THANKSGIVING

Below are some Thanksgiving activities and ideas. Enjoy!!!

Art Activities

Assist the children in making turkey placemats for Thanksgiving. Provide each child with a sheet of manila paper and fingerpaints. The children can dip their hands in the paint and press them on the manila paper. After the placemats have dried the child may wish to decorate the handprint to resemble a turkey. Label with the child's name and cover with clear contact paper.
Encourage the children to make their own turkey pictures using chalk and construction paper dampened with liquid starch. The children can brush on the starch with paint brushes and then use chalk to create their pictures. After the chalk dries, spray the pictures with hair spray to keep them from smearing.
Make turkey puppets using lunch bags and paper plates. They can draw feathers on the plates before assembling. Assist the children in gluing the paper plates to the backs of the paper bags. They can also add facial features to the front of the bag.
Have the children design a collage of things they are thankful for and things they like. Provide magazines and old photos, construction paper, glue and scissors. Label the items, directing the children's attention to the words that correspond to the pictures.
Have the children create designs using dried corn.
Make tie-dyed napkins by boiling cranberries in water. Dip squares of white material, that has been tied into knots into the water. Let dry!
Give the children a large sheet and squeeze bottles full of tempera paint. Have them paint all over, for a Thanksgiving table cloth.
Make Native American headbands or drums using empty shortening cans.

Cognitive Activities

Sequence turkey, pilgrim or Native American cutouts from smallest to largest.
Provide cards with matching pairs of Thanksgiving-related pictures or stickers for the children to match.
Place two lines of dried corn kernels on the table. Make sure both lines have the same amount of kernels, but spread one line out so it is longer than the other. Ask the childre if one line has more kernels, then count with the child.
Match different colors of teepees to their corresponding colored teepee.
Make patterns using different colors of beads.
Have the children to create a Thanksgiving menu. Assist them by choosing the foods by voting.
Give the children a Native American, pilgrim or turkey cutout and a box. Have the children place the cutout on, under, beside, etc. the box.

Dramatic Play Activities

Use the turkey placemats made in art for the children to use.
Pilgrim hats or Native American headbands
Construct a teepee using a sheet and poles tied at the top with rope.

Fine Motor Activities

Encourage children to staple together ovals, rectangles, circles and triangles to create a turkey.
String beads, macaroni or straw pieces and make Native American necklaces.
Cut out or tear food pictures from magazines and paste to paper plates.
Encourage the children to string cranberries.

Gross Motor Activities

Dance like Native Americans using drums they made.
Run a relay race using an ear of indian corn.

Group Activities

Have the children take turns tossing a bean bag into a box decorated like a turkey.
Hold a treasure hunt using items related to Thanksgiving.
Explain how children long ago didn't have TV, so they played or danced. Have the children play musical freeze, the Hokey Pokey, etc.

Science Activities

Have an ear of indian corn and a magnifying glass available for them to look at.
Sequence feathers by size or sort by color.
Provide raw and cooked cranberries or potatoes for the children to examine.
Put grass, sticks and stones in a box for examination.
Put a pan of water in the area for children to see which items sink and which float. Use cranberries, bark, corn, stones, grass and sticks.
Have bark available for examination.

GOT SOME IDEAS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE? E-MAIL ME AND IF I USE THEM, I WILL PROVIDE A LINK FROM MY PAGE TO YOURS!!! CLICK BELOW!!!

chalkboard1488@yahoo.com1997

Art Activities

Craft Recipes

Holiday Activities

Math and Science Activities

Nutrition and Recipes

Rhymes and Fingerplays

Social Studies and Motor Activities

Self-Concept Activities

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Expectations of 3, 4, and 5 year olds

Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences