Thanksgiving Poems for Kids

Thanksgiving poems for kids can be original poems or traditional poetry. Reading and/or writing thanksgiving poems is a great way to celebrate this fun-filled holiday.

Thanksgiving is one of America's favorite holidays, filled with good food, family, and friends. While children typically learn about the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving celebration at school, they may not truly understand what gratitude is all about, particularly younger children. Thanksgiving poems for kids provide a wonder teaching opportunity for parents and teachers to use with children by encouraging kids to express their knowledge of the history of this special day and asking them to get creative with their own original poetry projects.

Thanksgiving websites abound on the Internet, but you can also find lots of wonderful resources in your school or local public library. Collections of poetry for every occasion can typically be found on library bookshelves, and many of these anthologies focus on particular holidays and other specific topics. For inspiration, spend an afternoon with your child at your local library, and read holiday poetry, like this collection of poems entitled The Book of Thanksgiving or a book of ballads such as Grand'ther Baldwin's Thanksgiving.

Once your kids get an idea of what thanksgiving poetry is like, invite them to create their own poems. The following activities will get them started.

• Before they begin writing, ask them to brainstorm.
• Graphic organizers are a great way for kids to organize their thoughts.
• Ask them to jot down what they are thankful for, and then ask them why they are thankful for each of these things.
• They can then focus on individual topics, such as family, friends, pets, food, homes, etc. or create a broader poem.
• Once they've written their rough drafts, it's time to fine tune their poems.
• Ask them to illustrate the borders of the poetry with drawings of the items or people for which they are thankful. The more color the better!

There are numerous ways to incorporate Thanksgiving poems for kids into this holiday season.

• Acrostic poems-Acrostic poems are simple to write. Assign each child a written word that can be associated with Thanksgiving, such as "thankfulness," "gratitude," and "appreciation." Ask them to spell the words vertically, so that the first letter begins at the top of the page with subsequent letters following underneath. Now, ask them to create a line for each poem using the first letter of each word to start the line.
• Thankful poem-This is a great activity to use with early elementary children. Simply hand kids a sheet of paper with the words "I am thankful for_________", and have the children list all of the things they are thankful for under or beside these words. They can draw pictures that illustrate each of the items or people as well.
• Turkey hand poem-This poem is a classic preschool and elementary school project. Instruct children to lay their hands, with fingers spread out, on pieces of construction paper, and trace around the shape of the hand. The thumb becomes the turkey's head, and the fingers are the turkey's feathers. You may need to help students draw the turkey's legs and feet. Next, have students color the turkey, cut it out, and glue it on another piece of construction paper. Now have students write the following poem: "This isn't a turkey, as you can plainly see. I made it with my own little hand, which is a part of me. It comes with lots of laughs and love, just so I can say. I'm wishing you a very, very happy Thanksgiving Day!"

Finally, on the day of Thanksgiving, invite all of the dinner guests, children and adults, to name at least one person or thing for which they are thankful. You could have one person record all the statements and create a wonderful Thanksgiving poem. Be sure to make enough copies of the compiled poem so that everyone has a copy to take home!

• Children Playing
• 10 Parenting Tips
• Halloween Trivia for Kids
• Bible Trivia for Kids
• Trivia Questions for Kids

• Disney Princess Coloring Pages
• Teen Birthday Party Ideas
• Pros and Cons of School Uniforms
• Children's Birthday Cake Ideas
• Kids' Hair Styles