A Day of Thanksgiving

Start the day with a conversation about how much we have to be thankful for.  Ask the kids to list everything they're thankful for, while you write it down.  After they run out of ideas, ask them to imagine that tomorrow they will get to keep only the things they named on your list.  See what they say about that!   Then, give them a chance to add other things to the list.  We have so much to be thankful for.  So many things we take for granted: air, food, water, plumbing, hot showers, light, health...

After they have felt a little gratitude for everything they have, lead them in some activities to help them express their thankfulness to God:

Create a work of art for someone else to enjoy.  Thank God for making you YOU, with all of the talents you have...they are all from Him!

Go on a walk, picking up trash as you go.  Thank God for making nature so beautiful.  Take time to admire the trees, flowers, leaves.  Feed the fish, turtles, ducks.

Good job, trash collectors.

Spend some time playing at the playground.  Thank God for creating you for Joy!  Leave a small toy for another child to keep.  (Isaac suggests leaving a note so a conscientious child will know it's okay to keep the toy.)

Do a chore for someone else in your family.  Thank God for the people in your life who love you. 

Pack a shoebox filled with toys and goodies for a needy child.  Go to the web site for Operation Christmas Child and find how to send one to a child in need.  In order to reach kids all around the world by Christmas, these are usually collected the week before Thanksgiving, so it is a great tie-in to preparing our hearts for Thanksgiving. 

Thank you, God, that we have so much to give and share.

"Whooo Are you Thankful For?"

A new version of the Thanksgiving placemat:

 Lindsay and I cut out the shapes beforehand (rectangles for the owl body and head, triangles for beak and ears, feather shapes for wings and body feathers).

 We let the kids cut out their own eyes.

And then glue all the pieces down.

Then they wrote a person they were thankful for on each feather.  

 The top says "Whoooo are you thankful for?"

Thanksgiving Tree

This year we're making an effort to be thankful during the month of Thanksgiving.  I thought a fun way for the kids to get excited about giving thanks to God, and to add some fall fun to our home, was to create a paper tree, that we could decorate each day with new leaves naming something we're thankful for.

I also wanted to make sure the kids know to whom we give thanks for everything we have, so I looked up bible verses on thankfulness and praise (ready to be glued onto a leaf).  

We added one of these each day to the tree as well.  There are more verses of thanks and praise than days in the month, more than I even listed here, but this is a good start.

1. Deuteronomy 32:3
   I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
2. 1 Chronicles 16:34
   Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
3. 1 Chronicles 29:13
   Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
4. 2 Samuel 22:47
   “The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!
5. Psalm 7:17
   I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.
6. Psalm 9:1
   [ Psalm 9 ] For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David. I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
7. Psalm 35:18
   I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you.
8. Psalm 69:30
   I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
9. Psalm 95:2
   Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
10. Psalm 100:4
    Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
11. Psalm 103:1
    Of David. Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
12. Psalm 106:1
    Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
13. Psalm 107:1
    [ BOOK V Psalms 107–150 ] Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
14. Psalm 107:8
    Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
15. Psalm 118:1
    Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
16. Psalm 118:21
    I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
17. Psalm 136:1
    Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.
18. Psalm 136:2
    Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.
19. Psalm 136:3
    Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.
20. Psalm 136:26
    Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.
21. Isaiah 25:1
    [ Praise to the LORD ] LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.
22. 1 Corinthians 1:4
    [ Thanksgiving ] I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
23. 1 Corinthians 15:57
    But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
24. 2 Corinthians 2:14
    But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
25. 2 Corinthians 9:15
    Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
26. Ephesians 5:20
    always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27. Philippians 1:3
    [ Thanksgiving and Prayer ] I thank my God every time I remember you.
28. Colossians 3:17
    And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
29. 1 Thessalonians 1:2
    [ Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith ] We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.
30. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
    give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
31. Philemon 1:4
    [ Thanksgiving and Prayer ] I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers,
32. James 1:17
    Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
33. Revelation 7:12
    saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

Daddy, explaining the verse to the kids.

Thanking God.

Pressed-Leaf Placemats

Thanksgiving Craft:
We usually have the kids create their own Thanksgiving placemats.  A few times, we have used autumn leaves that the kids have collected.

Here's a description of how to do it that I found on a website called suite101:

How to Preserve Pressed Leaves with Wax Paper (or Contact Paper)

Arrange pressed leaves between the shiny sides of two sheets of wax paper. Place a brown paper bag underneath to protect your ironing board. An adult should then press the top sheet of wax paper gently with a warm iron for about ten seconds to melt the wax. Let the paper cool thoroughly.

Alternatively, help your children arrange their pressed leaves between two sheets of clear contact paper. Smooth air bubbles away with a spoon.

Aubrey with her leaves

Lily with her leaves

Placemats that Give Thanks

One Thanksgiving recently, we helped the kids make their own placemats.  My sister precut the shapes of the turkey's body (circle) and the tail feathers.  Each child got to glue together her own turkey and write what they were thankful for on each feather. Then they used them as placemats for the feast.

Isaac is thankful for...

Abby is Thankful for...

Lily is thankful for...

Aubrey is thankful for...

Amelia is thankful for...

Giving Thanks Through Actions

Tonight our family night lined up really well with Thanksgiving.  We took the kids to El Jardin beach near our house and had them help pick up trash. 

 (We used plastic bags over their hands to keep them from having to touch the trash with their bare hands.) We talked about how we were showing God we were thankful for what He has made for us.  Isaac really enjoyed it.  Abby mostly picked up dirt and shells. I would like to do something similar next year as it was a very simple way to thank God.