Hey Readers! Let’s Get Turnt For Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is an exceptional occasion for families and friends to come together, express gratitude, and engage in heartfelt traditions. For our little kindergarteners, the holiday offers a fantastic opportunity to learn, grow, and have some festive fun. To make your Thanksgiving celebration more memorable, we’ve gathered a collection of engaging games that will keep your little turkeys entertained and excited throughout the day.
Games to Cultivate Creativity
Fabulous Feast Food Faces
This hands-on activity encourages creativity and fine motor skills. Provide your kindergarteners with paper plates and an assortment of colorful construction paper, markers, crayons, and glue. Let their imaginations soar as they create comical faces using paper plate faces and construction paper features. They can add silly hats, crazy mustaches, and vibrant vegetable smiles to create their own Thanksgiving feast food faces.
Turkey Time Charades
Action-packed and entertaining, charades get your kindergarteners giggling and guessing. Write down various Thanksgiving-themed words or phrases on slips of paper (e.g., turkey gobble, pilgrim hat, mashed potatoes). Divide the group into teams and select a player to act out the phrase while their teammates try to guess correctly. Encourage enthusiastic performances and award points for each correct guess.
Games for Physical Activity
Gobble, Gobble Relay Race
Thanksgiving is all about feasting, so why not incorporate some friendly competition into the mix? Divide your kindergarteners into teams and have them line up facing each other. Place a pile of bean bags or small balls at the starting point and a designated finish line. On the signal, the first player from each team “gobbles” (runs) to the pile, grabs a bean bag, and returns it to their team. The first team to transport all their bean bags to the finish line wins the relay.
Turkey Trot
Get your kindergarteners moving with a fun and energetic game of Turkey Trot. Designate a large playing area and draw a series of lines or obstacles (e.g., cones, hula hoops) to create a “turkey trot” course. Play upbeat Thanksgiving-themed music and have the kindergarteners dance and trot around the course. When the music stops, they freeze like turkeys. The last one to freeze is out, and the game continues until only one “super turkey” remains.
Games for Cognitive Development
Thanksgiving Bingo
Engage your kindergarteners’ cognitive skills with a festive game of Thanksgiving Bingo. Create bingo cards with Thanksgiving-related images or words (e.g., turkey, pumpkin pie, pilgrim). As you call out different items, the kindergarteners mark off the corresponding images on their cards. The first one to complete a row or column calls out “Bingo!” and wins.
I Am Thankful For…
Promote gratitude and reflection with a heartwarming game of “I Am Thankful For…” Gather your kindergarteners in a circle and start by sharing one thing you’re thankful for. Then, invite each child to take turns sharing something they’re grateful for. This activity fosters social-emotional development and reminds us of the true spirit of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving-Themed Scavenger Hunt
Combine learning and exploration with a Thanksgiving-themed scavenger hunt. Hide Thanksgiving-related objects (e.g., miniature turkeys, acorns, corn) around the designated play area. Provide your kindergarteners with a list of clues and encourage them to work together to find all the hidden items. This activity promotes problem-solving skills and teamwork.
Thanksgiving Games Table Breakdown
| Game | Type | Skills |
|---|---|---|
| Fabulous Feast Food Faces | Creativity | Fine motor skills, imagination |
| Turkey Time Charades | Physical activity | Acting, communication |
| Gobble, Gobble Relay Race | Physical activity | Teamwork, coordination |
| Turkey Trot | Physical activity | Gross motor skills, energy release |
| Thanksgiving Bingo | Cognitive | Vocabulary, recognition |
| I Am Thankful For… | Cognitive | Gratitude, reflection |
| Thanksgiving-Themed Scavenger Hunt | Cognitive | Problem-solving, teamwork |
Conclusion
Thanksgiving is a time for joy, gratitude, and memorable experiences. By incorporating these engaging games into your kindergarteners’ Thanksgiving celebration, you can foster creativity, encourage physical activity, and promote cognitive development. These games create a festive and educational atmosphere that will make this holiday season truly special.
And while you’re in the holiday spirit, don’t forget to check out our other articles for more fun and engaging activities for kindergarteners:
- [Thanksgiving Crafts For Kindergarteners](link to article)
- [Thanksgiving Activities For Kindergarteners](link to article)
- [Thanksgiving Songs For Kindergarteners](link to article)
FAQ about Thanksgiving Games For Kindergarteners
1. What is a fun Thanksgiving game for kindergarteners?
A fun game is called “Turkey Tail Tag.” In this game, each child has a piece of brown paper taped to their back like a turkey tail. The object of the game is to tag the other players’ turkey tails while protecting their own.
2. How can I make Thanksgiving Bingo for kindergarteners?
Create bingo cards with Thanksgiving-themed pictures, such as turkeys, pilgrims, and pumpkins. Call out items and have the children cover the matching picture on their cards. The first child to complete a line or row wins.
3. What is a creative Thanksgiving craft for kindergarteners?
A creative craft is called “Thankful Turkeys.” In this craft, each child draws a turkey on paper and writes or dictates what they are thankful for on the turkey’s feathers.
4. How can I incorporate math into Thanksgiving games for kindergarteners?
Incorporate math by playing a game called “Turkey Bowling.” Set up empty plastic bottles as bowling pins and use a beanbag as the bowling ball. Have the children take turns bowling and counting the number of pins they knock down.
5. What is a simple Thanksgiving game for indoor recess?
A simple game is called “Thanksgiving Charades.” Write down Thanksgiving-themed words or phrases on slips of paper and have the children take turns acting them out while the other children guess.
6. How can I teach children about the history of Thanksgiving through games?
Teach about the history by playing a game called “Thanksgiving Timeline.” Create a timeline with key events leading up to Thanksgiving and have the children place pictures or objects on the timeline in the correct order.
7. What is a fun Thanksgiving science experiment for kindergarteners?
A fun experiment is called “Dancing Corn.” In this experiment, the children fill a jar with water and add salt. Then, they add uncooked popcorn kernels to the jar and observe how the kernels float and dance.
8. How can I incorporate music into Thanksgiving games for kindergarteners?
Incorporate music by playing a game called “Thanksgiving Musical Chairs.” Set up chairs in a circle and play Thanksgiving-themed music. Have the children walk around the chairs while the music is playing and stop and sit down when the music stops.
9. What is a Thanksgiving game that helps children develop their fine motor skills?
A game is called “Turkey Lacing.” Cut out turkey shapes from felt and punch holes around the edges. Provide the children with laces or yarn and have them lace the turkeys to strengthen their fine motor skills.
10. How can I make Thanksgiving games more inclusive for all children?
Make games inclusive by providing modifications for children with different abilities. For example, in “Turkey Tail Tag,” allow children who have difficulty running to tag the turkeys by gently touching them with their hands.