Thanksgiving week in a preschool classroom is a delightful blend of giggles, glue sticks, and grateful hearts. But keeping energetic little ones focused while embracing the Thanksgiving season can be a serious challenge.
That’s why having a solid plan packed with engaging Thanksgiving Activities for Preschoolers is the best way to turn this cozy holiday into a week of fun, learning, and adorable turkey crafts.
This guide is stuffed (like a turkey) with preschool-friendly games, art ideas, storytime suggestions, and even fine motor tasks perfect for classroom or daycare settings. Let’s dive into some heartwarming and hilarious activities to help your little learners understand the spirit of Thanksgiving.
Table of Contents
Gobble-Worthy Games for the Classroom
These fun Thanksgiving games for the family work just as well in preschool settings. Active and silly, they’re great for getting kids moving and laughing.
Turkey Waddle Relay
Turkey Waddle Relay is a preschooler-approved classic that blends physical activity with a whole lot of silliness. Each child gets a balloon placed between their knees, and their goal is to waddle like a turkey from one end of the room to the other without dropping the balloon. Add some orange cones or autumn-themed markers for a makeshift race track and cheer each participant on.
This game helps kids develop balance and coordination while encouraging laughter and lighthearted competition. To increase classroom engagement, you can split children into small teams and make it a relay. Add festive music in the background for more excitement. After the race, give out paper feather stickers to all participants so everyone feels included and celebrated.
Stuff the Turkey Game
This interactive activity helps preschoolers build fine motor skills and encourages teamwork and imagination. Create a simple cardboard turkey with an open belly or mouth, and provide paper food cutouts—pumpkin pie, corn, cranberries, and more.
Children use large tweezers or clothespins to “stuff” the turkey one item at a time. Not only does this develop grip strength and hand-eye coordination, but it also introduces vocabulary and food recognition.
To make it more exciting, you can use a spinner with pictures of different foods so the child spins before picking their item. Pair the game with short storytelling: “Why is Mr. Turkey so hungry?” This combination of hands-on play and storytelling makes the game feel magical and meaningful.
Feather Find
Feather Find is a calming scavenger hunt perfect for transitioning between high-energy activities. Cut out paper feathers in different fall colors and hide them around the classroom or outdoor play area.
Each feather can have a number, letter, or shape on it to tie the activity into early learning concepts. Children search for the feathers and match them to a turkey outline displayed on a bulletin board. This encourages visual tracking, movement, and letter or number recognition, all in one simple game.
Feather Find is especially helpful in classrooms where you need some focused quiet time after a busy morning. For added fun, let each child glue one of their found feathers to a shared class turkey as a collaborative art piece.
Pass the Pumpkin
Pass the Pumpkin is a social-emotional learning activity disguised as a game. Kids sit in a circle and pass a small pumpkin around while seasonal music plays. When the music stops, the child holding the pumpkin shares one thing they’re thankful for.
This encourages verbal expression and reflection in a fun and safe environment. Some children may need prompting or help expressing their thoughts, so model responses first, like “I’m thankful for my puppy” or “I’m thankful for crayons.” As the week progresses, children will become more confident. This game works wonderfully as a daily opening or closing circle activity, and it helps children understand the theme of gratitude in the Thanksgiving season.
Turkey Freeze Dance
Turkey Freeze Dance is pure preschool fun and works as a great movement break throughout the day. Play upbeat music and encourage children to dance like wild turkeys—flapping arms, wobbling heads, and dramatic gobbles are all encouraged! When the music stops, everyone must freeze like a statue. For a twist, give freeze instructions such as “Freeze with your wings up!” or “Freeze on one foot like a turkey balancing.”
This game improves body awareness, listening skills, and self-regulation all while bringing lots of smiles. If you want to add a literacy component, hold up a letter or number when the music pauses and have frozen turkeys call it out. It’s a fast, fun, and flexible classroom favorite.
Thanksgiving Activities for Preschoolers: Art and Craft Fun
Time to bring out the construction paper, glue, and googly eyes. These crafts are hands-on, engaging, and perfect for little fingers.
Handprint Turkey Hats
Handprint Turkey Hats are a preschool staple and for good reason. They’re simple, adorable, and give children a sense of pride when they wear something they made. Start by tracing each child’s hands on different colors of construction paper to represent feathers. Glue the hands to a strip of paper that fits around the child’s head like a crown.
Then, attach a turkey face in the front complete with googly eyes and a beak. Let children decorate their hats with stickers, glitter, or drawings to add their own flair.
This activity helps develop fine motor skills, hand tracing, and creativity. And when all the kids wear their hats at once, the classroom becomes a flock of giggling little turkeys ready to strut their stuff.
Paper Plate Pumpkin Pie
Paper Plate Pumpkin Pie is the sweetest pretend treat of the Thanksgiving season. Begin by cutting paper plates into triangle-shaped slices. Provide orange paint or crayons for the “pumpkin filling” and cotton balls for the whipped cream topping.
Let the children decorate their slice however they’d like, and then glue everything in place. This is a fantastic sensory craft for younger preschoolers because it combines color, texture, and shape recognition.
You can even turn it into a math activity by counting the cotton balls or talking about triangle shapes. Display the finished pies on a bulletin board with the title “Our Thankful Treats.” These little slices of imagination are fun, mess-free alternatives to real baking perfect for hands-on holiday fun in class.
Thankful Leaf Tree
The Thankful Leaf Tree is more than just a decoration; it’s a collaborative, heartfelt project that sparks meaningful conversations. Start with a large cutout of a tree trunk on a wall or bulletin board. Provide leaf-shaped cutouts in autumn colors and ask each child to draw or dictate what they’re thankful for anything from pets to popsicles.
As the week progresses, attach each leaf to the tree so that it slowly fills out. This activity encourages emotional expression and helps children recognize gratitude in everyday life. Teachers can read a few leaves aloud during circle time each day to promote discussion.
Not only does this activity build a sense of community, but it also leaves a visual reminder of thankfulness growing right in your classroom.
Feed the Turkey Craft
Feed the Turkey is a creative activity that blends crafting with interactive play. Begin by decorating a small box or container as a turkey—use construction paper for the feathers and googly eyes to bring it to life. Cut a hole in the front for the turkey’s beak or mouth. Provide children with small pom-poms or paper food cutouts to “feed” into the turkey using tongs or spoons. This helps build fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination while reinforcing concepts like colors and counting. You can ask kids to “feed the turkey three yellow pom-poms” or “give the turkey one piece of corn.” The silliness of feeding a paper turkey makes this activity surprisingly memorable, and it’s easy to set up again and again.
Feather Painting
Feather Painting is a fun and unique way for kids to explore texture and movement in art. Instead of traditional brushes, children use real or craft feathers to dip into paint and swipe across paper. The result is colorful, organic patterns that look like falling leaves or turkey feathers in motion.
This technique encourages exploration and creativity while helping strengthen wrist movement and grip control. Teachers can pair the activity with autumn music in the background to set a relaxed, seasonal tone.
After the artwork dries, turn it into a class collage or individual placemats for a pretend feast. Feather Painting is especially great for sensory learners who benefit from trying new materials beyond crayons and markers.
Thanksgiving Fine Motor Activities to Build Skills
The best Thanksgiving Activities for Preschoolers also help them develop essential motor skills without them even noticing.
Pumpkin Lacing Cards
Pumpkin Lacing Cards are a hands-on way to boost fine motor skills during the Thanksgiving season. Start by cutting pumpkin shapes out of thick cardstock or foam sheets. Punch holes around the edges, and provide yarn or shoelaces for kids to thread through.
This simple lacing motion helps strengthen hand muscles and coordination, which are important for future writing tasks. You can add numbers or patterns to the holes and encourage children to follow a certain sequence.
For added fun, let them decorate their pumpkins with stickers, faces, or glitter once they’re done lacing. Pumpkin Lacing Cards are quiet, calming, and perfect for center activities or independent play time in the classroom.
Turkey Tweezers Game
The Turkey Tweezers Game combines sensory play with skill-building. Set up a muffin tin with turkey-themed images at the bottom of each cup, and fill them with colorful pom-poms.
Provide tweezers or clothespins for children to pick up and sort the pom-poms into the right spots. This task improves finger strength, control, and focus. It also opens the door to teach sorting, counting, and color recognition.
You can introduce challenge cards, like “Find three red feathers” or “Feed the turkey two orange pom-poms,” for older preschoolers who are ready for more. This activity also works wonderfully in small groups, encouraging turn-taking and observation skills. Plus, kids love pretending the pom-poms are turkey snacks!
Corn Kernel Scooping
Corn Kernel Scooping is a classic sensory bin activity with a festive Thanksgiving twist. Fill a bin or large tray with dried corn kernels, and add small cups, spoons, funnels, and even mini pumpkins.
Let children scoop, pour, and transfer the kernels from one container to another. This promotes fine motor control, hand-eye coordination, and early math concepts like volume and measurement. Some children will love the sound the kernels make, while others will enjoy just digging in.
You can even hide small plastic letters or Thanksgiving-themed toys in the bin to add an exploration element. Always supervise closely with small items, but this activity is a fantastic and engaging addition to your sensory rotation.
Clothespin Gratitude Garland
This charming activity lets preschoolers express thankfulness while practicing fine motor skills. Give each child a strip of paper or card where they can draw or write what they’re thankful for.
Then, using clothespins, help them clip their note onto a string or ribbon that’s hung across the classroom. Opening and closing the clothespins requires hand strength and coordination, making it a great motor challenge for little fingers. Decorate the garland with leaves or tiny paper turkeys to make it more festive.
Teachers can read each child’s note aloud during circle time to promote classroom community. Over the week, the garland grows and becomes a beautiful visual celebration of gratitude created entirely by the kids.
Sticker Counting Feathers
Sticker Counting Feathers combines math, art, and motor skills into one joyful learning moment. Prepare worksheets or poster boards with large turkey outlines. On each feather, write a number from 1 to 10. Children then place that number of stickers on each feather.
They can use dot stickers, star stickers, or Thanksgiving-themed ones to make it extra festive. This activity encourages number recognition, counting, and pincer grasp development. To support language skills, ask children to count out loud as they place each sticker. You can also tailor this activity for different levels by using colors, letters, or shapes instead of numbers.
It’s a simple and satisfying way to teach important concepts while keeping things playful and seasonal.
Cozy Thanksgiving Books for Preschool Storytime
Reading aloud is a powerful way to spark imagination and teach important themes like thankfulness, sharing, and community. These Thanksgiving books are classroom favorites for a reason they’re short, engaging, and filled with moments preschoolers will love.
“Turkey Trouble” by Wendi Silvano
This hilarious book is a must-have for your Thanksgiving bookshelf. “Turkey Trouble” follows a turkey who tries to avoid becoming the main course by disguising himself as other animals. From a horse to a pig to a pizza delivery guy, his costumes get more ridiculous with each page making kids laugh out loud. Teachers can use this book to talk about problem-solving, emotions, and creative thinking.
After reading, you can pair it with an art activity where children design their own turkey disguises. It also opens up a discussion about what traditions look like and why turkeys became symbolic of the holiday. If you want a read-aloud that combines humor, participation, and heart, this one’s a classroom winner.
“Bear Says Thanks” by Karma Wilson
“Bear Says Thanks” is a cozy, rhythmic story that highlights gratitude in a beautiful, child-friendly way. In the book, Bear wants to have a feast but realizes he has no food.
One by one, his friends show up, each bringing a dish to share. In the end, Bear realizes he has something important to give too his stories. This tale teaches kids that sharing doesn’t always have to be about food or things, and that every contribution matters.
The warm illustrations and repeating phrases are perfect for group read-alouds. You can follow up with a gratitude circle where children say what they can “share” with others, like a smile, a song, or a kind word. It’s emotional, simple, and powerful.
“Five Silly Turkeys” by Salina Yoon
Short, sweet, and silly this book is a perfect read for younger preschoolers. “Five Silly Turkeys” features playful rhymes and bold, colorful illustrations that follow five goofy turkeys as they dance, twirl, and tumble through the pages.
The repetition and rhythm help children anticipate what’s coming next, which builds literacy confidence. Teachers can use the story for simple counting exercises, sound recognition, and even as a fun warm-up before movement activities.
After reading, you can act it out with a group dance party, assigning each child a number and pretending to be a turkey. This book might not be deep in plot, but it’s rich in engagement and joy making it a perfect fit for busy preschool days.
“Thanks for Thanksgiving” by Julie Markes
This gentle book is ideal for helping preschoolers understand what the Thanksgiving season is really about everyday gratitude. “Thanks for Thanksgiving” offers relatable examples of things children are thankful for, like pets, swings, and their family.
The illustrations are soft and charming, and the language is easy for preschoolers to understand. It’s a great book for setting a quiet, reflective tone during circle time or before rest.
Pair it with a simple drawing activity where kids illustrate something they’re thankful for on a fall leaf or mini paper plate. It’s also perfect for starting a classroom tradition of thankfulness that goes beyond the holiday week. You’ll find it helps children express emotions in a more thoughtful and meaningful way.
“10 Fat Turkeys” by Tony Johnston
Counting and laughter go hand in hand in this zany read-aloud. “10 Fat Turkeys” introduces preschoolers to a silly group of turkeys who do ridiculous things like swinging from vines and doing belly flops. Each turkey eventually disappears from the page, allowing teachers to incorporate basic subtraction and sequencing into the lesson.
The rhyming text is lively and musical, which helps build phonological awareness in young learners. After reading, kids can create number turkeys of their own using construction paper and stickers. You can even set up a mini drama performance with the turkeys’ antics.
It’s a great story to pair with active lessons, especially before transitions or during group play. This book makes numbers and silliness the stars of the show.
Thanksgiving Preschool Lesson Plans (Full Week)
A full week of themed learning makes planning easier and keeps children excited. These Thanksgiving preschool lesson plans blend creativity, literacy, math, and emotional learning with fun and flexibility.
Monday – I’m Thankful Day
Start the week on a warm, reflective note by introducing the concept of gratitude. Begin the day by reading “Thanks for Thanksgiving” and inviting kids to share one thing they’re thankful for during circle time. Follow it up with the Thankful Leaf Tree craft where children create their own leaves and add them to a large class tree.
Later in the day, you can do a simple writing prompt or drawing session with “I’m thankful for…” as the sentence starter. This day is a great opportunity to focus on feelings, family, and community.
Finish with a light gratitude song and display each child’s thankful artwork in a hallway or bulletin board for families to see throughout the week.
Tuesday – Turkey Tuesday
Today is all about silly turkeys, creativity, and movement. Read “Turkey Trouble” to set the tone, then transition into making Handprint Turkey Hats so each child has a wearable turkey they can show off. For physical activity, set up a Turkey Waddle Relay using balloons or bean bags and let the kids race in pairs or teams. Integrate math by using the Sticker Counting Feathers activity where kids match numbers to feathers and decorate them with the correct amount of stickers. Add a pretend-play center with stuffed turkeys, felt food, and plastic plates for dramatic play. This day blends imagination, art, and movement—and it gives kids a chance to dive into the heart of what makes Thanksgiving fun.
Wednesday – Food and Family
Wednesday shifts the focus to food traditions and family celebrations. Start with “Bear Says Thanks” and talk about how sharing food can bring people together. Then, children can create Paper Plate Pumpkin Pie crafts with paint and cotton balls.
Set up a sensory bin with dried corn kernels, mini cups, measuring spoons, and plastic vegetables for scooping and pouring.
During circle time, ask kids to share their favorite meal or snack, and use a whiteboard or poster to create a “Class Menu” of everyone’s food favorites. Wrap up with a song like “If You’re Thankful and You Know It.” The goal for today is helping children understand how food is connected to family, feelings, and celebration.
Thursday – Class Feast
Even if you’re not serving a full Thanksgiving meal, a simple class feast or snack party can be just as fun. Start the day with a read-aloud of “Five Silly Turkeys” and follow it with a movement break using Turkey Freeze Dance. Invite kids to decorate paper placemats using crayons, stamps, and stickers. These can be used during your snack feast later in the day.
For the meal itself, ask each child to bring a favorite snack from home (with family help) or provide a few small treats like fruit cups, crackers, or mini muffins. Sit together and talk about traditions while music plays. The emphasis today is on sharing, celebration, and giving thanks in a joyful, communal setting.
Friday – Turkey Fun Wrap-Up
End the week with a festive bang! Kick off the day with “10 Fat Turkeys” and encourage the class to count along with you. Then, let them get messy and creative with Feather Painting using real feathers dipped in paint to create beautiful, wobbly artwork. Revisit your Thankful Leaf Tree and let kids share their favorite activity from the week.
You can even hand out silly “Turkey Awards” like “Biggest Gobbler,” “Fastest Waddler,” or “Most Colorful Feathers.” This wrap-up day gives children closure and a chance to relive the week’s best moments. Take photos to document the celebration and let every child go home with a small keepsake or coloring sheet to share with their families.
Thanksgiving Activities for Preschoolers That Teachers Actually Use
Sometimes, you just need quick wins activities that are low prep, high impact, and loved by kids. These Thanksgiving Ideas for Preschoolers work wonderfully during transitions, after nap time, or when you just need something simple and fun.
10 Quick & Fun Thanksgiving Ideas for Preschoolers
- Play turkey yoga (gobble pose included)
- Create leaf rubbings using crayons
- Build a block “Turkey Town” with feathers
- Sing a “Gobble Gobble” counting song
- Make corn collages with dried kernels
- Host a turkey parade in the hallway
- Use fall-themed playdough trays
- Decorate gratitude cards for families
- Have a “Dress Like a Turkey” day
- Create a class “What We’re Thankful For” book
Quick activities can save your day and add extra joy to the classroom.
More related post about Activities :
summary for this Thanksgiving Ideas for Preschoolers
Thanksgiving in preschool isn’t just about turkey and decorations. It’s about helping children connect to the ideas of gratitude, kindness, and community in ways they understand through play, stories, movement, and creativity.
With these Thanksgiving Activities for Preschoolers, teachers can create a week that blends meaningful moments with hilarious memories. From feather crafts and counting games to silly turkey books and gratitude circles, these ideas bring the classroom to life.
Preschoolers may not remember every detail of the week, but they’ll remember how it made them feel happy, curious, included, and thankful. And when they go home and tell their families about the turkey hat they made or the friend they danced with, that’s when you know you created something special. So enjoy the laughter, the mess, and the magic this Thanksgiving.
