Cooking Thanksgiving food teaches children to work together and follow directions, and it can help you get children to eat healthy foods. Choose a few simple holiday recipes that you can create in the classroom or in the school kitchen, such as corn bread and a vegetable side dish. Before cooking, write out all the steps on poster board so everyone can see it and follow along. Have children take turns adding ingredients or mixing things. When the food is ready, have a Thanksgiving feast in your classroom.
Use the voyage of the Pilgrims to teach children about geography. Bring in a map or globe and show children where England and Massachusetts are located. Show children how to spell the word "Plymouth," then give each child a turn to locate this town in both places. Explain that the Pilgrims left from Plymouth, England and landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Help them use a ruler to measure the distance between the two, then figure out the actual distance between them using the scale on the map. You can also have children find your town and measure the distance between your town and each Plymouth.
Seeing her own personalized place mat at the Thanksgiving table makes each child feel special. This project can also help children practice their writing and cutting skills. Write each child's name in block letters on construction paper. Have children cut out their names and glue the letters onto a larger piece of paper. You can have them cut out Thanksgiving shapes such as turkeys or cornucopias to add to the place mat, or color their own designs. Laminate each mat. Use them at a class Thanksgiving party, then send them home so children can use them during their family's celebration.
Teach children to be grateful for all the good things in their lives with a Thankfulness quilt. Ask each child to draw a picture of all the things he's thankful for. Name some things you're thankful for as an example. Tape the pictures together into one large square and hang it on your classroom wall. You can also hang the pictures on your door. Place a stack of paper and markers nearby and hang a sign asking anyone who walks by to add their own pictures to your door of Thankfulness.