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October 13, 2009 | 15 Comments

Thankful Box – Thanksgiving Activity and Craft

Thankful Box

Thanksgiving Craft

Yesterday was Thanksgiving in Canada and although we didn’t celebrate with a big turkey dinner we did make this Thankful Box Thanksgiving craft, took time to think of things we are thankful for, and share them at dinner.  At the dinner table last night each family member wrote what they were thankful for, and added it to the box.  We didn’t keep ours a secret but you could. Our plan is to fill the box up over the next week and read it over dinner on Sunday to celebrate all we are thankful for.

  1. Gather your materials. You will need a cardboard craft box ( a show box covered with paper would be great too), some markers ( one permanent), glitter, scissors and plain paper.Thanksgiving Craft
  2. Cut a slot in the lid. Thanksgiving craft
  3. Write the words ” I am thankful for…”  in permanent marker on the lid.Thanksgiving Kids Craft
  4. Have your little artists decorate the Thankful Box with crayons or markers, you could use paint too, we didn’t because we wanted to use it shortly after but if you have the time to wait for it to dry, go for it!Making A Thanksgiving Kids Craft
  5. Don’t forget the lid!Thanksgiving Kids Craft
  6. Grab the glitter. I think glitter makes everything a little more special  , and a box like this deserves some glitter… or a lot. We only added it to the lid because I didn’t want it interfering with my son being able to open and close the box.Glitter!
  7. Let dry.
  8. While the glitter is drying write out a few things  you are thankful for. These were my son’s – I didn’t coach him one bit, I admit I thought he’d say he was thankful for Hondas before anything but he mentioned his parents and great friends . I would encourage never saying ” No” to any suggestion, model the things you are trying to get your children to be thankful for but let them come up with their own. You can’t force this- but you can lead by example.I am Thankful for you
  9. We folded our papers and popped them in the “dry enough” box.Thanksgiving Kids Craft
  10. We read these notes out at dinner and added more, which was when we decided to write more each dinner for a week then read the whole lot on Sunday.

Books to Read

Thanksgiving in Canada is similar to the holiday in the United States, although we don’t have pilgrims, don’t watch football all day , and don’t line up for sales the next day either!  Our celebration is a celebration of the harvest, yes we eat turkey and cranberry sauce and each family has their own traditions. These books work for Thanksgiving in both countries, something that is useful for the many families like mine that is both Canadian and American. Also I couldn’t resist adding my favorite book about home, if you aren’t familiar with Canada I urge you to find this book and flip though, it’s a great cheat sheet or introduction to Canada! All book lists include affiliate links to amazon.com.

 

A Plump And Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman is such a cute and funny book about a town that needs a turkey and the lengths they go to to find one, including trickery!  The town is sadly outwitted by the turkey and end up eating shredded wheat for thanksgiving. The illustrations kept my little man interested even though the story”™s humor was above his head.

**Edited for 2009** Much of the humor is still above my wee man’s head although I was reminded how much this book’s dark humor makes me giggle.  He was a little off put by the idea of the towns folk eating the turkey and was relived when he escaped before they shoved him in the oven. I like that he is starting to understand that the meat he eats is actually a cooked animal, we take that for granted but for many young kids this is a huge realization!

Thanksgiving is For Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland is book that explains what Thanksgiving is, and gives lots of examples of things to be thankful for. I like this book although I could go without the page where the narrator is thankful for lollipops, all the other things are wonderful like a teacher’s encouragement, grandma’s hugs, and sunny days and to me the lollipops sorta fall flat. Easily skipped over if you are not keen on it but the book as a whole is valuable teaching tool about thanksgiving.
** Edited for 2009** I wrote the above review last year when my son was not quite 2, now at almost 3 he loves this book and I think reading it recently has really helped him understand what the concept of being thankful is. Also he loves the part about lollipops. Go figure!

M is for Maple, a Canadian Alphabet by Mike Ulmer. This book will make you feel proud to be from Canada if you are Canadian and teach you something about your neighbour if you aren’t . It will also teach your children things about the country they live in and why we feel pride when we hear names like Terry Fox, Anne with an E and Gretzky! I love this book and have since I first read it during teacher’s college in Thunder Bay, if you can be happy about being in Canada during a very cold Thunder Bay winter you can be happy about it anywhere.

Want more Thanksgiving craft ideas? Give this post a try!

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Feelings and Emotions, Preschool Crafts, Thanksgiving | 15 Comments

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15 Comments

  1. Thena says

    October 13, 2009 at 4:31 am

    We’re on Fall break this week for the county fair is in town. Will have to look for those books in the library. Here we are hearing about Thanksgiving less and less. In the retail world they go sraight from Halloween to Christmas. Forgetting we have so much to be thankful for.

    to Thena" aria-label='reply to this comment to Thena'>reply to this comment
  2. Beverly says

    October 13, 2009 at 6:56 am

    what a great idea! Happy Thanksgiving!
    .-= Beverly´s last blog ..Baseball =-.

    to Beverly" aria-label='reply to this comment to Beverly'>reply to this comment
  3. Naomi says

    November 15, 2010 at 5:38 am

    I agree Thena! We went to look for a decorative Thanksgiving flag the other day ans we could not find anything..only a few turkey knick knacks……. UGG! So of course I will make stuff I just wish I had more time if you know what I mean. My eldest son who is 6 is just starting to read and write so I am sure he will have fun with this project. Thanks.

    to Naomi" aria-label='reply to this comment to Naomi'>reply to this comment
  4. Ryans Mom says

    November 7, 2012 at 12:51 pm

    I am thankful for this blog!

    to Ryans Mom" aria-label='reply to this comment to Ryans Mom'>reply to this comment
    • admin says

      November 7, 2012 at 8:27 pm

      This comment made my day – thank you !

      to admin" aria-label='reply to this comment to admin'>reply to this comment
  5. Amanda says

    October 22, 2015 at 7:45 pm

    I just love this post idea and submitted it in a roundup post for a client. I hope that’s ok !!

    to Amanda" aria-label='reply to this comment to Amanda'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      October 24, 2015 at 6:17 pm

      Of course! Thank you .

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

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