thanksgiving food on display

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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. 
  3. 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).
  4. 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:

French Pronunciation

German Pronunciation

Spanish Pronunciation

Italian Pronunciation

Thankful Tree

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