Thanksgiving is often overshadowed by Halloween, the excitement and fun of dressing up and the pull of free candy and sugar highs. Thanksgiving though is such a powerful holiday to share with young children. While the history of it may still be beyond their full comprehension the spirit of being thankful for the things we have, the family we love and the blessings in our lives is entirely possible. This simple craft combines your child’s own hand print, fall leaf colors and things they are thankful for ! You can display and use this craft to remind your child of their blessings and start a dialogue about all we have to be thankful for.
1. Gather your materials. You will need 3 pages or more of construction paper ( brown, yellow, orange), some crayons, a marker, scissors, and a glue stick.
2. Start by tracing your child’s hands. If you have a wiggler like I do, have them sit still for one , cut it out and trace it multiple times.
3. Have your child color these hands with crayons.
4. When they are all colored cut out and sit together and think of the things your child is thankful for. Try not to say no to any suggestion, mine was thankful for sweet things like his family and more typically 3 year old things like string cheese. The point is to appreciate things so even if it’s cheese they are getting the message.
5. Draw a tree truck, if your child is willing and able have them draw this.
6. Fold the wrist area.
7. Glue the folded part down onto the tree truck. You will be able to read all the things your child is thankful for on one side and see the fall colors on the other.
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Tags: books, Child, Children and Youth, Color, Construction paper, Craft, Crayon, Holidays, Shopping, Thanksgiving
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Thank you Alli! This is a beautiful post and a very simple and creative idea. I will try this out with my 3 year old. I think it will keep him engaged.
What a great way to teach kids about being thankful. I’m hosting my family’s Thanksgiving this year and I think that this will be a great craft while they are waiting for dinner to be done.
Excellent idea! We did this when my kids were small and we should get back to doing it again. We actually used tree branches stuck into a pot, and hung the construction-paper leaves with raffia. It’s a very nice tradition for the month of November.
What a charming and heartfelt project idea. Great way to remind my little one (and rest of family) what is meaningful about Thanksgiving.