Give Thanks: 5 Projects for Kids

I was just perusing posts of Thanksgivings past as I prepare for a Day of Thanksgiving in my second grade classroom.  It's hard to decide what to do, but the Oreo Turkeys are a must!

Thankful Bunting

Oreo Turkeys

Weaving Paper Placemats

Thankful Pouch

Thanksgiving Story Bracelet (via My Montessori Journey)

Having a quick link roundup is always handy, don't you think?  Off to plan my lessons!

Happy Thanksgiving to your family from mine!

Second Grade Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from my second grade class!  We had a lovely "Day of Thanksgiving" that I wanted to share with you.

Of course, we made yummy Oreo turkeys!  The kids joked about "eating the whole turkey" all day long.

 Making Thanksgiving Story Bracelets was a big hit.  They loved how each bead represented a part of the story and talked about how maybe they could write similar stories for Christmas.  I'm hoping they do!

 The kids were so super excited to make Woven Placemats.  

Since they are old enough, they followed along while I guided them through measuring, cutting, and weaving.

 I cut out the strips, but they did the rest and were so proud of it!  The placemats stayed on their desks all week.

 Currently, we are working on counting up to make change.  This wonderful Thanksgiving Feast activity was perfect!  I tweaked it a bit to fit my needs.

Hope your Thanksgiving is full of friendship and fun too!

Toddler Sewing: Thankful Bunting

 What a super fun time we had at Toddler Sewing this week!  Wish you could have joined us. Have no fear, here's some pictures to get you going and creating some Thankful Bunting with your little crew.

Before getting started, we read a few Thanksgiving themed books and talked about all the wonderful things big and small that we are thankful for.

 The full tutorial for making Thankful Bunting is here. Materials Needed:  card stock, crayons, silk leaves, ribbon about 3/8 inch wide, plastic needle, scissors, hole puncher.  Before starting, cut your card stock to about 8inch squares.  Punch holes along the top of the card stock squares.  Next, cut 2 slits into the silk leaves so that you can thread them.

Ok, let's get crafting!

 First, draw and color the card stock with things that you are thankful for.  Many families made individual flags for each family member. Some drew handprints which was quite cute.

 Crafting together!  This was totally a parent and child activity.  I love how everyone got involved and had fun.

 After the flags are drawn, it's time to sew it all together.  Little ones do so well with plastic needles to help guide through small holes.

 Let children find the holes and then "pull, pull, pull" the ribbon through.

Thanksgiving memories being made!  This week, we had a great group filled with grandparents, uncles, babysitters, and moms.  The kids were so proud of their accomplishments and had fun learning a new skill.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sewing Club Gives Back

Sewing Club made these "On the Go Rollups" filled with toiletry items to be donated to the Grace-St. Luke's Church outreach programs.   I feel that it is so important for the kids to understand how simply they can help others and that the skill of sewing can be a helpful and powerful skill.

A little bit of love and hope was sewn into each rollup.  Leaves inscribed with "Somebody Loves You" was added.  The phrase was inspired by the wonderful book Somebody Loves You Mr. Hatch.

We used the Art-To-Go-Go idea in Sewing School 2 to construct these.  The pouch is made from a washcloth and has about 4 pockets.  We handsewed the rollups, but they could easily be machine sewn.

We hope that they will touch the lives of others and offer some comfort as the weather turns colder.  Such a special way for Sewing Club to give thanks.

Pumpkin Spice Cookie Coin Keeper

We had fun at the Booksellers at Laurelwood last weekend.

We stitched up some Pumpkin Spice Cookie Coin Keepers during the booksigning to celebrate Thanksgiving. 

This was a great activity with lots of kids gathered around.  We pre-cut felt squares and threaded up some needles so it was easy to get started.

For this variation, we handsewed the cookies, but they are machine sewn in Sewing School 2.

With this simple project, the variations are endless!

Give Thanks

These Give Thanks pouches turned out so cute and sweet.  I had fun making them with 2 and 3 year olds and can't wait to make them with my own kids.  It's a perfect Thanksgiving sewing project and is easy to whip up with a group.

Materials Needed - burlap cut into rough squares, about 6 inches wide (I say "rough" because they were hand cut and a little wonky), plastic needles or yarn needles with a big eye, lacing strings or yarn, paper leaves, pencils & crayons.  I pre-threaded the needles and had the bags ready to be sewn with needles in them so everyone could begin sewing right away, but I would let older kids do this step themselves.

**You realize, of course, that you could use different materials here, this is simply what I used because I had all of these materials on hand.

We made the "Give Thanks" patch with the iron-on stuff that goes through your printer, but you could omit this step or make your own patch with a marker and cotton fabric.

 Let the sewing begin!  I demonstrated to the Moms how to hold the fabric so that their child could poke the needle between their fingers and then pull, pull, pull the needle. 

After the bag is sewn, you hook the thread over to the other side of the bag to make a little handle.  Now, knot off. 

Time to give thanks!  The parents talked with their little ones about all the things they were thankful for like their family, pets, home, and favorite foods and wrote them on the leaves. 

 The kids enjoyed adding their own mark to the leaves by coloring them as well as the bag's patch.

 Putting the leaves into the bag was the best part.

Watching these kids, I was reminded of all the wonderful things in my life I'm thankful for.  Sometimes I get so busy and focused, it's nice to be reminded.

Prep work

It's a big week for sewing projects.  First up, a Toddler Sew at my school Tursday morning.  Can't wait to make these sweet Give Thanks pouches with the little 2's and 3's.  Look for the tutorial later this week!

Give Thanks Bunting

Whipped up this quick Give Thanks bunting to celebrate the season. 

Pie Making

We made cherry pie for our class Thanksgiving feast.  Everyone helped.  It tasted really good.

Oreo Turkey

There are several versions of the Oreo Turkeys out there, but this one is super simple and kids can make them by themselves.  They are easy enough to make with a big group or have out at the kids' Thanksgiving table.

Ingredients:  Double Stuf Oreo cookies (2 per turkey), candy corn (4 per turkey), and raisinets (1 per turkey)

Take the chocolate off 1 cookie.

Now eat the cookie part.  (this is the favorite part!)

Wiggle the whole cookie into the creme.  Don't push down too hard or the cookie will break!

Add a raisinet head.

Push a few candy corns into the creme part for feathers.  You know the next step - eat it!

The turkey is open to interpretation as well.  Here are a few favorites.

Turkey Time!

Gobble Gobble!  These turkey gloves are so much fun and cute!  Check out my post from last year for a few tips on making them with a group of kids.

 The best part was enjoying them during lunch time this week.

I also took this opportunity to hot glue with my students.  Hot gluing is so empowering for them! They start out nervous and unsure and then gain confidence by the end of the project.  While I won't have hot glue out all the time, it's a fun addition to our art studio.  For more on hot gluing with kids, read Teacher Tom.  He will make you want to join the hot glue revolution too!