I know, Thanksgiving isn’t for another few months, well actually it isn’t for a month for those celebrating it in Canada, which is part of the reason why I am starting to post a few craft ideas. This always seems to be the busy time of year when everyone is scrambling around for the first day of school, followed by Halloween and then Thanksgiving, or vice versa in Canada. There never seems to be any time before you are launched into one holiday or another.
Over the next few months, I will be sharing some Halloween crafts and some Thanksgiving crafts. Today is for Thanksgiving and it is a very simple craft that any child could do from infants up to school-agers. You may change up a few things for each age group but that’s up to you.
A Cornucopia of Thanks
What you need:
- construction paper (several different colors but make sure you have brown and green)
- large piece of construction paper (a fall color)
- glue stick
- scissors
- markers
- (optional: beads, sticker or anything else that can be glued down and has a Thanksgiving theme)
Directions:
- Help your child draw out a Cornucopia in the brown construction paper. Cut it out. Older children should be able to cut it out themselves but you will want to do the cutting for them.
- Draw out fruit and other items that you would like to put in the Cornucopia. Cut them out.
- Have your child glue the Cornucopia to the larger paper (leaving enough room for the fruit on the page)
- Glue down the fruit and other items inside the Cornucopia. Don’t fix the fruit if it doesn’t land anywhere near or even on top of the Cornucopia. Remember art is an expression of self so it does not have to fit into the cookie cutter crafts. If she wants to stick the Cornucopia under the fruit, then by all means, allow it.
- With markers, a pencil or a pen, have your child write something that he or she is thankful for on each piece of fruit. You could have the child write it on a separate piece of paper that she folds and glues one side to the fruit to keep the “thanks” hidden until Thanksgiving or it can be there displayed to all.
- Finish decorating if you are using optional items.
With younger children, you probably won’t put on things that they are thankful for but you can make it into an excellent cutting and gluing activity for them.
If you are not artistically inclined, you can always print out a Cornucopia to color with markers or to trace the outline onto the paper. Below are a few sites where you can find printouts.
-Sirena Van Schaik
