Thanksgiving Activities for Preschoolers and Free Thanksgiving Theme Preschool Lesson Plan

Pilgrims, harvest feast, gratitude…it’s time for Thanksgiving! We just had a really fun Thanksgiving theme preschool lesson, and I’m excited to share it with you. The activities are simple, requiring materials you probably already have at home. You can pick a few of these Thanksgiving activities for kids or use the full free preschool lesson plan. This lesson is fun, educational, and perfect for your little preschooler.

Mommy Preschool is a highlight at our house. Whether we have little friends join us or it is just me and my Littles, each of my kids has loved home preschool. Each lesson contains activities for talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing. These are the daily habits that build a foundation for kids to be ready to read. Plus, they create a fun and educational variety.

Check out this list of the free preschool lesson plans that are published or in the works. I’m so happy to share these lesson plans and love hearing how you are using them at home. Share what is working for you in the comments or on social media using #lovinlifewithlittles.

With that, let’s get right to our Thanksgiving activities and free Thanksgiving Theme Preschool Lesson Plan!

Click here for an easy-to-print Outline of the free Thanksgiving Preschool Lesson Plan.

Introduction

Gather in a circle, and sing a Welcome Song.  Talk about the day of the week, weather, or anything else you like to include in your introduction.

Talk: Desire

We started out with a short discussion about desire. I asked the following questions.

Have you ever wanted something really badly? What would you be willing to do to get that? Would you do extra chores or wait a long time?

Little #4 talked about really wanting to go swimming!

Next, we transitioned to today’s preschool topic: we’re going to learn about a group of people who wanted something really badly. They wanted to be able to have religious freedom. We talked about how the pilgrims wanted to go to church where they wanted and wanted to worship God how they wanted. That wasn’t possible where they lived, so they were really brave and decided it was worth it to leave friends and home and move to a new land.

Read: The Story of the Pilgrims

The Story of the Pilgrims by Katharine Ross is a wonderful introduction to the story of the pilgrims, Native Americans, and their harvest feast. The illustrations are realistic, and there is a section in the back that gives more information about the drawings.

You can add The Story of the Pilgrims to your home book collection or search your local library for nonfiction style books about Thanksgiving. Most libraries have a holiday’s section you can look through.

After reading the book, I answered questions about the story. Then I said that today we were going to pretend to be pilgrims!

Create: Make a Pilgrim Hat

We used construction paper, scissors, and glue to make cute, simple pilgrim hats. You can follow this simple tutorial.

Music and Play: Sailing on the Mayflower

Wearing the pilgrim hats, we were ready to set sail. Each Little got a white dish towel to use as a sail. You could also use scarves.

We danced to the song Fireflies, featuring wind instruments. Moving in different ways to the music, we tried to have our sails catch the wind. We moved up and down, twirling and dancing as we pretended to sail on the Mayflower.

After the song ended, we pretended to cut logs and build a common house. We huddled up for a quick winter, and when that ended, we were ready to plant our crops.

Sing: Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow

After a reminder of how the Native Americans helped teach the pilgrims to grow crops in this land, I asked if the Littles knew how to grow plants. “You need water!” Little #4 said. “Yes!”

We pretended to plant and care for our crops as we sang and did the motions of Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow. I find that if we sing songs at least twice, the kids start to catch-on and join in. Don’t be afraid of repetition! It’s good for all of us!

Play: Turkey Hunt

After harvesting our crops, we were almost ready for our feast. We just needed a turkey!

You can use a turkey stuffed animal if you have one or print this turkey (preferably on cardstock).

I sent the kids out of the room, and I hid the turkey. After inviting the Littles to come back, they hunted for the turkey. Whoever found it got to hide it next. When the turkey was too hard to find, we gave “Hot and Cold” clues to help the hunters.

This game is one of our favorite Thanksgiving activities. The kids loved it, and even my one-and-a-half year old figured it out and got excited when he found the turkey!

Science: Make Butter

We poured some cream into a baby food jar. (I always keep a few jars around, as they are perfect for crafts.) However, you can use any container with a screw top or a lid that will for sure stay on. Some people use a plastic bag, but then you have to worry about it breaking or popping open.

Next we added a pinch of salt to our cream and started shaking.

Shake, shake, shake!

I timed how long it took us to turn our cream to butter, so I could tell you guys. Unfortunately, I forgot to stop the timer, so it was something like 17 hours! J I’d guess it took five to ten minutes though, with me taking a turn.

When you can feel the cream no longer slopping around but instead sitting solidly in the jar, your butter is ready! Ours was a whipped butter rather than a thick one, and it tasted great.

You can teach a bit about why the butter forms or do experiments with different temperatures if you want to dig more into the science.

Snack: Pilgrim Snack Mix

Finally, it was time for the harvest feast!

While it might not be a true feast, my kids loved the simple Pilgrim Snack Mix I put together. The Pilgrim Snack Mix contained popcorn, candy pumpkins, and Craisins or raisins. (Bonus: the pumpkins were on clearance from Halloween!)

We also ate a piece of bread with our homemade butter.

As we ate, we talked about what foods were probably eaten at the first harvest feast including variations on what was in their mix: corn, squash, fruits, and berries.

Read: Turkey Trouble

While the kids ate, I read some fun Thanksgiving stories. We read Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano and A Plump And Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman. My kids laughed and enjoyed both. Try these two books, or search your local library “Special Day” shelf.

Write: Thanksgiving Writing Practice

I created a free Thanksgiving Writing Practice Printable to practice tracing and writing. Little #4 is really getting into reading and writing her name, so of course there is a line to practice that.

On the back of the printable, we traced her hand and turned it into a simple turkey to color. Little #5 likes coloring but is too little for tracing, so he only did the turkey coloring.

Sing: One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims

We gathered back into our circle on the floor and sang along to the book One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims by B. G. Hennessy. You can find the tune here if you are not familiar with it. We used our fingers to count up to ten as we sang about pilgrims, Wampanoag, and Big Fat Turkeys.

Talk: Gratitude

We discussed how grateful the pilgrims were for the Native Americans and their help, this new land of freedom, their survival, and other blessings. We took turns sharing things for which we are grateful. We discussed a few ways to show gratitude, such as saying thank you, writing a note, or praying.

Closing

Lastly, I expressed gratitude to be the mommy of each of my kids. I shared how excited I am to celebrate these brave pilgrims, kind Native Americans, and their harvest feast. I hoped that they enjoyed these Thanksgiving activities and learning about the pilgrims.

We closed with a goodbye song, and see you next week!

I hope these Thanksgiving activities are fun for you and your Littles. We each have so much for which to be grateful, and this is an ideal time to focus on those blessings. Share in the comments some of your favorite Thanksgiving activities and what you love about Thanksgiving with your Littles. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

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