Thanksgiving Learning Activities for Preschool, Pre-K and Kindergarten

By the Print and Learn team · 4 min read

Thanksgiving week is busy, but it is also full of small learning moments for young children. There is food to count, a table to set, leaves to collect and plenty of grown-ups to talk to. You don't need a craft kit or a lesson plan. A few short activities, woven into what you are already doing, will give your preschooler, Pre-K or Kindergarten child real practice with counting, patterns, words and fine motor skills.

Count everything on the table

Setting the table is a ready-made math lesson. Ask your child to put one napkin at every seat, then one fork, then one cup. Matching one thing to each person is the same one-to-one idea children need for counting. Younger children can count the plates out loud while touching each one; older ones can work out how many more forks are needed if two more guests arrive.

• Preschool: count up to five rolls, apples or spoons. Then try our Count and Circle sheet, where children count pumpkins and acorns and circle the number.
• Pre-K: count to ten and write the number. Count the Turkeys mixes up the rows so children really count.
• Kindergarten: make little addition stories. "There are 4 rolls in the basket and Grandma adds 3. How many now?"

Go on a fall leaf walk

A walk before or after the big meal gets everyone outside and gives children plenty to collect. Bring a bag and gather leaves, acorns and pinecones. At home, use them for:

• Sorting: by color, by size or by kind (leaves in one pile, acorns in another).
• Comparing: find the biggest and smallest leaf. Our Big and Small sheet practices the same idea on paper.
• Patterns: lay out leaf, acorn, leaf, acorn on the floor and ask what comes next.

Play pattern games while you wait

There is often a stretch of waiting before dinner is ready. Patterns are perfect for this because they need no materials. Clap, clap, stomp; clap, clap, stomp, and let your child join in. Line up crackers and grapes in a repeating row and let them finish it (and eat the mistakes). When they are ready for paper, What Comes Next? moves from simple AB patterns to trickier ones like corn, corn, pie.

Spot the difference

Looking closely is an important pre-reading skill: telling b from d starts with noticing small differences in pictures. Set out four spoons and one fork and ask which one doesn't belong. Then try Which One Is Different?, which uses turkeys, pies and pumpkins.

Practice "thankful" talk

Gratitude is easier for young children when it is specific. Instead of asking "What are you thankful for?", try "Who helped you today?" or "What was your favorite thing we did this week?" Write their answers on paper leaves and tape them to a window or a branch in a jar. Kindergartners can copy or sound out one word themselves; younger children can draw a picture and dictate the words to you.

Warm up little hands

Tracing, cutting and tearing all build the hand strength children need for writing. Let your child tear paper strips for a turkey's feathers, roll dough into rolls for a pretend feast, or trace paths with a crayon. Our Trace the Harvest Trail sheet has dotted lines that get a little harder from top to bottom.

Keep it short and relaxed

Holidays come with late nights and lots of excitement, so keep each activity to five or ten minutes and stop while your child is still enjoying it. One printed sheet at the kids' table, or a counting job while you cook, is plenty. The goal is to make learning feel like part of the celebration, not one more thing on the list.