Thanksgiving Activities!

Thanksgiving!  

What can I say about Thanksgiving. It's supposed to be a quite time to reflect, enjoy family, have a nice hearty meal and have fun. Instead, it's crazy, chaotic, noisy, rushed and overwhelming. And if there are any young children in the house? Or like when I was growing up A LOT of young children running around, oh boy! Watch Out!

Let's face it. Thanksgiving is all of those above, and I can't think of anyone who would have it any other way. Thanksgiving was my mother's holiday to cook. It was HER Holiday, and she was in charge. She loved it. She said she loved it because Christmas was too much work.

Ummm. With about 25 adults in the house not counting the children, I have no idea how that wasn't too much work. LOL  Yet, she loved it. We all did. 

Those days, all of us kids would be outside playing until the street lights came on. But that was when we were older, and times were a little different then. For purposes of this post though, I'm talking about younger children. Children of every age crave activity. I honestly don't know of any child who does not have a curious disposition. It's healthy to crave knowledge. Hey, let's give it to them!

In honor of creativity, knowledge, and curiosity I created a few simple fun worksheets for kids to do during Thanksgiving time. I strive to create simple stress free activities for parents, grandparents, and teachers that are simple and fun activities for kids. I loved sitting with my boys doing fun simple activities that teach them something important, but don't scream education in their face. 

The Thanksgiving table above is a short activity to educate children about the different foods we usually eat during the Thanksgiving meal. This activity is a gentle way of introducing children to the settlers. Learning about our country's history doesn't always have to be done in school. Education starts at home. Let's have fun with it. Conversation is a lost art. Let's teach our kids to talk to each other.

There are too many times in the world where we forget how to have a simple conversation. Let's talk about the activity. Why do we eat these food instead of other foods? Where does our food come from? How did they make all those delicious dishes with no stoves or ovens? How did they keep food from going bad? Watch and listen as the questions start piling up. Remember when you were that curious?   

I look at the counting activity above and I think of the acorns. I had a huge tree in my backyard that every fall dropped like a million acorns. Now normally I'd say I'm exaggerating, but to be honest, it was a very big tree, and after picking up bucket after bucket of acorns so my dad could cut the grass. I wouldn't be surprised if there was about a million. LOL

Counting is a fun activity that can never goes away. While setting the table for Thanksgiving, count the silverware. How many forks do we need? How many knives? How many people will be coming? Do we have enough napkins? Your kids will be learning and they don't even know it. 

I know the holidays are busy, chaotic and everyone is being rushed to get things done. Just try to remember these special days are for the kids too. There is so much they are taking in and learning day to day. Slow down. Enjoy the chaos, so what if guests come before the table is set, or the food is ready. It will all come together. Nothing is perfect, perfect is boring. Sit down and do an activity together, everything else can wait.

Enjoy the Moment, Cherish the Memories!

Until Next Time - Cynthia