Preschool Thanksgiving Program

Last Updated on June 24, 2017 by Sheryl Cooper

Our preschool Thanksgiving program has been around as long as I’ve taught at this school. When I first started teaching, the event was a simple potluck feast that was contained in each classroom. Shortly after, we decided to combine all the classes and get the children involved in a simple musical performance. This event is now one of the highlights of our year, where we come together and think about what we are thankful for.

Planning our Thanksgiving Program:

The teachers meet in late October to discuss what songs we will include in our program. We then put out sign-up sheets listing all the food we will need for the feast.

Rehearsing:

Every Friday our classes join for music. In November we practice the songs we will sing at the Thanksgiving feast. The week of the feast, we practice on the stage, so the children will be familiar with it.

The event:

Our Thanksgiving program is during the latter part of our preschool day. We enjoy a regular preschool day, shortened a bit due to the event. Our families gather in the room that we will be performing in. (We reside in a church, so this is in their sanctuary.) We then gather the children and walk them into this room. For our 3 year olds, this is their first time performing. The looks on their faces as we walk down the aisle and they see their families is priceless.

We sing 4-5 songs for our families.

Our thankful feathers:

Prior to our Thanksgiving performance, we read books and talk about being thankful. I then ask each of the children what they are thankful for. I write the responses on individual paper “feathers”.

When the children are finished singing, we hand them their thankful feathers. We read each child’s “feather” and place it on our laminated turkey.

At the end of the program, our turkey is covered in thankful feathers.

Our potluck Thanksgiving feast:

When we finish our performance, we move into another large room for our potluck feast. Parent volunteers earlier had placed all the food on tables. Two lines form and everyone fills their plates with food, sitting down at one of the many tables.