Preschool Thanksgiving Ideas

I recently pulled out all my preschool curriculum out of storage boxes. I used this with my older two children, and now my youngest child is ready! Some of the ideas I wrote down and stored in my binder. Some ideas I listed the source where I found the activity, and unfortunately, others, I did not.

Thanksgiving

ART ACTIVITES

Pine Cone Turkey

What You Need:

Large Pine Cone

Colored Construction Paper

Scissors

Glue

What You Do:

1. Draw the shape of a turkey head on construction paper.

2. Then trace both of your child's hands on a separate piece of construction paper.

3. Cut out all.

4. Glue to opposite ends of pine cone.

5. The fingers from the hand cutouts really do look like tail feathers!

Thanksgiving Handprint Tree

Make a trunk out of brown construction paper.

Use red, orange, and yellow construction paper to trace your children's hands, and then cut out to use as leaves on the tree.

On each leaf, write down one thing your child is thankful for.

Each day add more leaves...you can even add leaves to the ground to show that leaves fall off the trees during autumn!

Feather Painting

Provide each child with a feather, paint, and paper. Ask the children to paint a picture using the feather as a paintbrush.

Hand Turkey

Paint the palm of your child's hand brown (the body of the turkey). Paint each finger a different color (red, yellow, orange, brown, etc...) to be the turkey's feathers. Then gently press the child's painted hand on a piece of construction paper or cardstock. Gently lift the hand up, let it dry, and then paint on the gobbler, beak, and eyes to complete the hand turkey.

Head Bands

Cut paper strips to make a head band out of. Then staple feathers or make your own feathers out of construction paper.

Indian Vests

Make and decorate vests from paper grocery bags.

Teepees

you can show the children how to make teepee's from paper by maing the paper into a cone shape and taping it. have the children decorate their teepees.

Thank You Cards

Have the children make thank you cards. have the children give the card to someone special.

Place Mats

have the children make a fall or Thanksgiving place mat by coloring it, or cutting pictures out of magazines. then have an adult laminate them.

MATH AND SCIENCE

Popping Popcorn

What happens when you heat up corn kernels? Get an air popper and let hte children watch the corn kernals pop Be sure to let the children know tha tthe container is hot.

Turkey Feather Game

Find a picture of a turkey tha tyou like. make six copies of it. Cut out the bodies of the turkeys so you have to had the feathers to make the turkey complete). Write the number "one" on the first turkey, "two" on another, repeat tiwth the numers three through six. Provide the children with twenty one feather shapes, cut from construction paper or store bough craft feathers. Ask the children to place the appropriate number of feathers on each turkey. One feathe ron the turkey with the number one on it and so on.

Feather Sorting

Cut out several different feather shapes from construction paper or provide the children with store bought craft feathers. Ask the children to sort the feathers according to color. Ask the children, "How many red feathers do you have?" etc...

Bead Patterns

Provide the children with beads for lacing and pattern cards. Do simple patterns for younger children, or just allow them to string the beads.

GAMES

Do the Turkey Pokey

Sing the hokey pokey just like normal, but then the last line goes as follows: "You do the Turkey Pokey and you gobble all around, that's what it's all about."

Pin the Feather on the Turkey

Do you really need instructions for this one:)

Popcorn Pop

have the children watch popcorn pop. have the children pretend to be popcorn. Upbeat music, or a recording of popping corn may stimulate the children to jump more.

Feather or Turkey Hope

Cut out large feather or turkey shapes from colored construction paper. laminate them and cut them out. Place them on the floor and ask the children to hop from one father or turkey to another.

Thanksgiving Recipes

this is always absolutely hilarious. My son did this in his Sunday school class one year, and I've been doing it with the children ever since. You simply ask the children how to cook a Thanksgiving Turkey. Ask questions like...what temperature the oven needs to be, how long do you cook it, what do you do to prepare the turkey before it goes into the oven...and so on...

Poem

(TO GO ALONG WITH A HANDPRINT TURKEY)

This isn't just a turkey

as anyone can see,

I made it with my hand

which is a part of me.

it comes with lots of love

especially to say,

I hope that you have a very

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY