Thanksgiving is a holiday that focuses on family and giving thanks for the things we have in our lives. There are many different ways to celebrate and this holiday is filled with unique family traditions. With the strange and stressful year many parents have had, it is more important now than ever to give thanks for the things we do have, and we can teach our children to do that same. While our kiddos were hopefully not stressed about the changes and weirdness of this year, teaching them to be grateful for the life they have is a great lesson that will help them focus on the good as they grow older.
At Yellow Brick Road Early Childhood Development Center, we believe that teaching your child to focus on the good things in their lives at a young age can help them develop and grow positive skills and habits. To help your kiddo give thanks this holiday, we thought it could be fun for you and your little one to do crafts together that focus on giving thanks! If you want to spend some quality time with your child and help them focus on the good, these crafts can be a fun idea. In this blog, we are going to give you step-by-step instructions to help you complete these meaningful crafts with your kiddos!
Giving Thanks Tree Craft
This giving thanks tree craft is a fun and simple craft that your kids will love! You can either have them do their own or work on one together as a family. This is a bigger project, so it could be fun to do it together as a family.
For this project, you will need:
- White poster paper
- Brown paint or marker
- Colorful construction paper
- Scissors
- Glue
Start by drawing the outline of a tree on the white poster paper, with some room between the top of the branches and the top of the poster. Let your kiddos paint or color the tree in with brown markers.
Next, you would take the construction paper (we suggest choosing fall leaf colors, such as red, orange, and yellow) and trace your kiddos handprints on the paper. You can even trace a few of your own! Help your children cut out the handprints. You can make as many handprints as you want. These will be added to the branches of your tree, so just be aware of the space available. If you have extra leaves, you can add them to the bottom of the tree, like fallen fall leaves.
After all of the handprints are cut out, your kids will write what they are thankful for on each handprint. You can write on some as well to show what you are grateful for. This is also great for your child to practice their writing skills.
Once all of the handprint leaves are written on, you can start gluing them near the branches on the poster paper. Let it dry and then hang it where everyone can see so you can remember what you are thankful for this year.
Thankful Turkey Book Craft
This is a cute and fun craft that is perfect for Thanksgiving! Your child will love creating their little turkey book and writing what they are thankful for in it.
For this project, you will need:
- Brown construction paper
- A hole punch
- Yarn
- Colored construction paper
- Googly eyes
- Glue
- Scissors
Start with three sheets of brown construction paper. Stack them on top of each other and fold them in half to make a little book. Along the folded edge of the book, you will make two hole punches about half an inch in from the edge. Have your kiddos pick a color of yarn and cut pieces that are a few inches long. Help your children stick the yarn through the hole punches and tie into bows.
Next, you will make the turkey! Have your child pick a few colors they want the turkey’s tail feathers to be. If your kiddo can use scissors, draw some feathers on the construction paper that are at least a few inches long and one or two inches thick, and let your child cut them out. Be sure to also cut out a yellow beak and red wattle.
Once everything is cut out, you can create your turkey book! Glue the beak and wattle on the cover and the feather on the back so that they stick up over the edge of the top of the book. On the cover, above the beak and wattle, your child can add googly eyes!
Let everything dry. Once their book is dry, have your kiddo write in the papers what they are thankful for. They can read you the book after it is complete and look back at it for years to come!
Thankful Pumpkin Crafts
This pumpkin craft is fun and allows you to create with minimal supplies! Your children will love putting this little pumpkin together.
For this project, you will need:
- Orange construction paper
- Green construction paper
- Glue
- Scissors
- Marker
For this craft, you will start by cutting the orange construction paper into one-inch strips that are as long as the piece of paper. You will need four strips for each pumpkin. You will then cut a few leaves and a thin strip out of the green construction paper.
Have your kiddo write what they are thankful for on each orange piece of paper. They can also write multiple things on each strip if they want to. You will then stack the middle of each orange strip over one another, creating a star-like shape. The side your child wrote on should be facing down. Take both ends of one strip and pull them together in the middle, add some glue. This strip should now be sticking up above the section you glued earlier.
Do the same thing with the other strip, gluing them together at the middle and gluing them to the other strip’s ends. Once all of the strip ends are glued together, you should have a ball-shape made of orange construction paper strips!
Once this part is done, you can have your child glue the pumpkin leaves to the top. Help your child wrap the small green strip around a pencil to curl it, then glue it on to the pumpkin near the leaf. Your thankful pumpkin is now done! Let your child show off their work proudly.
Let your child choose one of these fun crafts or try them all! These crafts are a great way to spend time as a family and help your child learn how to give thanks for the things in their life.
If you are looking for a child care center that can help your child develop important life-long skills, be sure to check out Yellow Brick Road Early Childhood Development Center. We have locations throughout Minnesota, allowing you to find the perfect location close to home.