Fun Ways to Celebrate Thanksgiving with your Preschooler!
There are lots of fun ways to celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving with your preschooler. Thanksgiving will be on November 28 this year, and believe it or not, that’s right around the corner. Holiday-themed activities are not only fun but they also create special memories for our little ones. Our Montessori Guides have fun doing projects in the classroom, but here are some to do at home!
Gratitude Tree
At the end of each day in November, have the children come up with something they are thankful for. Help them express a complete sentence by providing thought frames like “I am grateful for…” or “Thank you to…for…”.
Help the child write or draw his thought on a construction paper leaf cut out. Make the leaves in fall colors like red, yellow, orange, and brown. Post the leaves up on a tree bulletin board at the end of each day.
Preschooler Cooking Projects
Thanksgiving is all about food. Cooking projects are well-loved by preschoolers and they provide a great opportunity to learn real-life skills. Choose cooking projects that kids can complete near-independently. Cooking is a part of our custom curriculum at all of our Montessori schools!
Examples of kid-friendly cooking projects include mashed potatoes or pumpkin pie with canned pumpkin filling and a store-bought pie crust. Measure any ingredients out ahead of time and line them up so that the child can take the lead pouring and mixing.
It will be most special if your preschooler can help prepare something for your family to enjoy at your Thanksgiving feast. Practicing a few times ahead of time can’t hurt though!
Keep basic safety in the front of your mind and step when needed. Sharp blades and hot stoves can be dangerous.
Handprint Turkeys
This fun and simple art project comes with a little memento for parents to cherish. Use brown finger paints to make handprints. Then have the kids add beaks, snoods, and wattles. If you do not know what a snood or a wattle is, this is going to be a great learning experience for both kids and adults.
Anytime you do an animal-related art project, it’s great to integrate a few new anatomical terms. Preschoolers are soaking up vocabulary, and they will remember these terms throughout their life.
Drip Art with a Turkey Baster
Basting is actually a great fine motor exercise. Fine motor is perfect for preschool when kids are developing their hand muscles for future handwriting. But having a four-year-old reach into a hot oven is not ideal.
Instead, teach kids how to use a baster with a fun art project. Have them suction up paint into the baster and baste it along the top of an upright canvas. The paint will drip down, making a unique Jackon Polluck-like piece.
A quick tip: Reserve different basters for different colors or you’ll end up with a bunch of brownish-green paint in all of them!
Corn Husk Dolls
Don’t toss your corn husks this Fall: save them for a simple and timeless activity that kids love. All you need is square cut corn husks (like those that come with tamales) and some twine.
Martha Stewart has easy to follow instructions on her site. Basically, you soak them, stack them, and then tie them up to make little dolls. At the preschool level, it may be best for adults to prepare the dolls and the kids to decorate them. But they could also be involved in the soaking, stacking, and collecting the husks from their own dinner tables.
When it comes to preschool, keep the focus of Thanksgiving on showing gratitude and enjoying time with family. Celebrate this special time of year together with your preschooler!
