Thanksgiving Paper Plate Craft for Kids
Involve kids in the spirit of Thanksgiving with this simple craft and pretend play. This activity is inspired by a lively children's book about thanksgiving by Natasha Wing.
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Food plays an important part in Thanksgiving celebrations. Special family events like a holiday dinner are made even more special by inviting kids to participate in the preparations.
Planning for a family meal often includes shopping for seasonal vegetables, setting the table, and baking favorite desserts.
There are lots of ways kids can help, including washing vegetables, rolling out pastry dough, folding napkins, or stirring the lemonade.
The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing is a fun depiction of a family gathering to prepare and eat a meal together.
The story is told in rhyming verse in the style of The Night Before Christmas. The colorful illustrations by Tammie Lyon show the family laughing, playing and working together amidst the happy chaos of preparing a scrumptious turkey dinner.
Read the book, then make this Thanksgiving craft and take part in some creative role play.
This art and dramatic play activity is mess-free and easy to put together. It's a fun option to have on hand for times during a busy day when kids need an independent activity.
Thanksgiving paper plate craft
Thanksgiving is a perfect time of year to embrace the wonderful gifts in our lives, including food, family and fun.
Kids can explore food and family with a Thanksgiving paper plate craft and a pretend play activity.
1. Make a paper plate craft.
Cut out food pictures from store flyers or magazines.
Arrange food pictures on a paper plate and glue in place.
Engage kids in conversation to support language skills.
- Identify the foods
- Name the color of each food..
- Comment on foods liked or disliked
- Discuss how foods are prepared.
2. Role play food preparation.
Draw and cut out pictures of foods on card stock or cardboard for sturdy cut-outs.
Role play preparing the food.
- cook the food in a saucepan
- place the food on serving trays
- arrange food on plates.
Children benefit in many ways when they are involved in real life activities such as meal preparation, setting a table or washing dishes.
Developmental skills, including language, social, fine motor and cognitive, are strengthened through these hands-on opportunities.
Extend the play and learning with a story book and a related arts and crafts activity like this one.
You'll provide even more opportunity to engage these skills, along with some amazing creativity!
