3 Awesome Thanksgiving Projects for Your Classroom

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and, when you are teaching a group of children, it's a great opportunity to come up with unique crafts and projects for them to do. From hands-on tasks like growing things to simple crafts involving paper and glue, there are tons of diverse ways that you can engage your class. Activity tables for kids should always be places of fun and learning, so make sure to choose projects that they will enjoy and be proud of! Also, don't just stick to paper – opt for crafts that call for lots of different materials and textures. Here are some of our favorite projects at School Outlet for kids this Thanksgiving.

Grow Indian Corn

It's always fun to have students grow things in the classroom, but not many people know about this one. If you place an ear of Indian corn in water and let it sit for a few days, did you know that it will start to sprout thin grass and roots? Your kids will get super excited when they notice the tendrils start to poke out of the plant! Get a few ears and set them around the classroom so that your kids have a few to watch. When they start to get denser, you probably won't want to keep them, since they get to be as large as regular corn stalks. You can let the kids cut the grass, and then put them outside. If you want to try actually planting them, revisit this little activity in the spring.

What you'll need:

• A few ears of Indian corn
• Shallow tubs of water to lay them in
• Scissors for cutting the grass

Weave Small Mats

Weaving projects are always fun for students, and this one is particularly good because it is somewhat less labor intensive than the standard cardboard loom is. The good news is that it still offers a lot of room for individual creativity. Grab some a loose weave material like burlap and cut it into squares or rectangles so that there is one for each student. Have the children pull out selected strands of the fabric from the material, which they can then replace with yarn in the pattern and color of their choice using a needle to weave through the burlap. Once finished, your kids have a lovely little coaster or placemat that can be used around the classroom or at home!

What you'll need:

• Burlap squares or rectangles
• Yarn in a variety of colors (fall hues will go well with your theme and the natural burlap color)
• Large plastic needles
• Scissors

Make a Turkey

There are many different versions of this project, but our favorite uses a pine cone for the turkey body. This emulates the texture of feathers in a really cool way, and also creates a great décor item that parents can proudly display during the holiday for years to come. What you use for the tail feathers is up to you, and can range from paper or feathers to colored pipe cleaners or Popsicle sticks. Another creative option is to use colorful leaves from outside. This saves you money as the teacher and also adds visual interest to the finished product.

What you'll need:

• Pine cones
• Leaves (or other choice material) for tail feathers
• Self-adhesive googly eye stickers
• Orange or yellow paper for beaks
• Glue
• Scissors

These are just some of our favorite Thanksgiving crafts for the classroom at School Outlet. What are your favorite projects? Comment below and share your Thanksgiving craft pics with us on Facebook!