Easy Toddler Thanksgiving Activity {that Teaches Thankfulness)

Inside: Looking for an easy toddler Thanksgiving activity? Make a simple Thankful banner! Comes with free printable labels.

Update: Since this post was published, we’ve used a different method that we also love. You can see photos of those towards the bottom of the post.

Thanksgiving is the time to focus on what we are thankful for, but this can be hard for toddlers to grasp.

You might have already experienced asking them what they are thankful for and they look at you with a blank face and then move on to something else.

This can happen with 3 year olds as well.

There are simpler ways of working on thankfulness with young children, and this toddler thankful banner activity is an example.

Plus, it’s a fun way to make a decoration for the fall!

👉 Note: I’ve provided free printable labels to go with this toddler thankful banner, as well as a leaf template. You can find them towards the bottom of this post.

The idea to make this toddler thankful banner came from the friendship banner we made in September.

We all loved it so much that I wanted to make another banner for Thanksgiving!

Easy Toddler Thanksgiving Activity {that Teaches Thankfulness)

What we used:

Leaves cut out of construction paper (printable template towards bottom of this post)
Small colorful pom poms (or anything you’d like to use)
White washable glue tinted with some paint (see video below)
Labels ( printable towards bottom of this post)
Brads
Hole Punch

Preparing this toddler thankful banner:

Cut leaves from construction paper.

Tint glue desired colors by adding a bit of tempera paint to the bottles.

Getting started:

Before starting this activity, we read some simple thankful books during circle time.

I then shared what made me happy.

And then I asked each of the children.

“Popsicles.”

“Going to the park.”

“My dog.”

“Mommy and Daddy.”

“Playing outside.”

And then, it was time to invite the children to decorate a leaf.

I squirted colored glue on the leaf and the toddlers spread it around the paper leaf using a paintbrush.

Then, it was time to add the mini pom poms.

Notice in the photo below how the thumb and index finger are pinching the pom pom?

This is a wonderful way to work on those fine motor skills!

Once the children were finished adding their pom poms, I let them dry completely.

Assembling this thankful wreath:

First, I added the children’s names on the leaves using the labels.

Then, I punched a whole on either side of the leaves, joining them with brads.

I added the “We are Thankful” label in the middle of the banner.

Displaying the banner:

Once the banner was assembled, I hung it in our classroom window using suction cup hooks.

I just love how you can see the same colors in the landscape on the other side of the window!

A fun way to decorate the classroom using the children’s work.

Another Version of this Easy Toddler Thanksgiving Activity

Rather than using construction paper, you can copy the leaf on to heavy white (card stock) paper and decorate or paint directly on it.

Simply print enough of the leaves so each child has one.

In 2022 and 2023 I squirted a few different colors of paint either on a tray or on bubble wrap. The children then used rollers to move the paint around, mixing the colors. When finished, I handed them a leaf and they pressed it face down into the paint and then picked it up. It made a nice colorful print!

Here’s what we did in 2022(see the short reel here):