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.
Book Suggestion
Giving Thanks by Jonathan London is a wonderful book with universal appeal. The story follows a son and his father as they trek through nature appreciating all that it gives to them and saying thanks. What really makes this book stand out to me is that it doesn’t attach one spiritual belief to saying thanks, so the reader is able to put their own beliefs into the book. They are simply saying thanks to all the wonderful animals, trees , sun , moon and even fungi ! Another part that stood out for me was that the son admits to feeling embarrassed by saying thanks out loud, but that the more he does it the less it will feel weird. I think the message of appreciation for the earth is poignant and can transfer to all areas. My son and I also loved the painting like illustrations by Gregory Manchess.
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