Thanksgiving and Kids – Learning and Playing All Season Long
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of the year, especially when you have kids. Whether you homeschool through the holidays or not, odds are good you are trying to find the balance between learning and playing with your kids this Thanksgiving season.
When trying to figure out how to homeschool with Thanksgiving using exciting Thanksgiving activities for kids, sometimes it can be hard to think of something new to do.
At the same time, there is so much pressure not to skip any wonderful opportunities That’s why I’ve gathered my expert tips and resources for enjoying Thanksgiving and kids – so you can experience learning and playing all season long.
This article may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy for more details.
First Thanksgiving Activities for Kids
This Thanksgiving, one effortless educational activity to enjoy with your kids is a simple discussion on the history of Thanksgiving. After all, what’s the point of celebrating an important holiday such as this one if we just ignore the historical foundations of where it came from?
Some of my favorite resources for teaching kids the history of Thanksgiving include Thanksgiving-inspired books such as:
- The Story of the Pilgrims, by Ross
- The Pilgrims First Thanksgiving, by Ann McGovern
- If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620, by Ann McGovern
- The Pilgrims of Plymouth, by Marcia Sewall
You can also find some pretty good videos about the history of Thanksgiving. This video about William Bradford is one of my kids’ favorites and we try to watch it every year.
Unfortunately, this video is not available on Amazon. You can watch it for free on YouTube if you like. Or, our family subscribes to The Living Scriptures as a streaming TV service, and this video is available through that.
When you’re done talking about the basic history of Thanksgiving, you can enjoy a First Thanksgiving Unit Study or a Corn Maze Unit Study with your kids for even more learning fun. There’s even a scarecrow unit study for you if you really want to dive into harvest time!
Gratitude Activities for Kids
Regardless of how you handle discussions surrounding the history of Thanksgiving, we can all agree that it’s important to teach our kids all about gratitude. Gratitude is important all year long and not just around the holiday season, but as November rolls around, it can be a nice reminder that it’s time to recenter ourselves and refocus our gratitude efforts.
Some of my favorite gratitude activities for kids include:
- Kid-Friendly Gratitude Journals
- A Gratitude Challenge for Kids
- Thankful Door Activity
- The Christ-Giving Tree
Or check out my roundup of the 16 best gratitude activities for kids on the internet!
More Educational Thanksgiving Activities for Kids
While the holidays are a time for memory-making and fun, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some educational Thanksgiving activities with our kids. I’m a sucker for an educational activity that is so fun the kids don’t even realize they’re learning.
We are big fans of STEM activities at our house, and as far as I’m concerned, the holidays are just one more excuse to enjoy some unique STEAM fun. Pick out a few Thanksgiving STEM activities with your own kids and take some time to enjoy them this season.
Here are some popular examples of Thanksgiving STEM activities:
- Floating Mayflower STEM Challenge
- Dancing Popcorn
- Leaf Chromatography
- Salt Crystal Pumpkins
- Homemade Old-Fashioned Butter
- Cranberry Slime
- Pumpkin volcanoes (or any winter vegetable, such as spaghetti squash, giant cucumber, etc)
Or if you’d like to download and print some free Thanksgiving printables, your kids are sure to have a fun and educational November with minimal effort on your part. This free mini educational Thanksgiving bundle is particularly popular.
Or try these free Thanksgiving coloring pages.
I have put together a ton of Thanksgiving resources for kids and if you want to see everything we’ve ever made with a Thanksgiving tag on it, you can check out the Thanksgiving Bundle – inside are more than 100 pages worth of harvest and gratitude themed resources and activities for kids.
The Thanksgiving Bundle also includes this Educational Thanksgiving Activity Pack, if your kids are into Sudoku, word searches, or other fun learning activities.
Thanksgiving Games and Activities
Playing games with the kids is another fun way to bring some learning into your day. I’ve got a whole collection of free printable Thanksgiving games here. But some of my favorite Thanksgiving games include:
Or check out this roundup for the ultimate collection of free Thanksgiving Activities (100+)
Some of our family’s favorite activities involve delicious food, so we always try to enjoy some cooking and baking fun in the month of November. Discussing my secrets to an exceptional apple pie, or talking about the differences between using butter, shortening, or oil when baking, are all good examples of educational activities to enjoy around Thanksgiving.
You can even apply the scientific method to your baking adventures and have each kid determine what ingredients they will use and predict what the outcome will be.
If you don’t want anything too complicated, simply making homemade butter can be a fun way to include some learning in your holiday preparations.
Whatever you decide to do with your kids this Thanksgiving, remember not to stress too much. Learning happens naturally in our everyday lives. As long as you and your kids are having fun and enjoying your time together, then learning is happening – trust me.
Recommended Resources for Thanksgiving and Kids
More Resources for Holidays, Homeschooling, and Kids
Holiday Homeschooling All Year Long
Expert Tips for Halloween Homeschooling
Christmas Countdown Activities and Ideas for Kids
Or check out these other Thanksgiving resources from some of my blogging buddies! There are dozens of ideas here for you and your kids to explore and enjoy.
- Learn about the History Behind our Thanksgiving Traditions with this resource from Homeschool On the Range.
- Do you have a music lover? This Thanksgiving Music Lesson with Thanksgiving Printable Set from Music in Our Homeschool will be a great addition to your Thanksgiving lessons!
- Are you looking for more ways to enjoy some family time this holiday season? These Five Thanksgiving Traditions That Bring Families Together from Geez, Gwen! are sure to bless your home.
- Are you raising a little one? These Thanksgiving Theme Preschool Lesson Plans from Simple Living Mama will be fun and engaging for little learners.
- Do your kids like games? This Thanksgiving Spot the Difference Game from The Homeschool Cafe is super fun. Go print yours our now!
- Do you want to include some themed lessons in your homeschool but don’t want to overwork or exhaust yourself? These Thanksgiving Homeschool Resources for a Low-Prep, Mini Unit Study from Whole Child Homeschool might make your life a whole lot easier.
- Don’t feel like you have a lot to be grateful for? This lesson on Being Grateful When You Don’t Feel Like It from Julie Naturally will change your entire perspective.
- Are you wondering how to keep the learning alive without sacrificing holiday traditions and fun? This article entitled, How to Homeschool During the Holidays Successfully from Some Call It Destiny, will provide you with some great insights.
- This Thanksgiving Morning Basket from Heart and Soul Homeschooling will make November mornings in your homeschool fun and interesting too!
- Are you looking for a unique way to enjoy the season? These 4 Fall Traditions and A Sensory Look at the Season from Inside Our Normal aren’t overly done but are still fun and easy!
- These Thanksgiving Homeschool Activities + Unit Studies from Homeschool with Moxie are going to be a great addition to your homeschool.
- Any game lover is going to get a kick out of these Free Printable Games and Activities for a Fun Family Thanksgiving from The WOLFe Pack.
- Gratitude is such an importance concept to teach and this Teach Gratitude and Thanksgiving through Praise and Worship from In All You Do will help make this lesson fun and interesting for all.
- Are you still looking for a gratitude journal for your kids? Maybe this Gratitude Journal for Kids from Homeschooling 4 Him is exactly what you’re looking for.
- These Free Thanksgiving Coloring Pages and Activity Printables from Blessed Homeschool are a fun way to add some quiet, themed activities to your holiday celebrations.
And there you have it! Plenty is Thanksgiving resources and ideas for you, your kids, and your homeschool. Enjoy!