Thanksgiving is the first celebration of the holiday season and probably my favorite of them all. It is a shared celebration of thankfulness. Being thankful comes easily to children and they yearn for ways to show this precious emotion with others. Including them in helping out with the preparation for the Thanksgiving meal is one easy way to do this. I will never forget sitting in the kitchen on a high stool along with my brother and sister, each of us with a potato peeler and a mound of potatoes.
My mom and Aunt Ruthy chatted about a thousand different things. They often included us in the conversation, sometimes we had our own silly talk going on, but most of the time, we listened. I sure learned a lot about my mom during those talks. My mom and my Aunt Ruthy had a special connection that I strive for in my friendships.
We also talked a lot about what we were thankful for. We talked about simple things like having hot oatmeal for breakfast, and other times we talked about big life issues like being thankful for getting through a tough personal time, or a world crisis that had been resolved. Sometimes, I understood what they were talking about, but not always. I just remember being included and that was all that mattered.
Here’s a fun activity for everyone to do while you’re waiting for the turkey to finish cooking, plus it uses up those extra potatoes! All you need are potatoes, paper, colored pencils or crayons, an inkpad in any color and a knife to cut up the potatoes.
If the children are young, cut the potatoes into different shapes and sizes. A nice variety is all that is needed. If the children are older and able to use knives safely, they can cut their own shapes.
Use the potatoes as stamps and let the kids make their own turkeys, complete with lots of feathers. Once the turkeys are finished, have them write things they are thankful for in the feathers. If the children are too young to write, write for them. They can use the colored pencils to embellish the turkeys if they wish.
These meaningful pictures make great gifts for all the family and friends who are part of the celebration. Thisis an easy and economical way to print and it may be something your family would love to do on a regular basis.
Acrylic paint applied with a paint brush to the potato shapes also works, but keep in mind it is a little messier.
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Kelly Dupre of Grand Marais
is an artist, children’s author,
and educator with over 20
years teaching experience
with all age groups in a variety
of settings. The activities in
this once-a-month column are
spin-offs and combinations of
ideas she has used and learned
from teachers, parents, kids,
books, and workshops. Only
some of the activities has she
actually thought of herself!
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