Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and if you’re a parent or preschool teacher, you be starting to think of fun children’s thanksgiving activities to do during the holiday. It can be challenging to find projects that are engaging, affordable, and simple for kids to understand.
I want to take the stress out of this holiday season and have put together a list of the 20 best toddler thanksgiving activities you can do this year!
Themed Lesson Plan
A great way to get your students in the festive season is by putting together a themed lesson plan about thanksgiving. That way, each day the children come to class, they will be excited to find out what activities or crafts will take place!
Painting Hand Turkeys
A great thanksgiving kid’s craft is to have your students or children paint hand turkeys. All you will need is some paint and a piece of paper! I’ve included a link to paint that is non-toxic, easily washable, and great for toddlers to use.
Firstly, you will have your students cover their hand with paint and then press it down onto the paper. Next, they can choose various colors to decorate and design the turkeys.
Thanksgiving Coloring Book
Toddler thanksgiving activities are super fun when there is coloring involved! This fantastic coloring book is affordable and offers many thanksgiving-themed items to color and design.
Toddler’s Sensory Bin
Preschoolers LOVE to touch everything they can! If you’ve been on a walk with a toddler, then I am sure you’re all too aware of them grabbing anything and everything they can find on the ground.
A sensory bin is a great children’s thanksgiving activity that lets them explore the different feelings and textures of fall-related things. Some popular items you can include in your bin are popcorn kernels, fall leaves, dried beans, or pumpkin seeds!
A Tablecloth for Coloring A great thanksgiving kid’s craft is to place a large paper tablecloth over a large table and let the children draw all over it. A helpful tip is to put drawing ideas on your whiteboard and challenge your students to try and draw their version of turkeys, pumpkins, or other thanksgiving related things. This is a great craft that can be done several times throughout the day! An added benefit is that you will be able to keep your tables clean and free of any accidental coloring mishaps! Turkey Headbands
I loved this idea and had to share it with all of you! Toddlers love any chance to dress up, and these turkey headbands were a massive hit among the students. You can check out the full tutorial here! To modify it for younger kids, you can tape and cut the paper in advance so the children can be in charge of the decorating. The final product is something fun they can wear throughout the thanksgiving holiday and bring home to show their parents! Spelling Practice Children’s Thanksgiving activities should still incorporate learning and be fun simultaneously! I think it’s a great idea to help your students learn to spell their names and then use this skill for making some fun fall-related arts and crafts. This easy-to-use name activity is a great way to help pre-schoolers start practicing their letters
while having a great time!
Thanksgiving Books
There are tons of fabulous Thanksgiving-themed books that can be used for story time during the day. I like to have all the children sit down in a circle, and then we go through the book together.
Another great toddler thanksgiving activity is to use an eye-spy book to keep their attention. They’ll have lots of fun listening to the story and trying to pick out all their favorite characters hidden within the pages!
Yarn Pumpkins
A great toddler thanksgiving activity is to build yarn pumpkins! This will get your pre-schoolers feeling excited about fall and the holiday season!
Popsicle Stick Art
Kids love to work with their hands, and every great toddler thanksgiving activity will present an interactive challenge to their students that gets them learning about the holiday and experimenting with new things.
I love to use popsicle sticks as feathers and have the students create turkeys with them. Additionally, if you buy plain coloured popsicle sticks, you can have the kids colour them in as they choose.
I love the simplicity of this activity, and the kids always enjoy seeing their turkeys when they’re finished!
Turkey Dance Parties!
If you have an energetic bunch of pre-schoolers, then sometimes arts and crafts aren’t enough to keep them occupied. In that case, I love to put on some fun thanksgiving or fall music and have them dance around as turkeys!
Yep…you heard that right. I’ll ask them to show me what a big turkey might dance like, a small turkey, a sad turkey, or a happy turkey. This gets them moving around and smiling as they try and replicate the iconic bird.
Paper Bag Turkeys
A toddler’s thanksgiving activities list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the infamous paper bag turkeys! It’s an easy-to-complete arts and crafts project that keeps your students occupied and having fun. The best part is all you need is a paper bag, some colored paper, and markers!
The first step is to cut the colored paper into the feathers and attach them to the back of the paper bag. Following this, you can have the children draw a nose and eyes on the front!
Gratitude Activity
A big part of Thanksgiving is showing gratitude for the people and things we have in our life. I think it’s a great idea to ask your pre-schoolers what they are thankful for and see what answers they can come up with.
Paper Plate Turkey Wreath
Theresourcefulmama.com provides us with an incredible arts and crafts project to do with your pre-schoolers during Thanksgiving. All you need is a paper plate, markers, and coloured paper. Follow the link and have fun building these neat turkey wreaths with your daycare!
Nature Walks
Thanksgiving comes during the fall when the leaves start changing, and beautiful colors can be seen throughout nature! This is an excellent opportunity to take your pre-schoolers on a short outdoor walk to look around and get some fresh air.
However, the weather is likely colder, so make sure they are bundled up in warm jackets, scarves, gloves, and hats before setting off on your adventure.
Egg Carton Turkeys
These egg carton turkeys are super cute and a great thanksgiving kids’ craft! You can find an easy tutorial for creating these little guys with your pre-schoolers here!
The Great Pumpkin Hunt
This is an easy-to-play game that only takes minutes to set up! All you need are a few small pumpkin toys that can be hidden around the room. The task is for your pre-schoolers to search the room and try to find ALL the hidden pumpkins.
Thanksgiving Hot Chocolate
This might require parental permission, but I can’t think of something to get a toddler more excited than a warm cup of hot cocoa!
You can ask them to bring their mugs and then work together to make the hot chocolate and read a thanksgiving story as your drink them together. Check out these awesome mugs on my site!
Turkey Balancing Game
This turkey balancing game is great for toddlers! It’s easy to set up and burns off some of their energy. All you need to do is create some turkey feathers using masking tape and have them try to walk along them without stepping onto the ground beside them.
Turkey Balloons
A great toddler thanksgiving activity is to create turkey balloons! All you need is a balloon, markers, and some colored paper! The children will get to help choose their colors and draw on a face.
That concludes my list of the best children’s thanksgiving activities! I hope these ideas have helped inspire your thanksgiving planning and that you have a great holiday season!
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