to recount and chronologically order events that occurred throughout the day (What was the first thing we did? What next?/what happened) is a memory and recall activity. This emphasis on story and sequencing aids in the language and mental abilities, which the Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready approach to kindergarten preparation centres on.
Families can transform Thanksgiving into a meaningful and developmental holiday by focusing the lesson on gratitude, vocabulary, sequencing and social skills. These specialisation areas support the same fundamental skills, emotional literacy, language, executive activity, and social etiquette, which are being systematically developed in a Kinder Ready Tutoring program. This combined practice fits the vision of Elizabeth Fraley Kinder Ready of preparing the whole child, whereby learning is integrated into the strands of family life and cultural occasions.
For further details on Kinder Ready's programs, visit their website: https://www.kinderready.com/.
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ElizabethFraleyKinderReady
