Thanksgiving Songs

This week as part of our Thanksgiving theme we will begin introducing our Thanksgiving songs. Can you believe there are less than three weeks until Thanksgiving? Most of these songs will be a regular part of our calendar time this month. We will also be using the Thanksgiving Calendar Connections free printable calendar cards from 1+1+1=1 to discuss some basic facts about Thanksgiving.

GET A FULL WEEK OF THANKSGIVING THEME ACTIVITIES IN OUR PRINTABLE PRESCHOOL LESSON PLANS.

I plan to use two of my old favorites from the classroom. The Turkey Trot is a great version of the Hokey Pokey. It is so much fun for the kids to put their turkey body parts in and shake them all about. They all laugh hysterically when they put their tail feathers in.

Turkey Trot

(Tune: Hokey Pokey)

You put your right wing in.
You put your right wing out.
You put your right wing in,
and you shake it all about.
You do the turkey trot
and you turn yourself around.

That’s what it’s all about!

Additional verses:
Left wing,
Drumsticks,
Stuffing (Stomach)
Wattle (Head)
Tail Feathers (Bottom)
Turkey Body

Another favorite that we will use is The First Thanksgiving. The song is to the tune of The Muffin Man, and it includes some basic facts about the first Thanksgiving.

We learn some very basic sign language to go along with this song. I tried to include video links to some of the signs we use for each individual verse. At the end of each verse we also do the sign for “long time ago.”

The First Thanksgiving

(Tune:The Muffin Man )

The Pilgrims came to America
America, America.
The Pilgrims came to America
a long, long time ago.
Sign: America

They sailed on the Mayflower
the Mayflower, the Mayflower.
They sailed on the Mayflower
a long, long time ago.
Sign: Boat 

They made friends with the Indians
The Indians, the Indians.
They made friends with the Indians
a long, long time ago.
Sign: Friend 

They planted seeds. The corn grew tall
The corn grew tall. The corn grew tall.
They planted seeds. The corn grew tall
a long, long time ago.
Sign: Corn or Grow

They had a great Thanksgiving feast
Thanksgiving feast, Thanksgiving feast.
They had a great Thanksgiving feast
a long, long time ago.
Sign: Eat

I found both of these songs at Hubbards Cupboard. At this site, you can also find many more wonderful Thanksgiving songs and ideas.

One new song we will be doing this year is I’m A Little Turkey to the tune of I’m a Little Teapot. There is a great printable version that I will use to guide us along as we sing and act out the song.

10 Little Turkeys is a fun counting song to teach toddlers and preschoolers. Visit the free printable Thanksgiving song page to request your copy.

I am also really excited to use Raffi’s Thanks A Lot with the kids. I think it will be a wonderful way to talk about the things we are most thankful for in our lives.

To begin, Raffi guides the kids into relaxing and closing their eyes as they listen to this song. After we have listened to the song a couple of times on different occasions, I will build upon this introduction and talk to the kids about trying to paint a picture in their minds of the things Raffi is singing about in the song. This is a great way to introduce kids to visualizing, a comprehension skill they will need as they become readers.

Prekinders also has some materials to go along with this song. We will be using one of the slideshows and the printable book.

We just might try and memorize part of this song for a little Thanksgiving performance depending on how the kids like it!

Let me know in the comments if you have any favorite Thanksgiving songs or if you use any of these.

Continue the Thanksgiving fun and learning during centers or small group time with these hands-on roll and color turkey math activities. Depending on your goals kids can practice color recognition, shape recognition, matching sets, matching numbers, addition and more.

GET A FULL SET OF THANKSGIVING THEME ACTIVITIES

The 159-page Thanksgiving Lesson Plan Set includes hands-on activities and these additional printables:

1) Pumpkin Pie Letter Matching (in color and b/w)

2) Rhyming Turkey Game

3) Turkey Color Sorting Mats (in color and b/w)

4) Turkey Counting Mats 1-20 (in color and b/w)

5) Look at the Turkey Emergent Reader (3 variations)

6) How to Make a Pumpkin Pie Sequencing Cards (in color and b/w)

7) 0-35 Turkey Number Cards (4 variations)

8) Phoneme Segmentation Turkey Activity

9) Thanksgiving Taste Test Recording Sheet (in color and b/w)

10) Thanksgiving Picture-Word Cards (in color and b/w)

11) Thanksgiving Roll and Graph (2 variations, in color and b/w)

Also available on Teachers Pay Teachers.

You might also enjoy our Christmas Songs.

Less stress, more connecting this holiday season? Yes, PLEASE!

From the arrival of fall to Halloween to Thanksgiving and Christmas, the last four months of the year can be a wonderful opportunity for making family memories and spending time together, but they can also be stressful as we try to collect ideas, recipes, and activities to try together.

Stephanie Morgan, founder of Modern Parents Messy Kids, a site that’s been voted Best Craft Blog in Parents Magazine and one of babble.com’s Top 50 Craft Mom Blogs, recently released a new eBook to help us have a little less stress and more time to connect with family this year.

Stephanie’s goal is to make it easier on all of us to enjoy the holidays with our kids. Hands-On Holidays is 100 pages full of her family’s very favorite ways to connect as a family over the holiday season. I love the convenience of having so many ideas in one place, and most of them are simple enough for even my toddler to participate in.

The book includes picture book suggestions, DIY decor, activities, and treats. Bonus sections also offer even more ideas to enjoy. Click here to view more details.