Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Below we’ve outlined a fun and creative way to show your kids how to give thanks and gratitude this holiday season. We’ve named this craft, “Gratitude Pie”. We hope that making this pie will be a memorable and heartfelt activity everyone can enjoy.  At the end of this craft have the kids share what they are grateful for and why. While sharing, each child will have a chance to focus on communicating their ideas and thoughts. We hope you can carve out some time in your day to share some gratitude with your little ones!

Supplies:

• Paper plates
• Paint Brushes
• Construction paper (your choice of color)
• Bowl (for tracing)
• Glue
• Scissors
• Washable markers
• Push pins
• Brads

At the end of this craft your paper plate pie will reveal each thing you are thankful for! Let’s get stated.  

Pie Making:

1. Create your pie crust by painting a tan circle around the edge of your paper plate.
2. Take a sheet of construction paper, and use your bowl to trace a perfect circle. The circle represents the center of the pie (we used orange for a pumpkin pie).
3. Apply glue at the center of the plate and place down your circle “filling”.
4. Attach the “pie” plate to another plate. To do this, use a push pin to create a hole at the center of the plates.
5. Take your push pin out and push your brad through the hole. Now, your plate should be able to rotate.
6. Use your scissors to cut a piece of your pie. Only cut the top plate!
7. Across the top of the pie write, “I am thankful for…”
8. In the blank space where you previously cut a pie slice write what you are thankful for. Rotate the plate to list more things that you are thankful for.

Tips:

• The color of your construction paper determines the type of pie. In our Show Me How Episode we went with orange for pumpkin pie!
• Having your younger kids hold the marker and trace helps build fine motor skills.
• If your kids are too young to handle scissors you can help them cut.

This craft focuses on social and emotional learning. Ask the children what it means to have gratitude. While making the craft the kids can also practice reading and spelling as they list each thing they are grateful for.  We hope this holiday craft inspires joyful learning! It’s not required, but we strongly recommend real pie to be eaten during this activity.

Share With Us!

There is so much potential for memorable creations from these activities, we hope you will share some of them with us! Snap a photo of the fun your child had and post it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #mothergooseclub.

Your child may not have been able to have as much crafting time as they would have liked this year, but we have the perfect solution! This craft can be made with many of the items found around the house, and will also help set the festive mood of thanksgiving we are all used to at this time of year. This is a great activity for making together with your child, so let’s gather all the ingredients and cook up a whole lot of fun!

Materials:

You should be able to find most ingredients around the home, but if you are missing seeds or beans, you can always substitute something else for the tail feathers. You may have to visit a craft store for the popsicle sticks and googly eyes.

• An empty egg carton
• Elmer’s glue, or any school glue
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Two googly eyes
• One piece of orange pipe cleaner
• Sunflower seeds
• White beans (dry)
• Red beans (dry)
• Corn kernels
• Pumpkin seeds
• Popsicle sticks (you can substitute with strips of cardboard)
• Round piece of scrap wood (you can substitute with a thick, round piece of cardboard)
• Glue gun (if not available, use the school glue but allow 30 minutes to dry)

Approximate crafting time: 45-60 minutes (including drying time)

Step 1 – Draw

Use the pencil to draw five leaf shapes on the bottom of the egg carton. If you don’t have a piece of wood for the turkey’s face, you can also use the rest of the egg carton bottom to cut out a circle for the face.

Step 2 – Cut leaves

Carefully cut out each of the five leaf shapes from the bottom of the egg carton.

Step 3 – Cut turkey body and glue

Use the scissors to cut out two halves of the molded side of the egg carton. Try to cut them so that there is a uniform height all around the top openings of the halves. Put some glue around the edges of the wide openings at the top, then fold together so that they form a shell with the flat sides on both top and bottom. Put aside and let dry.

Step 4 – Glue turkey feathers

On each leaf, put some glue on just one side and then put just one kind of food item on each of the leaves. You should end up with five leaves with something different on each one. Be careful not to put too many seeds or beans on the leaf as the feather may not stay upright if it is too heavy. Glue a popsicle stick to the back of each turkey feather.

Step 5 – Put it all together

Glue the piece of wood to the egg carton body and let dry. Then glue each of the five tail feathers to the back of the body. Glue each of the googly eyes onto the wood piece. Fold a 3” piece of pipe cleaner in half, then glue to face to make the turkey’s mouth.

Share With Us!

Get creative! We can’t wait to see how your turkey turned out, did you use anything different to decorate your turkey tail feathers? Show everyone your best turkey creation by posting them on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #mothergooseclub. Gobble gobble!

Not only is Thanksgiving a great time to celebrate traditions and enjoy tasty foods, it’s also a wonderful opportunity to teach children the importance of showing thanks. This Thanksgiving turkey jar craft can help do just that – it’s also super easy and requires very little clean up. When you’re done, write down what you’re thankful for and drop the notes into the jar. Then take turns reading them with the family!

Crafting time is bonding time. Let your family guide your creativity and encourage artistic liberties along the way. While your turkey jar may not last through all of your Thanksgiving celebrations, your memories making it will! And while you craft, sing along to our Thanksgiving songs!

Materials:

All the materials you need are below. Most everything can be found around the house or at your local store. Get creative, improvise and let us know what works for you!

• Fall-colored construction paper (orange, red, yellow, brown)
• Scissors
• Sharpie
• Small glass jar
• Glue
• A set of googly eyes

Step 1 – Turkey’s Body:

Trace around your jar or jar’s lid on a brown piece of construction paper to create the turkey’s body. Trace a second circle (you’ll attach the fanned feather pieces to this circle). Draw the outline of the head of the turkey off of one circle and a separate feather shape.

Step 2 – Turkey’s Feathers:

Cut feather shapes in various colors making small cuts around the edge of each for texture. Glue these to the circle without the added head shape.

Step 3 – Put It All Together:

Glue the circle with feathers to the back of your jar. Cut a small orange diamond and fold it in half to create a beak and a small, water-drop shaped red piece to serve as the “snoods”, or the dangly part at the turkey’s neck. Glue the beak, snoods and googly eyes onto the turkey’s body. Glue the body to the front of your jar and you’re done!

Share With Us!

If you decide to try this craft with your family, we’d love to see the results! Share your thoughts and creations with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using #mothergooseclub. We love getting crafty and celebrating with Mother Goose Club families around the world!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We’re thankful for fans like you!

Tree Centerpiece

After months of sticky, humid air, everyone’s ready for some cool weather and fun fall activities – jumping in leaves, apple picking and snuggling fireside in fluffy hoodies to name a few! On a day that’s a little too cool or wet to be outside, try this easy and fun leaf craft using simple household items. Crafts are a great way to bond, practice motor skills and decorate your home for the holidays!

Materials:

All the materials you need are below. Most everything can be found around the house or at your local store. Get creative, improvise and let us know what works for you!

• Colorful leaves, pine cones and chestnuts
• You can also cut out leaves from construction paper
• Paper towel roll
• Glue
• Tape
• Small cardboard box
• Brown paper bag

Step 1 – The Base:

Wrap your small cardboard box in a brown paper bag (like a present), and tape the ends securely.

Step 2 – The Tree:

Cut slits into one end of the paper towel roll to create branches – these should be a couple of inches long and curl out slightly. Cut four short slits into the other end, folding each flap out completely.

Step 3 – The Leaves:

Glue the tree to your small box using the short flaps you created in step 3. Once dry and secure, glue leaves onto the branches!

Step 3 – Decorate:

Decorate the base of your box with chestnuts, pine cones or other materials. Consider adding glitter to your leaves, or writing something or someone you’re thankful for on each one!

Leaf Wreath

When leaves change color and begin to fall, kids love to stomp and crunch leaf piles, kind of like dinosaurs! But stomping and crunching isn’t all that leaves are good for – you can also get creative with them. This colorful wreath craft is a great reason to explore the neighborhood and learn a bit more about the seasons, weather and local plants. You can also feature any plants that you find in your area as a celebration of your local vegetation. So, take advantage of the scenic fall weather and get crafty!

Materials:

All the materials you need are below. Just like the craft above, everything can be found around the house or at your local store.

• Colorful leaves, pine cones and acorns
• Paper plate
• Glue
• Scissors
• String

Step 1 – The Wreath:

Poke a hole in the center of your paper plate. With your scissors, start cutting from the center out to the edge of the plate, stopping when you’re about two inches from the outside edge.

Step 2 – String for Hanging:

Cut a piece of string that is about one and a half feet long. Fold the string in half and tie the doubled-up string to the paper plate ring. Make sure that the string is sturdy enough to hold the wreath – you’ll be adding some weight onto it later.

Step 3 – Decorate:

Use small dots of glue to attach leaves, acorns or pine cones to your wreath. We recommend covering the entire ring with materials in various shapes and colors. Allow the glue to dry completely, and then hang your wreath!

Share With Us!

What are your favorite fall crafts and activities? Did you enjoy these craft ideas? Share your thoughts and creations with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using #mothergooseclub! We love getting crafty and celebrating with Mother Goose Club families around the world!