Thanksgiving Feast Ideas for a Classroom Party

I really want my kids to appreciate Thanksgiving for what it is and understand how important it is.  As part of our homeschool classroom party for Thanksgiving we had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast.  I thought I would share some of these ideas with you in case you are looking for some Thanksgiving Feast Ideas for a classroom party or neighborhood get-together. I LOVE to have a special feast just with the kids. Here are a few things to give you ideas of what you can do to re-create this tradition with your own kids…

Have you heard of the “If you were there” books?  They are the BEST for kids! They give a lot of information in a fun way that kids can appreciate.  We have this book about Thanksgiving and this one.

How many Pilgrim children were at the First Thanksgiving?  Did they have to take baths to get ready for the big celebration?  If you were there, would you have eaten turkey? What about cranberry sauce?  Pumpkin pie? This fun book answers all kinds of great questions for curious kids.

ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS AT A THANKSGIVING FEAST 

We have fun having the kids prepare for their feast.  One way to do this is to make woven placemats out of paper.  They have fun weaving and decorating them, and then they get to use them the day of the feast!  They also love making their hats and Indian vests out of paper bags.

The day of the feast is all about fun.  But, I also like to have a discussion with them about the things we’ve learned about the pilgrims and Indians over the course of the last few days.  One of the things that the kids learn is about how hard life was for the people that lived at that time and how they had to make everything they needed themselves.

Some fun things to learn and incorporate into your feast are facts about the pilgrim children.  This resonates with the kids and helps them to gain a greater understanding of what things were like at the time of the First Thanksgiving.  Some of the fun things to teach the kids and try to incorporate into your Thanksgiving Feast for your Classroom:

• the Pilgrim Children were the last to eat after they had completed their chores
• Pilgrim Children were not allowed to talk during the meal
• Pilgrim children were not allowed to sit down during the meal, the seats were reserved for the adults
• the Pilgrims had to eat with their hands

Hasty Pudding  (keep in mind that they probably didn’t have sugar, so the maple syrup is more likely authentic)

This pudding recipe was originally brought over from England was called “Indian Pudding” when it was made in Colonial America since cornmeal was cheaper and more readily available.  As a British dish, it was a quick pudding to make using a sweetened porridge made from flour, tapioca or oatmeal and milk.  Here the recipe was transformed to use local ingredients — cornmeal, molasses or maple syrup and milk.  But because it uses cornmeal, it’s anything but “hasty” since it requires 2 hours to bake.  But the wait is worth it!  If you want to be truly authentic, serve as an appetizer.

Other things we serve…not necessarily authentic, but great for eating with hands:

It is loads of fun and the kids (and I) have learned a ton!!  I hope you are able to fit a couple of these fun activities into your busy holiday season and make some fun memories with your kids!!

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