Are you doing a “Friendsgiving” in class with your students? Maybe you’re thinking of having a mini potluck Thanksgiving celebration. Or do you just want something cute to send home? No matter the reason, we have the perfect activity for your students! Check out these adorable Thanksgiving Placemats that can be customized with what students are thankful for and decorated! Keep reading for all the details and grab the FREE printable at the bottom!

Grab your free printable below or join Simply Kinder + to download it instantly here!

Check out these other related articles:

• Pumpkin Pie in a Cup
• Turkey Dinner Craft
• Thanksgiving Reflection
• Turkey Handprint Poem/Plate

This article goes well with these Simply Kinder resources:

Thanksgiving in Kindergarten

Thanksgiving is such a fun time! All the cute turkey crafts, yummy food, and talking about being thankful can put everyone in a happy mood. To get started, show your students some of these age-appropriate Thanksgiving videos that explain more about what the holiday is. There are also some super fun movement videos to get some of those pre-vacation wiggles out! This is a teacher and student favorite:

Making Thanksgiving Placemats

Now that you’re in the spirit, it’s time to have your cuties make their own Thanksgiving placemats! These are differentiated so that anyone in the class is able to do what works best for them. Check out all the different options and ways you can use them:

• Two Printing: traditional 8.5×11 letter size, or legal paper for a larger covering placemat.
• Print on white or colored paper.
• Glue placemats on construction paper to have different colored backgrounds.
• Words to trace for students or blank areas to fill their own thankful options in.
• Draw and color pictures, or use magazine cutouts.
• Use them for a classroom party/celebration.
• Keep them on their desks all season.
• Send home for grown-ups as a sweet keepsake.

Looking for something easy to make to go with your Friendsgiving celebration? Try Pumpkin Pie in a Cup! It would look perfect on top of these Thanksgiving placemats! Some other great suggestions are turkey lunchmeat roll-ups, potato chips (as your mashed potatoes!), dried cranberries, and veggie straws (green bean casserole replacement!). Have any other ideas? Let us know on our Simply Kinder Teacher Group Facebook page.

More Thanksgiving Activities

Teach your students all about turkeys with these Non-Fiction Turkey Stories! Includes real-life pictures and facts in an easy-to-understand way. Then they can fill out the included graphic organizers and write their own stories about turkeys!

Or check out these Interactive Thankful Books to continue talking about everything we are thankful for this season!

Free Printable

Now that you’re ready for some Thanksgiving fun, grab your free printable below by entering your information. The Simply Kinder fairy will take a break from listing everything she’s thankful for and fly that right over to your inbox! Already a member? Great! Unlock your freebie here too! Or download it instantly inside Simply Kinder + here!

This post was written by Johanna, an experienced early elementary teacher who loves learning about new teaching ideas for preschool, kindergarten, and first grade!