Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to introduce your child to new vocabulary in different languages, especially when it comes to food, family, and festive preparations! Here’s how you can celebrate Thanksgiving while teaching your child words in French, German, Spanish, and Italian, with some simple craft ideas to make learning even more fun! You can use the links at the end of the blog to download audio guides for pronunciation.
Cooking and Food Vocabulary
The kitchen is at the heart of Thanksgiving. As you cook together, you can introduce words in French, German, Spanish, and Italian. Below are some essential cooking and food-related words:
| English | French | German | Spanish | Italian |
| the turkey | la dinde | der Truthahn | el pavo | il tacchino |
| the mashed potatoes | la purée de pommes de terre | das Kartoffelpüree | el puré de patatas | il purè di patate |
| the pie | la tarte | der Kuchen | el pastel | la torta |
| the cranberries | les canneberges | die Preiselbeeren | los arándanos | i mirtilli rossi |
| the gravy | la sauce | die Soße | la salsa | la salsa |
As you cook, encourage your child to name ingredients or repeat the words as you prepare the meal. For example, ask “Can you pass la tarte?” or “Let’s make some el puré de patatas.”
Family Vocabulary
Thanksgiving is all about family! You can use the occasion to talk about family members in different languages:
| English | French | German | Spanish | Italian |
| the table | la table | der Tisch | la mesa | il tavolo |
| the candle | la bougie | die Kerze | la vela | la candela |
| the flowers | les fleurs | die Blumen | las flores | i fiori |
| the chair | la chaise | der Stuhl | la silla | la sedia |
| the napkin | la serviette | die Serviette | la servilleta | il tovagliolo |
To make it fun, create a Thanksgiving seating arrangement with name cards. Write “Mom” or “Dad” in French, German, Spanish, or Italian and let your child place the name cards at the table.
Decorating the House and Preparing for Guests
Preparing the house for guests is a great way to teach decorating vocabulary. Here are some useful words:
| English | French | German | Spanish | Italian |
| the car | la voiture | das Auto | el coche | la macchina |
| the airplane | l’avion | das Flugzeug | el avión | l’aereo |
| the luggage | les bagages | das Gepäck | el equipaje | il bagaglio |
| the map | la carte | die Karte | el mapa | la mappa |
| the road | la route | die Straße | la carretera | la strada |
While setting the table, ask your child to hand you specific items using the target language: “Pass me la chaise,” or “We need another la servilleta.”
Traveling Vocabulary
If you’re traveling for Thanksgiving, it’s the perfect time to introduce travel-related words:
| English | French | German | Spanish | Italian |
| the car | la voiture | das Auto | el coche | la macchina |
| the airplane | l’avion | das Flugzeug | el avión | l’aereo |
| the luggage | les bagages | das Gepäck | el equipaje | il bagaglio |
| the map | la carte | die Karte | el mapa | la mappa |
| the road | la route | die Straße | la carretera | la strada |
Point out things along your journey and ask your child to name them in different languages: “What is ‘car’ in German?” or “How do you say ‘road’ in Spanish?
Simple Thanksgiving Craft: Paper Thankful Tree
Crafts can help reinforce vocabulary as your child listens and repeats words in different languages. Here’s a simple Thanksgiving craft to try—a Paper Thankful Tree. This activity is also a wonderful way to teach gratitude!
Materials:
- Brown paper or construction paper (for the tree trunk)
- Colored paper (for leaves)
- Scissors
- Glue
Instructions:
- Create the trunk: Cut out the trunk from brown paper and glue it to a large sheet of paper. You can use the printable at the end of this blog as a template or color it brown.
- Make the leaves: Cut out the leaves from colored paper. On each leaf, write something you’re thankful for. You can use the leaves from the printable as templates or color them and cut them out.
- Write what you’re thankful for on each leaf: Write the word in English and your new language. For example, write “family” in French (la famille), “food” in German (das Essen), or “friends” in Spanish (los amigos).
- Glue the leaves to the tree: As your child glues the leaves, encourage them to name the colors or things they are thankful for in their new language.
This craft brings the family together, reinforces the concept of thankfulness, and helps children associate new words with familiar concepts.
Final Thoughts
By incorporating Thanksgiving traditions into your language-learning routine, you’re making language acquisition fun, engaging, and meaningful for your child. Whether you’re cooking in the kitchen, setting the table, or making a craft, each activity is an opportunity to reinforce vocabulary in French, German, Spanish, and Italian.
Click the links below to download pronunciation guides for the words introduced in the charts:
Fancy some free resources?
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