Thanksgiving for Kids
15 FREE Resources Exploring “Thanksgiving”
Sharing Thanksgiving with Young Learners
“Over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh, through the white and drifted snow.” Today we relate this song with the Christmas holiday. Over the years people altered the original poem to be the star of many Christmas programs. However, the poem was about Thanksgiving. The poem written by Lydia Maria Child was first published in 1844 and contained 12 verses. CLICK HERE to see a beautiful rendition of “Over the River and Through the Woods” by the Tabernacle Choir.
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, as it is a time for family, faith and remembering our history. We are so busy these days so much has changed since the time Child’s wrote her nostalgic poem. This post is for those busy educators who can use a starting point for some of my favorite resources to share with young learners. As an Amazon associate I can earn a small commission from links in this blog. Thank you, and happy teaching!
Online Books
There are so many read alouds published on YouTube written and produced for young learners. To keep this post short I only picked a couple of my favorites. CLICK HERE for my 50 Thanksgiving Picture Book Collection for kids.
“Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”
I am a huge Peanuts fan and a lover of the classics. Every year I share this book with my class (sometimes the video if they earned it by reaching a classroom goal). Then before our Thanksgiving break the kids, with some seed planting from the teacher, decide to have a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving feast. Parent’s bring in toasters and it is super fun and memorable! More details in a future post.
“Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving”
Kids love Pete the Cat and in this book Pete explores Thanksgiving through some play.
“The Pilgrim’s First Thanksgiving”
This book tells of the voyage of the Mayflower and the difficulties encountered by the Pilgrims during their first year. It also shares how they celebrated their first harvest.
Thanksgiving Vidoes
I could spend hours watching all the amazing content about Thanksgiving. History, songs, modern, nostalgic – there is so much! Here are a few picks I find helpful when time is limited.
Pilgrim Life with Scholastic News
“This video explores the chores and games of Pilgrim children in the 1620s.” – Excerpt Scholastic News
The Wampanoag Way
“The Wampanoag are a Native American tribe from the northeastern United States. They were there when the Pilgrims arrived in 1620 and they are still there today. Learn about their lives long ago by meeting two modern-day Wampanoag girls.” – Excerpt Scholastic
The Story of Thanksgiving
This cartoon is short and entertaining. Kids from Kindergarten to adults will find it fun.
The First Thanksgiving
As with all videos, it is important to pre-watch anything before sharing with your little ones. This video shows the reality of what happened from a young girls experience. Death was a part of the Pilgrims experience.
Fun Facts About Turkey’s
“Jessi and Squeaks learn some amazing turkey facts, from the sounds they make to what their poop looks like!” – Excerpt SciShow Kids
This video is fun and kids will enjoy. SciShow Kids is one of my favorites!
BONUS Videos
We have to add a few cool Thanksgiving music videos and one from Rob our children’s online art instructor.
Thanksgiving Feast
10 Little Turkey’s
Thank you Thanksgiving!
How to Draw Cartoon Pilgrim’s (boy and girl)
Printable Resources
The last few resources are from some of my peers at Teacher Pay Teacher. Even if you are not a traditional classroom teacher, any caregiver can download free and/or purchase these teachers created resources from the TpT website.
(S) Cranberry Experiment
“This freebie includes 2 different recording sheets for cranberry experiments. One is a cranberry sink or float and one is a cranberry bounce experiment. Your students can make a prediction, then draw/write the results after performing the experiment. These activities are perfect for science time right before Thanksgiving!” – Excerpt Josie’s Classroom
(T) Unplugged Coding
“These screen free Thanksgiving themed coding activities are great for beginners to learn the basics of directional coding and computational thinking. There are 7 different ready to print activities that have students follow directional codes and create their own program using arrows. Use these activities as a STEM center or for independent work as an introduction to coding. These activities are a great way for students to participate in the Hour of Code™ and beyond without using technology.” – Excerpt Rosie’s Superstars
(E) Thanksgiving Book
“Use this fun interactive paper bag book for your students to share what they are thankful for. Each page of the book includes space for them to illustrate and write about what they are thankful for…At Home I’m Thankful For…At School I’m Thankful For…Outside I’m Thankful For…Talents I’m Thankful For…A List of Other Things I’m Thankful For…” Excerpt The Creative Classroom
(M) Thanksgiving Freebie
“Thanksgiving Freebie- 12 pages of activities: Common Core Aligned” – Excerpt Danielle Mastandrea
(H) Thanksgiving Poems, Chants and Performance
“Whether or not you perform for your parents, this packet has many literacy ideas and activities to teach during the month of November.” – Excerpt Reagan Tunstall
(A) Thanksgiving Turkey
“Thanksgiving Turkey – Writing Activity…”I am thankful for…” Excerpt Ms. Makinson
(X) Thanksgiving Activities
“Thanksgiving Activities Free I Have, Who Has Game – This Thanksgiving activities game is big enough to be used with a class, but can also be used for small group, centers, morning warm-up, etc. This is a fun game that can be used during Thanksgiving time.” – Excerpt Jason’s Online Classroom
If you like these free resources please consider following these teacher creators. They are always developing new and cool things, for you and I, to share with young learners.
Cool Collection of Thanksgiving Books
Thank you for taking the time to explore this collection of free resources for Thanksgiving. Happy Teaching!
