November has arrived with its crisp autumn air and bright-colored leaves floating from the trees. That can only mean one thing – Thanksgiving is on its way! In this blog post, we'll explore a treasure trove of some of the best Thanksgiving activities for kids, ensuring that your students are engaged in their learning while also participating in valuable educational activities during November.
From diving into the history of the first Thanksgiving to crafting delightful hand-traced turkeys and other Thanksgiving crafts, these Thanksgiving activities for kids are designed to make learning a fun adventure. Get ready to create lasting memories and cultivate a sense of gratitude with these engaging and fun-filled Thanksgiving ideas. Let's take a look at some of my favorite ways to teach younger students about Thanksgiving:
1. Learn About Pilgrim Life
Kick off the Thanksgiving season by teaching your kindergarten and first-grade students about Pilgrim life. Use simple stories and videos to share what life was like for the Pilgrims, including their journey to the New World and the challenges they faced.
A great way to have students really understand what life was like long ago is by transforming your classroom into a Pilgrim village for the day. Have your students visit different stations where they can try out different chores and activities that pilgrim children would have done long ago. You can have them do these fun Thanksgiving activities for kids:
- Write with a feather quill
- Help make a classroom quilt
- Plant a garden
The key to understanding for young children is making things as hands-on as possible. As you immerse your students in pilgrim life it helps them understand the difference between life long ago and their lives today. Head over here to see 8 different stations and how you can spend the day in the life of a pilgrim.
2. The First Thanksgiving Activities For Kids
As you're learning about pilgrim life, this is the perfect opportunity to explore the history of Thanksgiving with your class. Take your students on a journey back through time with an accurate portrayal of what life was like for the pilgrims and the Native Americans, Teach students about the voyage on the Mayflower, and learn about the daily life of the pilgrims and also the Wampanoag. Finally, teach students about the first Thanksgiving dinner feast and the true story behind this event.
One of our favorite Thanksgiving activities was making an interactive craft book about the first Thanksgiving. We would spend about a week learning the history of this holiday and make a new page in our book every day. We learned about:
- The Mayflower voyage
- The Pilgrim's daily life
- The life of the Wampanoag
- The first Thanksgiving feast
Making this Thanksgiving book is a fun way to give young students an accurate portrayal of the first Thanksgiving in an age-appropriate way. Head over here to see this fun Thanksgiving activity and each page of our interactive craft book.
3. Balloons Over Broadway Activities
Another fun activity to add to your November lesson plans is to introduce your students to the magic of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with the book Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet. One of the kid's favorite Thanksgiving traditions is watching the parade while mom cooks their Thanksgiving dinner. But have they ever heard the history behind the parade?
Teach your students about Tony Sarg, the famous inventor of the giant balloons we've all grown to love in the parade. Discuss the creative process behind making the parade balloons and maybe even have a little STEM challenge for the students to create their own balloon designs. It's a fantastic, educational activity for younger students during the holiday season and one of my favorite Thanksgiving activities for kids. Some lesson ideas are:
- Writing a report about Tony Sarg
- Designing a Thanksgiving Day parade balloon
- Creating your own balloon and having a parade in your school
These Thanksgiving classroom activities are a great way to add some critical thinking the week before Thanksgiving break. Kids will have so much fun designing their own balloons and learning about the Macy's parade. Head over here to see all of the activities you can do with the book Balloons Over Broadway.
4. Thanksgiving Activities For Kids – Making Pumpkin Pie
The Thanksgiving holiday wouldn't be complete without a little pumpkin pie, right? Take advantage of everyone's love of this tasty dessert by showing your students how to make pumpkin pie. This is a great opportunity for a hands-on, sensory experience. Use this activity to teach them about different fall ingredients and the process of making a Thanksgiving classic.
When you finish making the pie, work with your students in shared writing to write the steps. This is the perfect time to teach students how to use the temporal words first, next, then, and last as you review procedural writing. Then students can practice their own how-to writing activity. Here are a few things you can do in this lesson:
- Make a no bake pumpkin pie with your class
- Have students write how to make a pumpkin pie
- Make a pumpkin pie paper plate craft
- The best part? Enjoying the delicious pumpkin pie together!
Making pumpkin pie and writing about it is one of the best Thanksgiving activities for kids during the month of November! Head over here to see the exact step-by-step process we did in my classroom for this fun activity.
5. Teach Students About Gratitude
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, take some time to focus on gratitude and being thankful. One of the things we did in my class was focus on gratitude during our November social emotional learning activities. Each day we would focus on some of the different ways we can be grateful.
We would discuss different scenarios and role-play different situations for showing gratitude. We even made a special gratitude jar where we would write things we were grateful for each day. Right before Thanksgiving break we emptied out the jar and read some of our notes to remind us of all of our blessings. Here are a few ways you can have your students practice gratitude:
- Have your students create a gratitude journal.
- Create a thankful tree bulletin board where students can express what they're thankful for.
One of the most important things we can teach children is to have an attitude of gratitude. Head over here to see the gratitude activities that we do during the month of November.
6. A Turkey for Thanksgiving
There are so many great books that you can read to students about Thanksgiving. One of my favorites is A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Wendi Silvano. In this story, Mrs. Moose is preparing for dinner and she really wants a Thanksgiving turkey. Mr. Moose sets out to find a turkey to bring to dinner and all of his friends help him along the way. Mr. Turkey is afraid that they want to eat him so he hides but Mr. Moose finds him and insists he comes to dinner. In the end, we discover that the moose family just wants Mr.Turkey to come as a guest and not a part of the meal.
This story lends itself to many fun Thanksgiving activities including:
- Learning about story elements like character, setting, and plot
- Making text connections
- Persuasive writing activities
- Making turkey crafts with googly eyes
- Brainstorming and writing about their favorite Thanksgiving foods.
The fall season wouldn't be complete without a good turkey story and this is one of the best. Head over here to see how you can blend literature with hands-on activities that young kids will love with A Turkey For Thanksgiving.
7. Thanksgiving Themed Games
Another easy way to make learning fun is with Thanksgiving-themed games. From scavenger hunts to board games with a turkey twist, there are so many creative ways to keep your students engaged while reinforcing lessons. Whether it's a turkey baster relay race or a Thanksgiving-themed crossword puzzle, games are a great way to enhance learning. Here are a few ideas for Thanksgiving themed games that first grade kids will love:
- Roll A Turkey – In this activity, kids roll a dice and double it, then add one more. Students will have a good time practicing the addition strategy doubles plus one in this fun game.
- Turkey Spin A Word – In this activity, the kids spin the turkey spinner to see where it lands. They follow the directions to write their words with pencil, marker, colored pencil or crayon. This simple, no prep center game is always a hit and super easy for you to add to your center!
- Make a turkey construction paper craft – In this easy craft, kids simply trace the turkey and feathers to make a classic Thanksgiving craft.
Thanksgiving-themed games are perfect to add to your math and literacy centers, small group activities, or even morning work during November. Head over here for lots more game ideas with a Thanksgiving theme.
8. Create A Thanksgiving Sensory Bin
Little hands will love searching through a fall sensory bin. You can add simple items to your sensory bin like mini pumpkins, candy corn, little turkeys, turkey feathers, autumn leaves in different fall colors, and other Thanksgiving-themed items. Add some large tweezers for students to use as they search through the bin for treasures. This is a great activity for strengthening their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
9. Design Your Own Thanksgiving Table
If you plan on having a Thanksgiving feast with your class, why not let them design the Thanksgiving dinner table? Students can create place cards, napkin rings, and placemats for the table in beautiful fall colors. They can even help prepare the Thanksgiving meal by helping to make simple things like corn muffins or apple pie.
10. Go On A Fall Scavenger Hunt
A fun fall activity that kids always enjoy is going on a scavenger hunt. Tell the students that you're donning your pilgrim hats and venturing off into the wild to hunt as the pilgrims did for the first Thanksgiving! Take your students on a little nature walk to see what they can find in their native land – (aka the playground). 1st grade kids will love searching for different objects like acorns, flowers, animals, and insects. To make your scavenger hunt even more fun, hide some different items for students to find such as a paper turkey, a bow and arrow, a pumpkin patch, and other Thanksgiving-themed items.
10. Make A Turkey Craft
Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without some kind of cute turkey craft adorning the table! Kids of all ages love making turkey crafts and this can be fun for the whole family or a great activity at your classroom art center. Set up your center with some different trays of craft materials such as tissue paper, pine cones, different colors of construction paper, a toilet paper roll, pipe cleaners, colorful feathers, watercolor paints, and popsicle sticks.
Tell your students it's turkey time at the art center and let them create their own masterpiece for the big day. Kids love open-ended art projects and they will have the best time designing their own turkey craft. It's the perfect way to finish up your Thanksgiving-themed activities before heading off for your Thanksgiving weekend break! Head over here for more fall-themed crafts your students will love.
Remember, the holiday season is a great time to create lasting memories with your students. By incorporating some of these ideas into your lesson plans, you can make the month of November a time of fun, learning, and gratitude in your kindergarten or first-grade classroom. Happy Thanksgiving!
Looking for more Thanksgiving ideas to do with your class? Take a look at these posts:
Take a minute to save these ideas to your favorite Thanksgiving Pinterest board so you can remember them later!
