Thanksgiving Homeschooling on a Shoestring

Thanksgiving

Free lesson plans and activities for Thanksgiving: thankful decor, crafts, books, songs, games, recipes, and history.

Table of Contents show

Thankful Decor

Thanksgiving Tree 1
Make a large tree to put on the wall. Add colored leaves and write whatever your family is thankful for on them. Start on November 1 and then read them on Thanksgiving Day. Save the leaves and look back over them. It also helps to see how much the children’s writing has changed. You could even put the past leaves in a scrapbook or notebook.

Thanksgiving Tree 2
Make a poster of a large oak tree, complete with colorful fall leaves. Write the words, “I am thankful for…” across the top. Use an instant camera to take pictures of your children and guests. Tape the photos up on the tree and have each person write what they are thankful for under their picture.

Thanksgiving Turkey
Before Thanksgiving, mail extended family construction paper turkey feathers so they can write one thing they are grateful for and mail it back. Then hang a big construction paper turkey and attach all of the feathers before your big feast so you can all see just how much you have to be thankful for.

Tablecloth
Use a big white tablecloth and write what you are thankful for with fabric markers. Put this on the table Thanksgiving Day.

Wall of Thanksgiving
Hang a sheet of craft paper on the wall during November. Let children draw pictures, or write notes or Bible verses about things for which they are thankful. Invite your guests to add to the Wall of Thanksgiving whenever they drop by.

Art & Crafts

Thanksgiving Coloring Pages

Thanksgiving Crafts

Books

Literature Unit

Field Trip

America’s Thanksgiving Parade

America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit made its first march down Woodward Avenue in 1924. Read about the parade history, download the coloring book, and go see the parade!

Rhymes, Songs, and Fingerplays

Hymns

Songs for Little Ones

Food

Thanksgiving Recipes

  • Allrecipes Thanksgiving Recipes: Turkey, sides, and pies from home cooks, with ratings.
    allrecipes.com

From Our Kitchen

History & Traditions

The First Thanksgiving

History of Thanksgiving

Teaching Thanksgiving Respectfully

When teaching about Thanksgiving, teach respectfully and take care not to use stereotypes.

  • Native Educators on Teaching Thanksgiving (NEA): Native educators say Thanksgiving lessons can be accurate, respectful, and still fun, and share how.
    nea.org
  • Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way (Learning for Justice): Why to skip the paper headdresses and where to find accurate resources instead.
    learningforjustice.org
  • The Thanksgiving Story: The Pilgrims Revisited (Education World): A roundup of sites for exploring the facts about the Pilgrims, the Wampanoag, and the Mayflower.
    educationworld.com
  • Teach the Real Story of the First Thanksgiving (Education World): Are you teaching the true story, or a blend of fact and myth?
    educationworld.com

Thanksgiving Myths

From the PBS series Colonial House, which followed modern volunteers living as 1628 colonists.

  • Colonial House Lesson Plan: Mythconceptions: Students look at myths about early colonists and check them against the facts.
    thirteen.org
  • Mythconceptions Quiz: The printable quiz that goes with the lesson.
    thirteen.org
  • Mythconceptions Quiz Answer Key
    thirteen.org

Vocabulary

Thanksgiving, Wampanoag, English, Separatists, persecution, feast, colony, colonies, harvest, Plymouth, maize, yams

Games

Bingo and Printable Games

Make Your Own Thanksgiving Bingo
You or your child can make Bingo cards using pictures of Thanksgiving (leaves, acorns, turkey, etc.) instead of letters and numbers. Draw the pictures, cut and paste from newspaper or magazines, or print from your computer. Cover the cards with clear laminate or Contac paper for durability. Let the children search for the items. When a child sees something that is the same as the picture, the child covers that square with a piece of tape or a sticker. When the card is completely covered, the child calls out “Happy Thanksgiving!”

Family Games to Play Together

Thanksgiving Day Game
The whole family will have fun with this game, but preschoolers will be delighted. Stand together, where everybody can see everybody else. The first player says, “This year for Thanksgiving, I…” and fills in the blank. For example, “This year for Thanksgiving, I visited relatives,” then walks in place, as if traveling. The whole group does the movement. The second player says, for example, “This year for Thanksgiving, I set the table,” and makes the movements for setting a table, while still walking in place. The third person says something like, “…I put on my new shoes,” and motions as if putting on shoes, while still walking in place and setting the table. See how many actions you can add.

Find the Turkey
This is a group game, so you can play it with all of the relatives on Thanksgiving Day. One person leaves the room while a “turkey” is chosen from the rest of the group. Set a timer for three to four minutes, and bring the person back into the room. When the player comes back into the room, the person chosen as the turkey starts to make subtle turkey movements: scratching the floor with a foot, wobbling the head, flapping the arms like wings. All players watch for the movement and start doing it at the same time. The person who left the room must figure out who is starting it to find the turkey. If they figure it out before the timer goes off, they get to choose the next player to leave the room. If not, the turkey gets the next turn.

Worksheets

 
 

Last Updated on October 23, 2026 by Jodi
 

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