Thanksgiving is just around the corner– so we rounded up the best Thanksgiving ideas for families. From preschoolers and littles (1.5 to 4 years), the K-6 crew (4-12 years old), and beyond, these ideas work for all ages. Bonus: All of them center on gratitude, an important component of social-emotional wellness!
Practicing Gratitude
Many families are familiar with a tried-and-true Thanksgiving tradition: “Let’s go around the table and say what we’re grateful for!” But, if you’re ready for Thanksgiving ideas with a little more pizzazz, check out our ideas below.
Thankful Turkey Wreath
Use fun paints, construction paper, glitter, and other crafting supplies to make these fun turkey wreaths from "Fun Learning for Kids." Each feather has space to write or draw about gratitude. Even better, this wreath can be made by an individual or the whole family!
Thankfulness Tree
This cool family art project uses recycled materials - scrap paper and packing paper! The Thankfulness Tree from "Coffee Cups and Crayons" is similar to the turkey wreath above, with the leaves representing what each family member is grateful for. We love this because it doubles as installation art at home, and can be made as big as you can dream! If you're looking for something that takes up less space on the wall, consider hole-punching each leaf and stringing them on a garland, instead.
Thank You Notes
Depending on how artistic your child is feeling, you can choose store-bought thank you notes, or make your own, like these cute turkeys from "Mom Trusted." Help your child come up with a short list of people they are grateful for that could use some extra love and appreciation! Teachers, parents, and other loved ones are usually first on a child's mind, but consider adding firefighters, police officers, nurses and doctors, mail carriers, and other community helpers. Bonus: this is a great activity to practice fine motor skills and language skills. For ages 5 and under, you may want to write an adult translation under the child's words or drawing. For ages 6-12, you may want to provide sentence frames, like: I am thankful to you because _____. I feel ___ knowing that you are ____.
Thanksgiving Conversation Starters
As most parents know, a lot of kids struggle with articulating gratitude. After all, it's a feeling that's hard to describe, and the things we are thankful for can be very different! These conversation starters from "Hands On As We Grow" help kids find a starting point for talking about their thoughts and feelings. Bonus: this activity works for people of all ages, so it's great for bringing together different generations over Thanksgiving dinner.
Want to save your favorite Thanksgiving ideas for families?
Pin it! Save the image below to your Pinterest page to come back to these ideas again and again.
Looking for more ways to connect this season?
Visit our learning centers in Newark for fun opportunities for preschool and K-6 students. Contact us today to learn more about seasonal offerings, like Parents Night Out and Harvest Dinner!