Do your kiddos love to read? Mine do! They are total bibliophiles — I am constantly hunting them out of the nooks and crannies of our house (where they hide to read) to complete chores and school work. They come by it honestly. Both my husband and I love to read! I suggest reading How to Establish a Reading Culture in Your Home
Books are a lot of fun all by themselves. But when you pair a special book up with a fun activity or treat, it becomes extra special! Today I’m sharing some Thanksgiving literature activities that your kids will love!
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving, by Eric Metaxas
When the pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, they did not know how to properly grow crops in that climate and soil. They had come from a much different climate and type of soil. It was truly a miracle that Squanto spoke their language and was able to teach them how to grow the plants of the New World that grew with vigor in the rich land.
He showed the Pilgrims where the herring ran in spring and taught them to fish with weirs and nets. He showed them where cod and salmon were abundant. In late May, Squanto led the Pilgrim men into a field and demonstrated how to grow corn. He dropped a fish into a hole, covered it with soil, and pressed several corn kernels into the soil. He planted pumpkins between the corn rows, and beans beside the corn so they could climb the corn stalks.
Squanto shared with the Pilgrims the seeds that his ancestors had brought to New England from lands as far away as Mexico and Peru. Modern gardeners call that type of companion planting ‘three sisters’ and it is still used today. We are going to make our own ‘three sisters’ planting, using candy. My kids call this Dirt Dessert.
Thanksgiving Literature Activity: Dirt Dessert
Supplies
- Chocolate pudding, mixed up and chilled
- Oreos or other chocolate sandwich cookies
- Swedish fish
- Candy Corn
- Candy corn pumpkins
Instructions
- Mix chocolate pudding according to the directions on the box.
- Place Oreo cookies in a ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin. Instruct your kids to roll them gently, or you may have a mishap and crushed oreo crumbs are messy.
- Layer pudding and crushed cookies in a plastic cup, ending with a thick layer of the cookies on the top, to look like dirt.
- Plant a Swedish fish in the center of your dirt cup, followed by a couple of candy corn kernels. Be sure to lick your finger afterward!
- Plant your pumpkins around the edge of the cup, surrounding the corn kernels.
- Enjoy!
Turkey Trouble, by WendiSilvano
Turkey is in trouble. Big trouble! The kind of trouble where it’s almost Thanksgiving . . . and he’s the main course. But Turkey has an idea–what if he doesn’t look like a turkey? What if he looks like another animal instead?
After many hilarious attempts, Turkey comes up with the perfect disguise to make this Thanksgiving the best ever!
Thanksgiving Literature Activity: Turkey Disguise
You’ll love this fun, creative, open-ended Thanksgiving Art activity. You are going to help Turkey come up with a disguise, so he doesn’t end up on the Thanksgiving table!
Here is a turkey template for you to copy. Print him onto brown cardstock and
cut him out. Provide construction paper, markers, paint, scrapbook paper, fabric, feathers, stickers, jewels, googly eyes, and whatever other supplies you can think up and just tell your kiddos to come up with a disguise for him. They need to save his life!
My kids loved the creative aspects of this activity. They disguised their turkeys as superheroes, hippies, Santa Claus, a clown, a jailbird, an FBI agent, ballerinas, and even a Granny. Check a few of ours out below!
Too Many Pumpkins, by Linda White
Rebecca Estelle has hated pumpkins ever since she was a girl when pumpkins were often the only food her family had. When an enormous pumkin falls off a truck and smashes in her yard, she shovels dirt over the pieces and forgets about them. But those slimy pumpkin smithereens sprout up in autumn, and Rebecca Estelle finds a sea of pumpkins in her garden.
A heartwarming classic for more than twenty years, and a consistent favorite for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and all year round, this story shows what happens when one thrifty gardener figures out how to make other people happy with the squash she can’t stomach.
Thanksgiving Literature Activity: No-Bake Pumpkin Pies
My favorite thing about these cute, little, personal-sized pumpkin pies is that they are super easy! My kids whipped these up with very little supervision from me. The filling is thick, rich, and not too sweet — a lot like a pumpkin mousse.
Supplies
- Graham crackers
- 2 -3.4 oz boxes vanilla pudding
- 8oz cream cheese
- 15 oz can pumpkin (just pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Whipped Cream
Instructions
- Mix vanilla pudding according to the directions on the box. Chill.
- Crush graham crackers.
- Mix the brick of cream cheese and the can of pumpkin into the pudding mixture.
- Layer the crushed graham crackers and the filling in a plastic cup.
- Top with whipped cream. Be sure to spray a little straight into your mouth!
- Enjoy!
I hope you’ve discovered a couple of fun Thanksgiving literature activities to spark (or grow!) a reading culture in your home! I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below!
Don’t forget to pin these ideas for later!
About the author:
Amy blogs at Orison Orchards (named after the farm/orchards the Saunders family owns) where she helps homeschooling mama’s find the confidence to educate their children using a child-led approach, and live life to the fullest without breaking the bank. She is currently homeschooling six of her eight children. The oldest two were also homeschooled, and are now on scholarship at a prestigious university. Her youngest is 5-years old.
Amy advocates sunshine, pinches pennies, and is the Chief Idea Officer of the Saunders family. If she were ever offered a superpower, she would choose ‘Entropy Annihilation’. You can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.