Guilford County Schools ACES Program
Weekly Theme: Time for Thanks – More Activities
Song for Thanks – (sung to "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star")
Thank you, thank you, very much
For everything that I can touch.
Thanks a lot for nature's food.
And for when I'm feeling good.
Thank you, thank you very much.
For moms and dads and friends and such.
Thankfulness Bag
Get a brown paper lunch bag. On the front, glue a picture of the student with the words
"Made by:" and a spot for the child's name. On the inside of the bag place a folded,
printed sheet of colored paper (like a card) that says:
Thank you for your loving care and the kindness that you share.
Thank you for helping me to learn and grow
And showing me all that you know.
That's why I just want to say, "THANK YOU" in the biggest way!
On the inside of the card:
Thankfulness Bag Ingredients
1. A string - to keep our hearts tied together always
2. A kiss - to say thank you for all your love.
3. A penny - to say thank you for sharing my thoughts and letting me know they are
important to you.
4. A warm fuzzy - to make you feel good when you are sad, like you always do for me.
5. A band-aid - to say thank you for all the times you make my hurts feel better.
6. A tissue - to say thank you for all the times you dry my tears.
7. A circle - to show that my love for you will never end.
Have all these items on hand for the children to put in their thankfulness bags. The kiss
can be a candy kiss, the warm fuzzy can be a cotton ball and the circle can be a
lifesaver candy.
Thank You Book
Construction Paper, Magazines, Stapler or Yarn, Glue, Crayons, Scissors
Fold paper or papers in half and staple fold or poke holes and tie them with yarn. Find
pictures in magazines of things you are thankful for and glue them into the book.
Thanksgiving Cornucopia
Supplies: Paper Grocery Bags, Magazines, Crayons, Glue, Scissors
Cut the paper bag so you can flatten it. Cut out the cornucopia cone shape, add a circle
to the "open" end. Color it if desired. Cut out pictures of fruit from magazines and glue
them onto circle of the horn.
July 2009
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Activity ideas obtained from ACES staff and public domain materials
Guilford County Schools ACES Program
Thankful for Veterans
Veteran’s Day is a day to be thankful for those who have served our country and those
currently serving. Something that your students can do to show that they are thankful is
sending Thanksgiving cards to a local VA Hospital. For many hospitalized veterans
today, a kind word of acknowledgement for their service helps provide them with a
sense of comfort and belonging. Make sure to add a cover letter to your packet of cards
explaining that you would like to have the Thanksgiving cards passes out to Veteran’s in
the hospital. Addresses are listed below:
VA Medical Center
1601 Brenner Avenue,
Salisbury, NC 28144
VA Medical Center
2300 Ramsey Street
Fayetteville, NC 28301
VA Medical Center
508 Fulton Street
Durham, NC 27705
Tree of Thanks
Supplies: 2 Paper Grocery Bags, Construction Paper (fall Colors), Crayons, Markers, or
Pencils,Glue, Scissors
Cut open the grocery bags so it lays flat. Cut out a tree trunk and branch shapes . Use
colored paper and cut out leaf shapes. Have children write what they are thankful for on
the leaves and hang them on the tree.
Thankful Wreath
Cut out an orange or yellow circle to fit a paper plate, and have child glue to center.
Then have them crumple up and glue colored tissue paper (fall colors) to the outside of
the wreath. Cut out a bow shape and either glue a small picture of the child in the center
of the bow, or have the child write his/her name on the bow. Glue the bow to the outside
of the plate. Discuss thankfulness, and ask the child what they are thankful for. Then
write that in the center of the plate i.e. "I am thankful for my parents." Then attach a
ribbon or string on the back to hang the wreath.
Mayflower Ships
Give each child a walnut shell half, a small piece of play dough, a toothpick and a small
square of white paper for a sail. Let the kids decorate their sails with crayons. Help each
child put holes in his or her sail. Show the child how to stick his or her toothpick in one
hole and out the other hole. Have the kids roll the play dough into a ball and place in the
bottom of the walnut shell.. Then stick the toothpick in the play dough.
Cranberry Spoon Race
Use real cranberries in a relay race game. If any cranberries fall of the spoon during the
race the runner must start again.
July 2009
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Activity ideas obtained from ACES staff and public domain materials
Guilford County Schools ACES Program
Thanksgiving Dinner Game
Players sit in a circle. The first player starts by saying, "At Thanksgiving dinner I like to
eat turkey". The next player must repeat "At Thanksgiving dinner I like to eat turkey..."
and add another dish. This continues all the way around the circle with each student
reciting the dishes in the exact order they have been given and then adding a new one.
If a student makes a mistake they slide out of the circle and the game continues. The
person left who can perfectly recite the Thanksgiving menu wins.
Thankerchief
Arrange the children/players in a circle. Pass a "thankerchief" (handkerchief) around the
circle, as everyone recites this poem:
Thankerchief, thankerchief, around you go -Where you'll stop, nobody knows.
But when you do, someone must say,
What they are thankful for this day.
The player holding the "thankerchief" when the poem ends, must say aloud, one thing
for which they are thankful. This continues until everyone has had their turn.
Cornucopia Confusion
all of the players will sit on chairs forming a circle. There should be one more player
than there are chairs. The player without a chair is the leader. The leader points to each
of the players naming them as she points with cornucopia names such as "Cranberry,
Corn, Apple, Turkey," anything related to Thanksgiving.
After names are chosen, the leader calls out two names, for instance...
"Turkey and potato!". When she calls the names , those two players must quickly switch
places. The leader keeps calling at a quick pace, until suddenly she says "The
cornucopia has tipped over!" Everyone, including the leader, then scrambles for a new
place. The player with out a seat, becomes the new leader. The leader may give the
same name to more than one person.
Science Center Idea
Provide several objects for a sink or float tub like corncobs, apples, seeds, sticks,
beads, feathers, gourds, etc.
Popcorn Gift Bag
Cut an eight inch circle of muslin. Have children use fabric crayons or permanent
markers to decorate the circle. Use saran wrap to package a small amount of popcorn
kernels and wrap into a ball shape. Fold the muslin circle up around the popcorn and tie
with ribbon or yarn. Tie a small tag to the ribbon printed with the following verse:
This is a tiny little sack.
Inside you’ll find a popcorn snack.
Outside there is a bit of art
To say you’re always in my heart.
July 2009
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Activity ideas obtained from ACES staff and public domain materials
Guilford County Schools ACES Program
Thankful Necklaces
Make a necklace with yarn and these colored pony beads to retell the story of the first
Thanksgiving.
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First 1 brown bead represents the Pilgrims leaving England
Next 2 white beads represent the sails on the Mayflower
3 blue beads for the long trip over the ocean
1 green for when they spy land
3 white (or clear glitter) for the snow during the long winter
1 green for the arrival of spring
1 tan for the Native Americans who helped the Pilgrims
4 beads for the foods served at the first Thanksgiving
 1 red for cranberries
 1 yellow for corn
 1 brown for turkey
 1 orange for pumpkins
1 red bead for the thankfulness in their hearts
Thanksgiving Tongue Twisters
 Ten tricky two-toed turkeys trotted on the table.
 Greedy gobblers grabbed the gravy.
 Floyd flipped five fine flapjacks!
 Six sick swans slurped soup slowly.
 Chef chopped cheese chunks cheerfully.
 Betty baked a better batch of buttered biscuits.
 Eleven leaping lizards licked lovely lemon lollipops.
 Peter Pilgrim picked pretty plump pumpkins!
A Thanksgiving Play
This play has a narrator, four Pilgrims, and three Native Americans. You can make
costumes or just use hats.
Narrator – This is the story of the very first Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims have just come
over on the Mayflower from England. The year was 1620. The place was,
Massachusetts in the New World they called America.
Pilgrim #1 – Thank goodness we have finally landed in the New World. Our boat ride
from England was long and hard.
Pilgrim #2 – It is cold here. I am not used to so much snow in the winter.
Pilgrim #3 – Neither am I. Maybe there are other people around here who can help us.
Native American #1 – Welcome to the New World. I am Squanto.
Native American #2 – I am Massasoit. I am chief of my tribe.
July 2009
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Activity ideas obtained from ACES staff and public domain materials
Guilford County Schools ACES Program
Pilgrim #4 – Welcome. We are Pilgrims who have just come here from England. We are
cold and hungry and our food supply has run low.
Native American #3 – Do not worry. We will show you how to catch fish in the streams.
Native American #1 – And we will show you how to plant corn, pumpkins, and beans.
Pilgrim #1 – You are very kind. And we will share some of our food with you.
Native Americans – That is very good of you.
Narrator - Squanto, Massasoit, and the other members of their tribe taught the Pilgrims
how to survive in the New World. And the Pilgrims helped the Indians in return. When
the first harvest came in the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims made a special feast to share with
the Native Americans. That is the story of the very first Thanksgiving.
July 2009
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Activity ideas obtained from ACES staff and public domain materials