Big Art
Fine Motor
Literacy & ABCs
ThanksgivingToddlersGrade SchoolKindergartnersPreschoolers15 Comments
This is a super simple (and fun!) gratitude tree activity to help you get into the thankful spirit this Thanksgiving by focusing on gratitude and thankfulness with your kids.
Get into the spirit even more with these Thanksgiving Conversation Starters.
We did it for the first time last year, my older girls were 6 and 4. They loved it so much that I knew we had to do it again.
Here is our finished Thanksgiving Thankful Tree of Gratitude activity.
All you need to do this Gratitude Tree Activity:
- a brown paper grocery bag (or whatever material you will use to make your tree)
- construction paper in fall colors
- tape
- scissors
- pencil
How do you make a gratitude tree?
We used a paper grocery bag to create our tree.
If you don’t have one on hand there are lots of other options: you could use brown construction paper, draw or paint a tree on a really big piece of paper, or even use lightweight cardboard (like a cereal box). Use whatever you have on hand.
Last year, I did most of the activity prep work creating the Gratitude Tree for Thanksgiving. But this year, at 7 and 5, I felt like Izzie and Emma were ready to take more ownership of the project.
Cut Out the Bare Tree Parts for the Base of the Thankful Activity
They took turns cutting the sides out of a paper grocery bag to form the tree trunk for our gratitude tree activity.
Izzie (7) then drew branch shapes on the remainder of the bag and Emma (5) cut them all out.
Then they worked together to tape the Gratitude Tree trunk and branches to our basement door.
Lots of Fine Motor Skills at work, cutting out leaves!
I helped them trace leaf shapes onto the construction paper.
If you aren’t confident in your free hand drawing leaf shapes you can easily use a free leaf template. Simply print it right onto the colored paper, or trace it!
Let the kids cut out a bunch of leaves in different fall colors. Help them if it becomes too much.
Izzie made a sign out of the last piece of the grocery bag that says, “We Are Thankful For…” and hung it above the tree.
We keep the leaves, a pen and tape in a baggie.
Add to the Gratitude Tree Every Day
Every morning in November we add to the activity!
Each of us writes something we are thankful for on a leaf. Then we hang it on the gratitude tree.
Last year, I didn’t include Hannah but now that she is almost 3. I think she is old enough to talk about it in basic terms. What makes her happy? Also, her sisters get so into it that she will be excited too.
Download Thankful Conversation Starters to help get the conversation going!
Besides the gratitude conversation, this activity also provides a great learning opportunity.
Hannah and I will practice her colors every morning when she is choosing her leaf.
I will challenge Izzie to spell everything herself when she writes her leaf.
Emma is working hard on her writing in kindergarten, so she will love to write her leaf by herself.
I love starting our day talking about gratitude. The sincerity of their answers is so sweet, even when they are being silly.
What are you and your family thankful for?
What did your kids decided to be thankful for in their gratitude tree activity?
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Tammy says
I made these trees with my Grandchildren (ages 2 1/2 and 4 1/2) last year. We made them smaller so they would fit on construction paper and they could take them home. One of the fun things is the leaves can be put anywhere on the page so they are either on the tree, falling to the ground or on the ground. It’s a wonderful lesson for talking to children about being “Thankful”, they both had many leaves on their trees. I noticed that their Mommy kept them and they are on display again this year. :) Thanks for the creative ideas.
Judy S says
My grandson and I will be using a turkey body and adding feathers with things we are thankful for. We’ll hang it on the side of his book shelf in his reading corner
Rachel says
I love this version! I also love the idea of keeping it in his space!
Cari Flores says
Thanks Rachel. I love that this activity works on so many different levels. Starting the day with positive thought, problem solving with creating a tree, writing skills, and building family traditions make this a great activity in my book. Thanks for sharing.
Rachel says
You are so welcome, Cari! I hope your family enjoyed it!