http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/ Happy Thanksgiving! It's time for giving thanks and being with our families. Enjoy! ~~ Barbara J. Feldman en Copyright 2010 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:35:21 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Hoop Sticks Hoop Sticks is a game that actually teaches a little bit of history. Hoop Sticks is a Native American game that you can teach your children about and play by using simple household items. All that you need is a 12" wooden dowel or stick for each player and yarn, string or twine, at a length of about 18" per stick.  You simply tie the yarn to the end of the stick and make a "hoop" at the other end (Don't worry it gets more challenging). The object of the game is to catch the "hoop" with the end of your stick using only one hand!  If you are familiar with the Mexican Balero game, the same principles apply. For variations on the game, you can wrap the hoop in masking tape, making it slightly easier to control where the hoop falls. You can also decorate your sticks with Native American symbols, feathers or beads.  You can involve a whole group of people by having everyone first make their Hoop Stick and then dividing into teams. Using a timer, count how many hoops each player on each team makes in the allotted time. The team with the most hoops wins! Make your own Mayflower and count your blessings This game is a craft, activity and lesson all in one. You start by making a paper Mayflower. You will need a clean cardboard milk carton, a brown paper bag, construction paper in a variety of colors, glue, wood dowels, two apples, scissors, tape, and something to write with. Start by cutting one side from the milk carton (so that it looks like a boat) and cover the inside and outside with the paper from the brown paper bag. Doing this covers any milk logos and writing. Use the white paper to make the sails by cutting two large rectangles and two small rectangles. Next, use the colored paper to cut our flags for the masts of your ship. Poke the dowels through the top and bottom of each of your sails and then stick the dowel through the apple. This will help the masts to stay upright. Fill the inside of the Mayflower with slips of colored paper to begin the activity portion of this Thanksgiving Day game. Either on Thanksgiving Day, or on the days leading up to Thanksgiving, encourage your family members and those visiting your home for the holiday to take some time and use the slips of paper to write down the things that they are thankful for. On Thanksgiving Day you can read all the slips out loud and enhance the focus on our many blessings. ]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_games_for_older_kids-42144.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_games_for_older_kids-42144.php Celebrations activity challenge games harder ideas kids make older play Thanksgiving variations younger Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:35:21 -0800 Turkey Plate To make a turkey plate, you will need different colors of construction paper, a paper plate, scissors, and glue. To turn your ordinary plate into a turkey, use the plate as the body of the turkey and cut the feathers, beak, and feet out of the colored paper. Use the glue to adhere them to the plate. Use a marker or colored pencil to fill in the other details of the face. If you wish, you can also turn this simple craft into an activity where you encourage your child to think about what he or she is thankful for. On each of the feather cutouts that you have made, write what your child is thankful for. For young children who cannot yet read, you may want to use simple pictures to represent the things that they are thankful for so that the child can remember those things when they look at their turkey plate. Card Making If you are going to have people over visiting you on Thanksgiving Day, it is a nice idea to have your children make something that thanks them for sharing this day with you. Making cards is a great Thanksgiving Day activity for a number of reasons. Making cards encourages your kids to think of someone other than themselves. Card making is also something that is not specific to any age. Whether your child is just old enough to work with crayons or old enough to help the younger kids and work on their own extravagant cards, card making is a great way to keep kids occupied and have a nice gift to give when all is said and done. Card making can be as simple as folding a piece of paper in half and using crayons to draw a picture. But with some additional materials, you can turn that card into a more three dimensional piece by gluing on cut out pieces, or even object like buttons, brads, and scrap items. Leaves Galore! On Thanksgiving Day you really want to make it clear to your kids that it is important to be aware of all the things that they have and can be thankful for. There are dozens of different variations on this idea, but what you can encourage your kids to do is write the things that they are thankful for on leaves. You can use real leaves, paper cut-out leaves, felt leaves, foam leaves, be creative! You can make fabric leaves and use them as the napkins. You could even get out your Christmas tree and make leaves to use as ornaments. Let your kids be in charge of leading this activity for other adults that you might invite over to the house. With this activity you can easily get your kids involved in a worthwhile activity, while at the same time decorating your house for Thanksgiving!]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_activities_for_kids-42143.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_activities_for_kids-42143.php Celebrations activities cards craft day encourage kids leaves paper plan suggestion thankful Thanksgiving write Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:32:01 -0800 This project can be done with kids of all ages, and should take about 30 minutes to complete. It helps to do the cutting ahead of time, but is not required. • Supplies o 3 inch brown circles o Brown pear shape o Rocket-shaped tail feathers in a variety of colors o Small yellow triangle o L shaped gobbler o 3 inch x 6 inch rectangles in different colors, folded in half o Glue o Tape o Markers • Directions o Place one brown circle flat on the table and glue ten tail feathers in a fan shape. Glue a second brown circle on top of the first. o Glue the circle to the front of a folded rectangle o Glue the pear shape body onto the circle, so you can make the turkey's head and neck. o Bend the yellow triangle so that it looks like a beak and glue it to the top of the turkey head o Glue the gobbler just below the beak o Draw eyes on the turkey using a marker and write the person's name on the brown circle body. http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/turkey_place_cards-42025.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/turkey_place_cards-42025.php Crafts examples_of_fun_thanksgiving_activities fun_family_thanksgiving_activities fun_thanksgiving_activities ideas_for_fun_thanksgiving_activities Thanksgiving_activities thanksgiving_activities_for_the_family thanksgiving_activity_ideas Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:08:57 -0800 The Warm-Cold game, with a Thanksgiving twist Many times classic games can be changed in simple ways to make for a holiday appropriate activity. For example, you can play the hot-cold game but instead of saying hot when the person gets close to the goal and cold as they get further away, you can gobble like a turkey and allow your volume to indicate how close the player is to the goal. One person (the person who is "It") plays the role of the turkey farmer while the other players are the helpers. The farmer leaves  the room and the helpers hide a small toy turkey. The farmer returns and he must now find the turkey with the help of the other members of the group who will give clues by "gobbling" like turkeys in a soft voice when the farmer is far away from the turkey and in a louder voice as the farmer gets closer to where the turkey is hidden.  You can time how long it takes each player to find the turkey and award prizes or simply allow the kids to play this game and award everyone with a prize for doing such a good job. The Cornucopia Game In the cornucopia game, (Some have called it cornucopia confusion or the fruit salad game) all of the players sit in a circle on chairs. There should be one less chair than there are players (like in musical chairs). The person who is "It" stands in the middle of the circle and points to each of the players naming them as he goes around the circle. The names can be names of items associated with a cornucopia (potato, cranberry, corn, turkey, etc.), names associated with the Pilgrims, or you could have a different Thanksgiving theme each time you play. After everyone in the circle has been given a name, the leader calls out two names, for instance... Turkey and cranberry!" At which point the two players with these names must quickly switch places.  The leader keeps calling out names until at random the leader announces that the cornucopia has spilled and everyone, including the leader, then scrambles for a new place. The player without a seat at the end of the chaos becomes the new leader. The leader can choose to have everyone use the same names or he can assign new names to the members of the group. Twenty questions: Thanksgiving edition Twenty questions is a traditional game that can very easily be given a Thanksgiving makeover. All that you need to do is to choose someone or something related to Thanksgiving to be your chosen 20 questions item. To remind you of how the game is played, one player says "I am thinking of a person, place or thing," and the other players try to guess what it is by asking no more than twenty "yes" or "no" questions. ]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/simple_ideas_for_thanksgiving_games-42066.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/simple_ideas_for_thanksgiving_games-42066.php Celebrations activities outdoor outside play pumpkin team Thanksgiving turkey turns weather yard Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:53:41 -0800 • Supplies Newspaper Bag of 5 inch balloons Shallow bowl Mixing spoon ¾ cup flour ½ cup water Popcorn kernels Craft paints - orange, yellow, green, brown, and black Paintbrushes Clear acrylic finish spray Felt - green and brown Scissors Glue gun Wicker basket Spanish moss, you can also use raffia • Directions

• Blow up the balloons and tie a knot in the end to secure the balloons; you will need at least six balloons.
• Mix the flour and water together in the shallow bowl to form a paste. You want the paste to be thick enough to coat a piece of paper without dripping.
• Tear the newspaper into 1 inch wide strips
• Dip the paper into the paste and run your fingers down the paper to remove the excess paste. You want to ensure that the paper is evenly coated.
• Place the strip of paper vertically onto the balloon. Repeat this procedure until the balloon is covered in vertical strips of paper.
• Make sure you leave a hole at the top of the balloon where the knot is located.
• Now you will need to add horizontal strips of paper to the balloon until the balloon is covered with a ¼-inch layer of paper.
• If you want a bumpy texture for the gourds, you can place popcorn kernels between the layers of newspaper.
• Once all of the strips have been put in place press them to the balloon to keep the shape intact. You also want to rub some extra paste around the strips to smooth everything out.
• Make stems by twisting several pieces of newspaper together and then dipping them into the paste.

1. Allow everything to dry overnight.
2. Pop the balloons and pull it out of the gourd.
3. Glue the stem into the hole of each gourd.
4. Paint the gourds and stems and allow them to dry overnight.
5. Spray each gourd with a coat of clear acrylic spray and allow it to dry.
6. Using the felt make some leaves to glue to the top of each gourd
7. Place the gourds inside the basket that is filled with Spanish moss or raffia.

]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_activities_for_the_family-42024.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_activities_for_the_family-42024.php Crafts examples_of_fun_thanksgiving_activities fun_family_thanksgiving_activities fun_thanksgiving_activities ideas_for_fun_thanksgiving_activities Thanksgiving_activities thanksgiving_activities_for_the_family thanksgiving_activity_ideas Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:06:14 -0800 Supplies

• Orange
• Couple of boxes of dried cloves
• Mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice that totals ¼ cup
• 2 sheets of tissue paper
• Plastic food storage bag

Directions

1. Stick the cloves into the orange. You want to push down on each clove so that it is securely anchored into the orange. You can make a decorative pattern or you can stud the entire orange.
2. Place the spice mixture into a plastic bag and gently shake the clove-studded orange. You want the spice mixture to get everywhere on the orange so shake it good.
3. Wrap the orange in tissue paper and place it in a warm, dry spot for 3 to 4 weeks, or until it is totally dried out.

Number two: Paper Plate Turkey Supplies

• Paper plate
• Brown paint or crayons
• Various colors of construction paper
• Glue or paste
• Markers or crayon

Directions

1. Color the paper plate brown or paint it, whichever you prefer
2. Using the construction paper cut out several tail feathers for the turkey
3. Glue them to the edge of the plate
4. Using brown construction paper cut out a head, neck, and feet for your turkey, you can use black for the feet or yellow.
5. Draw a face on the head to make a turkey.

Number three: Thanksgiving Tree Supplies

• Fall colored construction paper
• Cardboard or poster board
• Scissors
• Markers
• Glue
• Old magazines or catalogs

Directions

1. Using the construction paper cut out a variety of different colored leaves. Alternatively, draw the shapes on the construction paper and allow your child to cut them out.
2. On the cardboard or poster board draw a tree trunk and branches
3. Ask your child what they are thankful for and write it down on the leaves. You can also have older children label their own leaves. You can also have them cut out pictures from catalogs or magazines that relate to what they are thankful for.
4. Glue the leaves to the branches

Number four: Thankful board This project works best for older kids, but can be done with younger kids if there are adults helping with the project. Supplies

• Poster board
• Index cards
• Markers and crayons
• Double stick tape or glue stick

Directions

1. Have your children decorate the poster board with markers. One thing you can do is trace the outline of index cards along the poster board and then decorate those outlines.
2. There should be one index outline for every person that is sharing the Thanksgiving holidays with you
3. As people arrive for Thanksgiving dinner hand them an index cards and a marker
4. The guests need to write down what they are the most grateful for on the index cards. Your family also needs to fill out an index card.
5. Once all of the cards are filled out glue them to the poster board or attach them with double-sided tape.

Number five: Thanksgiving Centerpiece Supplies

• Shoebox or small box
• Pipe cleaners
• Tape
• Construction paper
• Poster paint or markers
• Sequins
• Tinsel
• Other materials you can use for decoration

Directions

1. Create the "vase" of the centerpiece by allowing your children to decorate the box how they want.
2. Punch holes in the cover and poke pipe cleaners through each hole.
3. Bend back one inch of each pipe cleaner and form the wire into a U shape.
4. Tape the U shape to the inside of the box to keep the pipe cleaner upright
5. Seal the cover to the box.
6. Make flowers from tissue paper or paper mache, wrap the pipe cleaners around the flower centers

]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_activities_for_all_ages-42023.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_activities_for_all_ages-42023.php Crafts examples_of_thanksgiving_activities fun_thanksgiving_activities fun_thanksgiving_activities_for_everyone ideas_for_thanksgiving_activities Thanksgiving_activities thanksgiving_activities_for_all_ages types_of_thanksgiving_activities Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:53 -0800 Thanksgiving Dinner Bounce. If you are less interested in having your children sit at the computer to play their games and are instead looking for Thanksgiving games that get them thinking or playing outside, you will want to refine your search. For the younger children, you may want to search for age appropriate crafts, coloring pages, and other activity templates. The older kids may be more drawn to activities that challenge them mentally, like a Thanksgiving themed word search or cross word puzzle. After finding the activity that best suits the situation, you can simply push the print button and then take that activity outside, to the kitchen table, or to share with another friend or relative. Some of the most challenging people to entertain on Thanksgiving are the youngest members of the family, with short attention spans and little care for nostalgia, Thanksgiving Day is simply a day where the old people sit for a long time as they eat and then want to do nothing but nap for the rest of the day. Online Thanksgiving games can provide much needed entertainment for a young Thanksgiving celebrator as well as provide an opportunity for the adults to enjoy some time on their own, as the little ones remain anxiously engaged in their games and activities. Again, searching on the Internet for age appropriate games is a simple and effective thing to do. One such search brought up the site: Funschool. This site specializes in providing Thanksgiving game ideas to help even the youngest members of your family get into the holiday spirit and appreciate the holiday. Don't forget about providing the adults with some light entertainment. There are also plenty of online game ideas that you can look through and find the game that you think will best suit the personalities of those who will be playing it. There are also ideas for games and activities that have dual purposes. For example, you can play a game that incorporates party guest introductions or a game that allows individuals to compete in a creative and comfortable type of setting. The possibilities are limitless, especially because you always have the option of putting your own unique spin on any game or activity that you are presented with.]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/free_online_thanksgiving_games-42065.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/free_online_thanksgiving_games-42065.php activities adults age day find free games internet kids online search Thanksgiving Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:33:06 -0800 Number one: Thanksgiving Sequencing Activity With this activity you are going to need to have felt cut outs in the shapes of turkeys, Indian corn, pilgrims, Indians, and other symbols that are related to Thanksgiving. You want to have each of the symbols in a variety of sizes. For the activity, you can talk about what each symbol means as the children place the symbols in sequence from large to small or small to large. Number two: Thanksgiving Matching Game You can make your own cards or you can buy cards that have a variety of Thanksgiving symbols on them, make sure there is one pair of each symbol at least. You can use the cards to play memory if the children are old enough or you can allow the children to place them into pairs. While playing the game you can talk about what the various symbols stand for and why they are related to Thanksgiving. Number three: Turkey Placemats Get some construction paper that is about the same size as a placemat or cut the bigger construction paper to size. Using finger paint or tempera paint, you can have the child paint their hand. They can paint the palm of their hand brown and their thumbs to make the turkey's body and head. They will need to paint each of their fingers a different color for the feathers. Once the paint has dried, you can have the kids decorate the placemats with miscellaneous items that you have lying around. You can laminate each placemat to make it last even longer. Number four: Thanksgiving cards Using construction paper, you can have children make a card for their family for Thanksgiving. You can use stamps that represent the different symbols of Thanksgiving; you can also use things you find in a nature walk. On the inside of the card, you will have the children write down why they love their families or you can have them include things that they are thankful for. Just remember to let the kids do the thinking, do not alter their thoughts because the card will mean more coming straight from a child's heart, even if what they are thankful for is the big television that dad bought for video games. Number five: Cornucopia Treat The cornucopia is a big symbol for Thanksgiving, so you want to be sure to include it in the activities if possible. One thing that you can do is make a snack called a Cornucopia Treat. To do this you will need large sugar waffle ice cream cones, one for each kid. You will also need a large bag of trail mix, some M & M's, and honey roasted peanuts. All you have to do is fill the waffle cone with the trial mix, M & M's, and honey roasted peanuts. Once it has been filled use colored saran wrap to wrap the waffle cone securely, you don't want the insides falling out. Tie the end of the waffle cone with a bow and it is finished and ready for you to eat or use to decorate.]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/teaching_children_about_thanksgiving_through_activities-42022.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/teaching_children_about_thanksgiving_through_activities-42022.php Crafts ideas_on_how_to_teach_kids_about_Thanksgiving teaching_children_about_Thanksgiving teaching_children_about_Thanksgiving_through_activities Thanksgiving_activities Thanksgiving_activities_you_can_use_to_teach_about_the_holiday Thanksgiving_and_children Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:59:18 -0800 Make it a daily thing. As a parent, whether you have a teen or a toddler, you are sure to know that saying things once does not often result in action. It takes repetition and constant reminders to get your children to do what you want, whether it is picking up their room, or showing gratitude. So, when you are trying to teach your teens gratitude, you need to remember that it is not something you address with them once and leave at that, it is something you should take time each day to encourage. A few ways to do this is to simply ask them each day for a few examples of things they are grateful for. You can remind them to show gratitude when you see opportunities they are missing, such as if their mother washes their sports uniform, you can remind them to thank her. Make it a family effort, and make it a daily part of their life. Be a great example. When your child was younger you were probably very good at teaching them to do things by showing them, do not stop! As teenagers are far less observant than toddlers, you actually should be even more of an example. So, be sure you teach your teen to be grateful by being that way yourself. Be generous with your gratitude. Give thanks often, and for small things as well as big. Be sure to thank your teen, for all that they do right. As you show them appreciation and gratitude for simple things like putting their shoes away rather than leaving them out, they will start to pick up on that and as they see the things you are grateful for, they too will start feeling more gratitude. In addition to that, it is extremely difficult to instill a characteristic in someone that you are not practicing yourself, so make it a habit in your life, and it will be easier to make it one in your teens. Make it habit. Habit are things we do without thinking about it, and if you want to teach your teen gratitude, you have to find a way to make it habit. One excellent way to do it is to make gratitude a part of the daily routine. For example, when you drive your teen to school in the morning, make a habit out of asking them what they are grateful for that day. They may think it is cheesy, but soon it will be habit to them, and even if they ride with someone else, the thought of gratitude will pop into their head. You can make a habit of sharing with them the things you are grateful for each night before bed, or at the dinner table, etc. Soon you will recognize that highlighting being thankful is a wonderful teaching tool, and consistently including expressions of gratitude in daily activities will reinforce its power. Give Service If you want your teen to learn gratitude they need to better recognize what they have that others may not. Have them volunteer at a soup kitchen, or watch a movie that took place in the depression, etc. Encourage that they give service often, because as this happens, selfishness lessens, and gratitude has a place in their life. Make them contribute. Help your child to learn how to consider others and function outside of themselves by making sure they are taking an active role in family life, meaning doing chores, participating in dinner preparation or clean up, and making contributions to the family. This helps them learn gratitude because they start to see efforts others make not just themselves. For example, if you clean the kitchen and someone comes in and instantly makes a mess, they will think nothing of it. However, if THEY clean the kitchen and someone comes in and instantly makes a mess, it will frustrate them. Soon they will recognize other's hard work, show more consideration, and in turn more gratitude. ]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/gratitude_teaching_your_teen-42154.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/gratitude_teaching_your_teen-42154.php Celebrations grateful gratitude teaching_your_teen_gratitude teen_gratitude Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:10:31 -0800 Number one: Turkey Sweatshirts You can have each kid make a unique sweatshirt for Thanksgiving. Each child will need to bring in a sweatshirt that can be painted. You will need to have some type of paint that will adhere to the fabric of the sweatshirt once it has dried, you will also need numerous paintbrushes. The turkey will be made by painting the child's hand with paint and having the child place their hand onto the sweatshirt. To put the turkey image on the sweatshirt you need to paint the palm and thumb of the child's hand with brown paint, you can then paint the rest of their fingers different colors to represent the feathers. Once the hand has been painted carefully, direct the child's hand to the sweatshirt and place it firmly on the sweatshirt. Once the paint has dried, feet and gobbler can be added. Number two: Thanksgiving tablecloth You can have the entire class work together to make a tablecloth or you can make one at home with your own children. To begin this project you will need to have at least one plain white tablecloth. You will also need sponges that are shaped like turkeys, leaves, or other things related to Thanksgiving. You can buy the sponges or you can create your own "stamps" with things you have laying around. For example, you can use feathers dipped in paint to leave feather stenciled onto the tablecloth, you can cut and apple or pear in half for fruit shapes, etc. Make sure you use colors that are fall colors, such as orange, brown, and yellow. Number three: Thankful feathers This is an activity that you can have kids and parents do together because it helps children learn about things that they are thankful and allows them to spend time with their families. What you need to do is cut out a feather shape, one for each child, and send it home to have the family decorate it with things that they are thankful for. Gather together all of the feathers and place them together to form the feathers of a turkey on a bare turkey. Number four: Indian corn A favorite decoration around Thanksgiving is the Indian corn that you see in stores, you can have your kids make their own version. To do this project you will need an empty paper towel roll and popcorn packing peanuts. You will want to have the kids glue the packing peanuts onto the paper towel roll. Using a paper lunch sack you want to cut three strips down the bag about ¾ of the way, this is for the cornhusks. Place the paper towel tube inside the paper bag and glue the top and bottom of the paper towel tube to the paper bag. Once everything is dry, the kids can paint the packing peanuts in brown, purple, yellow, and orange. For added effect you can glue yellow yarn or ribbon onto the top of the paper towel roll, this will represent the corn silk. These are only a handful of activities that you can find for kids to do on Thanksgiving, but along with each activity, you should discuss why we celebrate Thanksgiving and what people are thankful for.]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/fun_thanksgiving_activities_for_preschoolers-42021.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/fun_thanksgiving_activities_for_preschoolers-42021.php Crafts examples_of_Thanksgiving_activities fun_Thanksgiving_activities fun_Thanksgiving_activities_for_preschoolers great_Thanksgiving_activities Thanksgiving_activities Thanksgiving_activities_for_preschoolers types_of_Thanksgiving_activities Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:57:54 -0800 Many parents start to worry they raised their child wrong because when those teenage years hit, hearing the words "thank you", let alone seeing true appreciation and gratitude, is rare. Teens have a way of being selfish and so wrapped up in their own lives that gratitude goes right out the window. So, is it possible to re-instill or teach your teen gratitude? Yes, but it is not always easy. The following are some tips for how you can try and teach your teen gratitude. Start with consideration for others. The fact is that if you are more grateful for what you have, and you practice gratitude in your life, your selfishness lessens, and suddenly thinking of others becomes easier. So, your goal as a parent should not be to force gratitude on your child, but help them to practice consideration. Point out opportunities for consideration, and encourage and praise them when you see it given. Even teens respond to positive reinforcement. As your teen starts to consider others more, they start to notice when people are doing things for them. This will help to improve their gratitude, even if they do not show it, they will start to take notice of it. Taking notice of something beyond themselves is the first step. Service. The next step to teaching your teen gratitude is to help them to serve others. Consider this, as a teen yourself you probably did not take notice of all of the things your parents did for you out of loving service. It is often not until years later, when you are a parent yourself, making Halloween costumes into the wee hours of the night, waking up early to pack school lunches, making breakfast, or doing endless loads of laundry, all without any thanks, that you recognize how much your parents deserved your gratitude. The same can be true of your teen. If you give them opportunities to serve, and have them get a bit of a taste of what it is like to do something for someone else and receive, or not receive gratitude, can encourage them to show more in their own lives. If your teen spends a few hours weeding an elderly neighbor's yard, and the neighbor neglects to thank them, they won't be too happy about it, but they may start to recognize themselves doing that very thing. Even if the neighbor does thank them, giving service, and giving others a chance to show gratitude can increase their ability to show it as well. Recognizing blessings they have. This is the next step to helping your teen learn gratitude, and it is to help them recognize how great their life really is. One of the reasons that teens often forget to have an attitude of gratitude is because the teenage years are often very pessimistic. Your teen may have a hard time seeing the good in their life because they are so focused on the negative. While this is fairly normal, you can't teach gratitude if you do not address this. So, help your child learn gratitude by focusing on getting your teen to recognize the blessings in their life. For example, the food they eat, clothes they wear, car they drive, are all good places to start. It is up to you how you do this, but some parents have taken extreme measures with very positive results. For example, they help their teen be more grateful for their car by taking it away for a while. Suddenly the teen is less concerned about the fact that the car is old, or not as cool as their friends, and learns to be happy to even have one. So, when you see opportunities to help your teen recognize their blessings, take advantage of it. The joy of gratitude. Lastly, if you want to teach your teen gratitude, express it yourself, and show them how much joy can be found in the contentedness and peace that comes from being grateful for what you have, and what people do for you. http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/can_you_teach_a_teen_gratitude-42153.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/can_you_teach_a_teen_gratitude-42153.php Celebrations appreciation grateful gratitude teens thanks Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:07:00 -0800 Number one: Potato turkeys This project requires a little bit more work if you are doing it with younger kids, but is still easy enough. You can cut out colorful feathers from construction paper ahead of time or you can have the children cut out the feathers once you have traced the shape onto the construction paper. Once the feathers have been cut out each child will need to glue two feathers to a toothpick, the feathers need to be facing each other so the toothpick is sandwiched in the middle. Once the glue has dried have the kids stick the toothpicks into the back of the potato to form the feathers of the turkey. You can make the turkey head, along with the waddle the same way you did the feathers. Once that has dried place it in the front of the potato, if you want googly eyes on your turkey glue those onto the head before you place the head into the potato. Number two: Slice of Pie Thanksgiving is just not the same without a slice of pumpkin pie. This simple art project allows children to make their own slice of pumpkin pie, which is nice for those kids who don't enjoy eating it. For this project, you will need to cut a paper plate into eighths, just as you would a pie. You can use crayons, markers, or paint for this project, depending on how old the kids are. You want to begin by painting or coloring the edge of the plate brown. Than paint or color the rest of the paper plate orange. If using paint, while it is still wet sprinkle some pumpkin pie spice on it. If using crayons lightly spread some clear glue onto the paper plate and sprinkle some pumpkin pie spice on. To finish the slice of pie once everything has dried glue a cotton ball to the top of the plate. Number three: Indian corn Using white construction paper, you will need to draw two corncob shapes. Have the kids cut out the shapes, while you are popping some popcorn. How much popcorn you pop depends on how many kids are doing the project and how much gets eaten while doing the project. While the popcorn is cooling off you will want to staple the two corncobs together at the top, but spread the bottom apart. Inside of a Ziploc bags you want to place yellow, red, and brown tempera paint, one color per bag. Place a small amount of popcorn into each bag and mix until it is the popcorn is the right color. Glue the popcorn to the corncobs. To finish the project once the glue has dried staple real cornhusks to the top of the corncobs. Number four: Clay Turkey Using Model Magic clay, you want to create a ball that is about the size of an orange. Draw on the ball with markers to add some color, mash the colors in to create a marbleized look. Using a small wooden spoon, which you can find at a craft store, place the spoon into one end of the ball, and then stick in five colored feathers at the other end. Using a fine point black marker add detail to make the turkey's face. ]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/easy_thanksgiving_activities_for_kids-42020.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/easy_thanksgiving_activities_for_kids-42020.php Crafts easy_Thanksgiving_activities examples_of_easy_Thanksgiving_activities_for_kids examples_of_Thanksgiving_activities Thanksgiving_activities Thanksgiving_activities_for_kids Thanksgiving_ideas types_of_easy_Thanksgiving_activities_for_kids Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:56:07 -0800 Prayer one: Thanksgiving Day Grace Thank thee, Lord for all my many blessings, Thank thee, Lord. I have bread, Thank thee, Lord. for room and board. Thank thee, Lord. for friends and family. God takes such good care of me. Amen. Prayer two: Thanksgiving Day Prayer - Mary Fairchild Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day We bow our hearts to You and pray. We give You thanks for all You've done Especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son. For beauty in nature, Your glory we see For joy and health, friends and family, For daily provision, Your mercy and care These are the blessings You graciously share. So today we offer this response of praise With a promise to follow You all of our days. Prayer three: Thanksgiving Mealtime Blessing For food that stays our hunger, For rest that brings us ease, For homes where memories linger, We give our thanks for these. Prayer four: Thanksgiving Dinner Prayer Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for this special day, a day to remember Your goodness to us. We want to thank You for a roof over our heads, and more than enough food to eat. We want to thank You for the relationships You have given to us, for family and friends. Also, I want to thank You for all the bad experiences we've had. We have learned that you were there for us all the time. For this, we thank You and praise You. In Jesus name, amen. Prayer five: Thanksgiving Prayer - Ralph Waldo Emerson For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, For love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends. Prayer six: Traditional Thanksgiving Hymn We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing; He chastens and hastens his will to make known; The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing, Sing praises to his name: He forgets not his own. Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining, Ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine; So from the beginning the fight we were winning; Thou, Lord, wast at our side, All glory be thine! We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant, And pray that thou still our defender wilt be. Let thy congregation escape tribulation; Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free! Amen. Prayer seven: We Give Thanks Thanksgiving Grace - Harry Jewell Our Father in Heaven, We give thanks for the pleasure Of gathering together for this occasion. We give thanks for this food Prepared by loving hands. We give thanks for life, The freedom to enjoy it all And all other blessings. As we partake of this food, We pray for health and strength To carry on and try to live as You would have us. This we ask in the name of Christ, Our Heavenly Father. Prayer eight: Give us this day our daily bread Prayer Give us this day our daily bread, O Father in heaven, and grant that we who are filled with good things from Your open hand, may never close our hearts to the hungry, the homeless, and the poor; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/traditional_thanksgiving_prayers-42019.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/traditional_thanksgiving_prayers-42019.php Celebrations examples_of_Thanksgiving_prayers examples_of_traditional_Thanksgiving_prayers prayers_for_Thanksgiving prayers_you_can_say_on_Thanksgiving Thanksgiving_prayers traditional_Thanksgiving_Day_prayers traditional_Thanksgiving_prayers Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:51:21 -0800 Prayer one: Thanks, Lord Jesus! Amen. Prayer two: Thanks be unto Thee, O God! Amen. Prayer three: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. Amen. Prayer four: We thank the Lord, For meat and drink, Through Jesus Christ. Amen Prayer five: We thank Thee, dear Lord Jesus. That Thou our Guest hast been; O be Thou with us ever, And save us from all sin. Amen. Prayer six: The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies, Are over all His works. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Amen. Prayer seven: Accept, O Lord, our thankful praises, For all Thy goodness did bestow; May it increase our faith and lead us, Our praise by godly lives to show, That every deed and word may prove, We trust and own our father's love. Amen. Prayer eight: O Lord, we thank Thee for our daily bread. May it, strengthen and refresh our bodies! And we pray, Thee, nourish our souls with Thy heavenly, grace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Prayer nine: O God, who givest unto all their food, make us, thankful and provide for all the needy, now and, evermore. Amen. Here are some before dinner prayers that your toddler or preschooler can say to begin the Thanksgiving meal. Prayer one: Grant us The grace, O Lord, that, whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, we may do it all in, Thy name and to Thy glory. Amen. Prayer two: The eyes of all wait upon Thee, O Lord, and, Thou givest them their meat in due season: Thou, openest Thine hand and satisfiest the desire of, every living thing. Amen. Prayer three: Jesus, bless what Thou hast given, Feed our souls with bread from heaven; Guide and lead is all the way, In all that we may do and say. Amen. Prayer four: Lord God, heavenly Father, bless us and these, Thy gifts which we receive from Thy bountiful, goodness, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Prayer five: Great God, Thou Giver of all good, Accept our praise and bless our food. Grace, health, and strength to us afford, Through Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord. Amen. Prayer six: Be present at our table. Lord, Be here and everywhere adored. Thy creatures bless and grant that we, May feast in paradise with Thee. Amen. Prayer seven: O Bread of Life, from day to day, Be Thou our Comfort, Food, and Stay. Amen. Prayer eight: Come, Lord Jesus, be our Guest, And let Thy gifts to us be blest. Amen. The important thing to remember is it is not the length of the prayer that is important. When giving thanks you can simply tell Lord Jesus what it is you are thankful for. Whether you give thanks before or after the meal is not important either, but up to your family tradition. Giving thanks before the meal many people feel blesses the food you are about to eat, but giving thanks after the meal is just as important because you are giving thanks for the food that you were blessed with.]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_prayers_for_preschoolers-42018.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_prayers_for_preschoolers-42018.php Celebrations after_dinner_Thanksgiving_prayers before_dinner_Thanksgiving_prayers easy_Thanksgiving_prayers examples_of_Thanksgiving_prayers Thanksgiving_prayers Thanksgiving_prayers_for_preschoolers Thanksgiving_prayers_for_toddlers Thanksgiving_prayers_for_toddlers_and_preschoolers Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:49:13 -0800 Prayer one: This New Day At home, at school, or at play, thank you, Lord, for this new day. And, dear Lord, help me remember, That happiness lives inside me forever! Prayer two: Golden Light Golden Light, shining bright, always teach me what is right. teach me to speak with kindness and care. teach me to be willing to share. teach me to remember, when playing with others, that all of us are world sisters and brothers. Golden Light, shining bright, keep our world family safe in Your sight. Prayer three: A Shining, Loving Light A little prayer of "Thank you, God," Sets our thoughts aright. keeps us feeling all day long, more positive and bright. And when our thoughts are true and bright, we shine forth our inner light. our inner light of God's own love, starts shining out on those we love. And so, let's thank God every day, with all our energy and might, for blessing us so warmly, closely, with a Shining, Loving Light! Prayer four: Child's Thanksgiving Prayer Thank you God for all that grows, thank you for the sky's rainbows, thank you for the stars that shine, thank you for these friends of mine, thank you for the moon and sun, thank you God for all you've done! Prayer five: Father we thank Thee Father we thank Thee for this food, For health and strength and all things good. May others all these blessings share, And hearts be grateful everywhere. Prayer six: Children's Mealtime Blessing God is great! God is good! Let us thank Him For our food. Amen. Prayer seven: A Child's Grace God is great and God is Good, And we thank God for our food; By God's hand we must be fed, Give us Lord, our daily bread. Amen. Prayer eight: Children's Mealtime Blessing Thank you for the world so sweet, thank you for the food we eat. thank you for the birds that sing, thank you God for everything. Prayer nine: The Lord's Prayer Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed by Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done On earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead is not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Prayer ten: Thanksgiving prayer for children Jesus, bless what you have given, Feed our souls with bread from heaven Guide and lead us all the way In everything we do and say The one thing that you want to remember when it comes to having children recite the prayer at Thanksgiving is that it does not have to be a prayer that they have memorized. The reason for this is that many times some of our best prayers come straight from our hearts. Instead of having your children memorize a bunch of lines that lead to a traditional prayer, have your children say a prayer that they have created. To do this you will need to teach your child how to pray aloud, and tell teach them that the best prayers come straight from the heart.]]> http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_prayers_for_kids-42017.php http://www.thanksgivingfun.net/thanksgiving_prayers_for_kids-42017.php Celebrations children's_prayers child_friendly_Thanksgiving_prayers examples_of_child_friendly_Thanksgiving_prayers examples_of_Thanksgiving_prayers_for_kids prayers_for_children Thanksgiving_prayers_for_children Thanksgiving_prayers_for_kids Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:42:45 -0800