The spirit of Thanksgiving touches upon historical facts, but focuses on giving thanks for an abundant life and promoting peace and cultural diversity. The following fun classroom decoration ideas for Thanksgiving provide thoughtful ways of bringing the true spirit of Thanksgiving into the classroom.
Words of Thanksgiving
Encourage your students to illustrate a Thanksgiving scene of their choosing. Then, have them write words, poetry, a short story or a thank you note that reflects feelings of gratitude. These can be very simple or quite complex, depending on the ages of your students. Then, hang these colorful expressions of thankfulness around the classroom and on the windows.
Pumpkin Patch Bulletin Board
A creative idea for a bulletin board set is to make the bulletin board into a mini pumpkin patch. Using construction paper, invite your students to create various sizes of bright orange pumpkins and green leaves and vines. Arrange the pumpkins all over the bulletin board and then use the green vines to connect them all, illustrating the idea that the people of the earth are truly one people. Green vines can be used to create the bulletin board border as well.
Mr. Turkey Bulletin Board
The turkey is our national symbol for the Thanksgiving celebration. Construct a giant turkey collage with your children using torn pieces of construction paper in fall colors. Attach it to the bulletin board and then use a leaf garland or words as the bulletin board border. The children will enjoy the process of creating a collage and watching the turkey take shape. Invite them to make a smaller version to take home.
Creating turkey themed Thanksgiving classroom decorations with your students is an opportune time to teach them about gratitude, not just for people, but for the plants and animals that help them grow up strong and healthy as well.
Decorations of Peace
Because the celebration of Thanksgiving is also symbolically a celebration of cultural diversity, it is also educational and fun to create classroom decorations with a theme of world peace. Simple symbols from around the world that denote peace, diversity, love, and friendship can be easily found online and recreated using classroom materials. Hang these around the room interspersed with students’ expressions of Thanksgiving.
Get Crafty
Pilgrim hats and traced hand turkeys are a fun standby for young children. Go a step further and have the children make turkeys out of colorful tissue paper that can decorate classroom windows and let light shine through them.
Bountiful Baskets
Like a mini cornucopia, get a few baskets and have the children fill them with tissue paper leaves, construction paper leaves, and small clay acorns, as well as adding a few natural items. Then, place the baskets around the room as classroom décor. Baskets are inexpensive and abundant at your local thrift stores.
These fun Thanksgiving classroom decoration ideas are simple and fulfilling, giving attention to the holiday and providing moments for your students to focus on the virtues of gratitude, diversity and peace. Take full advantage of this special time of year by choosing dynamic bulletin board sets and classroom decorations that are beautiful and inspiring.
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