In this post I have put together a whole bunch of free activities and printables, to say thank you 🙂 I hope you have tons of fun with these with your kids.
Thanksgiving Activities
Creative Space
Play dough, stamps, scissors, lacing beads and cards, puzzles and blocks are set out for the children to choose from, and get creative during this 30 minute period.
Thanksgiving Morning Meeting
Everyday during Circle Time we do the morning routine, which includes the Calendar and ‘Number, Color, Shape and Letter of the week’. We then read a story, sing a few songs and do a group activity.
On every Monday we change the ‘Classroom Helpers’ Classroom Jobs. Each child has a name card on a popsicle stick, and they get to choose their job of the week.
Thanksgiving Circle Time Activities
Activity 1: Weekend News
Every Monday morning each child gets a chance to talk about their weekend and what they did. The children then draw a picture in the ‘weekend news’ journal, and the teacher writes down what they have said.
Activity 2:
My kids loved this fun fitness activity and also learned all about the word TURKEY
Activity 3: Telephone, Telephone
Ask the children to sit in a circle. Whisper a sentence that is related to anything ‘Thanksgiving’ in the child that is sitting next to you’s ear (for example ‘I am thankful for food’). The child whispers it into the child that sits next to them’s ear. They continue around the circle and the last child has to say whatever they heard out loud.
Activity 4: Where is the turkey?
Children turn around and close their eyes. Hide a picture of a turkey (find one at the end of this lesson plan) somewhere in the room. When the children open their eyes, they start guessing, for example ‘The turkey is near the door’. If the turkey is near the door, teacher replies with ‘hot’. If it is not near the door, teacher replies with ‘cold’. Continue until the children find the turkey!
Activity 5: Turkey Fitness & Yoga
Thanksgiving Songs
Eight action songs all about Thanksgiving, to get those bodies moving and grooving. Click on the image to head over to the post.
Thanksgiving Books
Seventeen of the best story picture books that are perfect for the Thanksgiving theme. Click on the image below to read what these books are about.
Free Thanksgiving Printables
Printable 1: Turkey Number Book
- Copy the ‘Turkey Number book’ activity sheets
- Color the turkey’s brown
- Children paint the same number of feathers on the turkey as is stated on each page using yellow, orange, red and brown tempera paint (I had some extra time on my hands, so I cut the feathers out of construction paper)
- Let dry and wait for the next day to cut out and assemble
Printable 2: We Are Thankful! Class tree
- Help the children to trace their hands on red, green, yellow and brown construction paper
- Children cut these out. While they are cutting, the teacher walks around and asks them what they are thankful for. The teacher then writes this on their handprints and the children trace over these words.
- Print the ‘We Are Thankful’ heading and tree template out on A3 paper and cut out. Paste these on poster board sized construction paper.
- Ask the children to come to the front and tell their friends what they are thankful for. Teacher paste their handprints as leaves on the tree.
Printable 3: Turkey Tracks
I found this awesome activity over at Fun-A-Day.com, and created a free printable to go with it.
- Bend the pipe cleaners to look like turkey feet.
- Make three u-shapes in the middle of the pipe cleaner, then press them together. Bring both ends together, twist them up, and bend it at a ninety-degree angle.
- Press the ‘turkey feet’ into the tempera paint and make prints all over the ‘My turkey made ___ tracks’ activity sheet (found at the end of this lesson).
- When children feel they are done, help them count how many tracks their turkeys made and record it in the space provided.
Thanksgiving Crafts
Craft 1: Shape Turkeys
This fun Shapes Turkey Craft I found over at housingaforest.com. Click on the link to head over to their blog for full instructions.
I created free shape templates (simply print and glue onto cardboard, then cut out) to make it easier for the kids to trace and cut out the shapes.
The whole activity took about 2 hours, but it was so worth it!
Craft 2: Fork Feather Turkey Place Mat
The Fork Feather Turkey idea, I got over at happytoddlerplaytime.com. Once again, click on the link to go to their blog for detailed instructions.
I created a free printable to make the fork-feathered turkeys on (printed on A3 paper). l laminated the finished products and the children used these as their place mats during our Thanksgiving Lunch at school.
Craft 3: Turkey Hat
This is an easy Turkey Hat craft. Cut out the feathers (in green, red, orange, yellow and brown construction paper), the strip to glue it on, 2 big white and 2 smaller black circles for the eyes, and an orange triangle for the beak. Children glue all the pieces together and the teacher can help them to staple the hat together.
Thanksgiving Snack
Coolmompicks.com has some great Thanksgiving Snack ideas and I really like the Apple and Bread Turkeys. Even though they did not turn out as fantastic as the original idea, the children still had a ball. Click on the link to have a look at the other snack ideas.
Thanksgiving Science
We did not have enough time to try this Dancing Corn Science Experiment this week, but will definitely make some next year!
Click on the image below for a free Thanksgiving Themed Lesson Plan, that integrates Literacy, Math, Science, STEM and so much more.
