1. Create a paper chain to countdown to Thanksgiving. As the links are daily removed, kids can write something new for which they’re thankful. Keep the slips in a jar, and have them read random selections at Thanksgiving dinner.
2. Craft thank-you cards together to send to meaningful people in their lives. Use a 3-D material, like felt or craft foam, to add excitement and sensory interest for children. Or, use vibrant colors clipped from magazines to form the feathers of a funky turkey on the card front.
3. This unique wreath of vintage paper leaves makes it easy to remind children or grandchildren throughout November, or on Thanksgiving Day itself, to do as the Psalms teach and give thanks.— Available now from FamilyLife. Click the image below or more info now!
4. Use construction paper to cut brightly colored turkey feathers large enough for children to write on. Then, let your children write things for which they’re thankful (help younger children write their thanks), or Bible verses on thankfulness they find from the Psalms. Finally, let them hide the feathers all over the house for a few days of extended gratitude as the feathers are found and read aloud.
5. One harsh winter, early pilgrims had to survive on only five kernels of corn a day! Hand a child five kernels of corn, and discuss what this must have been like. Gently explain how easy it is for us all to complain—but that simple reminders can encourage us to turn complaining into thanks, trusting God even when it is hard to see good things. Let your child glue the kernels in a row on plain card stock. If you want, provide a few verses from which they can choose, writing one beneath the kernels. Then frame the dried creation simply and display it in their room.