5 Thanksgiving Craft Ideas for the Elementary Classroom

Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, and of course, food! But it can also be a fun time to get creative in the classroom. Here are some Thanksgiving craft ideas that your students will love. From turkey crafts to thankful trees, there’s something for everyone! So get ready to have some fun this Thanksgiving.

As the weather gets colder, students enjoy the festivities of the season. This often includes watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and eating with family members. However, students spend most of the month with their classmates since Thanksgiving break is short.

This is precisely why teachers include thanksgiving craft ideas that remind students of the importance of showing thanks at Thanksgiving. When it is time to go home for the holiday break, students will be able to reflect on how grateful they are while spending time with their loved ones. 

Crafts for the Thanksgiving Season that Focus on Thankfulness

Life just gets so busy that sometimes we forget to slow down and reflect on all the things for which we’re thankful. Combine this Thanksgiving reflection with a fun craft.

For instance, The Thankful Tree allows students to reflect on many aspects. This includes being thankful for what we have, what we can do, and who we are. This craft is a fantastic way for students to focus on showing thanks at Thanksgiving! 

Furthermore, the Thankful Flapbook allows students to complete a craft and work on writing skills. Specifically, students will reflect on four aspects: things, places, people, and events. Ideally, students can complete one section per day to ensure they have time to think.

Students can turn their items into a full paragraph on Friday to showcase why they are thankful. Honestly, this will be a perfect item for students to take home and share with their families!

Teaching Ideas for the Month of November

Students love when teachers incorporate the seasons into lessons. This is a great way to add even more excitement and engagement to the daily lesson plans. Thankfully, there are plenty of resources out there to help! 

During November, there is so much going on in the environment. For instance, the weather is getting colder, leaves are changing colors and falling, and some snow even arrives.

Students may not realize how much science is going on behind these events. Therefore, it is the perfect time to explore 26 Thanksgiving Themed Science Experiments. Students will work on the scientific method while exploring fascinating topics, such as dissolving candy pumpkins and edible cranberry slime. 

While working through these science experiments, students may start to wonder how Thanksgiving originated. Thankfully, there is an incredible resource to help students Make Connections between Historical Events.

This will help students understand the events leading to the first Thanksgiving and show them key connections between those events. This topic will be a great way to show students the importance of showing thanks at Thanksgiving.

This unit does focus on the pilgrims and the Mayflower, but it is flexible enough for you to customize it to meet the needs of your students.

Thanksgiving Craft Ideas

Students learn so much content every month of the school year. However, some months are harder to hold the attention spans of students. November is one of those!

Students are anxious to celebrate and see their families as the break comes closer. Luckily, these Thanksgiving craft ideas help students remain engaged in the classroom! 

Painting Craft Ideas for Thanksgiving

A student-favorite activity involves using paint to make a corn wreath. Since corn is a staple at Thanksgiving, students design multiple cornstalks, put them together, and take them home to hang up on the door!

Teachers can even add in a math component by calculating how many dots each stalk needs to have. Or, students can work on symmetry to make both sides of the wreath match. 

Paper Craft Ideas for Thanksgiving

Paper turkeys are also a hit! There are even multiple ways for students to complete this activity.

For example, they can use a paper plate to design their turkey. Or, they can trace and cut out their handprint to build their design. Students can even use their feet to make the body of a turkey! 

Other November Craft Ideas

Thanksgiving brings many new ideas to the classroom! Another popular craft involves making festive items out of popsicle sticks.

For instance, students can build turkeys, scarecrows, or owls. After everyone creates their object, students can even form groups to put on a short stick figure skit!

Here are a few other Thanksgiving craft ideas that require a bit more supplies, but make fun parent gifts or centerpiece ideas.

November is such a fun time in the classroom. Honestly, it is the month that truly kicks off the holiday season. As stores start to transform, student excitement soars. Thankfully, these activities will allow students to work on academics while showing thanks at Thanksgiving. 

Need some more ideas? Here are a few more!

More Thanksgiving Ideas for the Classroom

Are you looking for even more ideas to do during the month of November? Check out these blog posts.

Or are you ready to move onto December? Consider these Christmas craft ideas.