I love Thanksgiving! It is a great time to be with family and friends, eat delicious food, play games, and be thankful for all of the wonderful blessings in our lives. Here are some great activities to do with your children during the four day Thanksgiving weekend:
Turkey Puppet Craft
Materials Needed:
- Brown paper bag
- Two goggly eyes
- Red construction paper
- Orange construction paper
- Yellow tissue square
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Glue
Directions:
- Use a pencil to draw three feathers on the red construction paper.
- Use a pencil to draw three feathers on the orange construction paper.
- Cut out three feathers from the red construction paper.
- Cut out three feathers from the orange construction paper.
- Glue the feathers to the back of the paper bag in a pattern as shown.
- Place two googly eyes on the turkey as shown.
- Use a pencil to draw the turkey’s snood on the red construction paper.
- Cut out the snood from the red construction paper.
- Glue the snood to the back of the flap of the bag as shown.
- Glue the yellow tissue square for the turkey’s beak as shown.
- Put your hand inside of the bag and make your turkey puppet say “Gobble-Gobble!”
Toss The Football (Hot Potato)
Instructions: Have the children sit in a circle and toss a football to each other clockwise (I recommend using a soft football toy, like this Ruffin’ it Plush Sports Ball. Yes, I know it’s a dog toy). Turn on some fun children’s music. When the music stops, the child who is holding the football is out. Repeat until there is only one child left (the winner of the game). Toss The Football (Hot Potato) is fun for kids to play because of the excitement of having to toss the ball quickly. It also teaches them to take turns, which is a big plus!
Fall Colors Run
Instructions: Set up the Fall-themed colored (red, orange, and yellow) mini cones around the house. Tell your child to run to the correct colored cone by having them figure out what the answer is. For example, tell your child “Run to the color of a carrot” and then your child will run to the orange colored cone and shout “Orange!” I love this activity, because it is a great color recognition and naming activity that also involves gross motor skills.
Sinks or Floats Science Experiment
Materials Needed:
- Large bowl
- Water
- Plate
- Items that float (Sponge, straw, Lego block)*
- Items that sink (Rubberband, coin, crayon)*
Directions:
- Teach your child about the Mayflower, the ship that brought the Pilgrims to the New World.
- Arrange all the items on a plate and ask your child to predict what items will float.
- Fill a large bowl with water.
- One by one, have your child drop an item into the water.
- Ask your child to tell you if the item float or sank and to tell you whether his/her hypothesis was correct.
*These items are merely suggestions. I like them, because they can be found in most households, but feel free to try other items and make sure you get your child involved in picking the items as well.
Thanksgiving Parade of Blessings
Instructions:
- Have your child select five balls and help them think of five things they are thankful for. Once they have named them all, tell them that these are their five blessings.
- Have your child place their blessings (balls) into a toy tub/basket.
- If you have more than one child, repeat #1 and #2 with them.
- Tie the end of a rope to the tub/basket and the other end to your choice of ride-on toy for your child. (The ride-on toy pictured is the Kawasakki KFX 700 Ride-On Toy. My daughter never seems to get tired of it. She got it when she turned one and she is currently almost four years old!)
- Have your child sit on the ride-on toy and go on a their very own parade of Thanksgiving Blessings! (Make sure they don’t go too fast, because the blessing will fall out of the tub/basket!)
- If you have more than one child, make sure they each get a turn with #5.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!