Thanksgiving Placemat Craft: Focus on Gratitude this Fall

Explore gratitude with your class this holiday season with this Thanksgiving Placemat craft! As you know, kindergarteners arrive at school with a wide range of social-emotional skills. Through daily modeling and more formal lessons, you teach your students to cope with difficult feelings, get along with others, and so much more. This November is a perfect time to emphasize gratitude by helping your students explore thankfulness in a way they can understand.

Research shows that practicing gratitude can make us happier, and Thanksgiving is the perfect time to start this habit, even with young children. This Thanksgiving placemat craft not only nurtures their creativity but also helps students learn how to recognize and express feelings of gratitude.

Thanksgiving placemat Writing Craft for Kindergarten Friendsgiving or School Feast

You can purchase this printable set on TPT or here in the My Happy Place website shop. Read on to learn what’s inside!

Shop for this Thanksgiving Placemat set on TPT

Shop for this Thanksgiving Placemat set in the My Happy Place website shop

What are you thankful for? Brainstorming Session

Start with a class discussion about Thanksgiving and thankfulness. To explain gratitude, consider beginning with a conversation about what kinds of things lead us to say “thank you” and what that means. (For example, when your teacher or parent hands you a snack, you thank them for giving you something. You are thankful to them for giving you something to eat, and you may be grateful for the snack itself, especially if you’re very hungry.) Move on to talking about bigger things that we might take for granted in our daily lives but that we would really miss if they were gone (a home, a family, friends, etc.).

Have students brainstorm things for which they are thankful. Jot their ideas on the board (or chart paper). Then, send each child back to their spot with a writing strip. Have them write their name and what they are thankful for and draw a small picture. As students finish, have them bring their writing strip to the pocket chart to complete the sentence “I am thankful for _____.” Students can practice reading their own and each other’s sentences. This pocket chart activity can be re-purposed as a reading center throughout the Thanksgiving season.

(This pre-writing activity can also be used with the “Let’s eat!” writing paper that’s included as an alternative prompt.)

A packet chart and writing activity that students can use to brainstorm things that they are thankful for

Time to Write!

Now it’s time for your students to record their thoughts on a plate, which will soon be glued to their Thanksgiving placemat. Four line styles are included in this set: no lines, a single handwriting line, several handwriting lines, and several solid lines. Choose the style that meets your students at their level. To encourage careful writing and drawing, you may wish to show students a sample of a completed placemat and explain to them that, after the holiday, they will be bringing their placemats home to keep.

Have students write and illustrate what they are thankful for, and then have them cut their plates out. Have Scotch tape ready for mis-cuts!

Images of differentiated writing paper for the Thanksgiving placemat craft

Prepare the Placemat Pieces

Next, have the students cut out the remaining pieces (fork, knife, spoon, and napkin) so they will be ready to assemble their Thanksgiving placemats. Have construction paper trimmed and ready for them. For best results, each child will need one 9″x12″ sheet of paper and one that is 12″x15″ (trimmed from 12″x18″). These two sheets should be in contrasting fall colors of your choice. (To simplify the task for the students, you might want to—or have a volunteer—glue the two sheets of construction paper together ahead of time. If not, the kids can handle it!) This set also includes a “Happy Thanksgiving” banner to glue on each placemat. These are printed six to a page, so it’s easiest for you to cut those ahead of time. The children can color the letters in.

teacher tips and student directions, easy-to-cut fork and cutlery

Talk About Setting the Table

Before getting the glue out, now is a good time to talk about setting the table. Use the included poster and rhyme to show students where the napkin and cutlery should be placed in relation to the plate. This is a perfect time to review right and left!

A "How to Set the Table" poster with a rhyme and a positive review of the Thanksgiving Placemat Craft

Assemble the Thanksgiving Placemats

Finally, have your students arrange and glue their pieces onto the placemat. If time permits, allow students to share their completed work with their classmates. Then, if resources permit, laminate the placemats and set them aside (or hang them up) until it’s time to celebrate Thanksgiving. (Note that the samples in the image below use slightly different cutlery than is currently included in the set. I have made new silverware that’s a little easier to cut.)

Thanksgiving Placemat Writing Craft - two images of child-made Thanksgiving placemats with drawings and writing on plates.

Using the Thanksgiving Placemats

If you have a “Friendsgiving” in your classroom or a schoolwide feast, your children will be so proud to set the table with their handmade placemats. Afterward, wipe them clean and allow the students to take them home to their families. Parents love them! My own two children made the placemats in the image above (years ago), and I still smile when I look at their sweet drawings.