3 Tips To Teach Kids About Thanksgiving History
From Kit Singleton
Thanksgiving is such a special time. It’s a time to reflect on all the blessings in your life. All too often we focus on bad things and don’t take time out of our busy schedules to be thankful for our blessings. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to express these feelings.
This is the perfect time to help kids learn about how it all began. Don’t let this Thanksgiving just be a time for your family to get together and have dinner. Here are 3 tips to teach kids about Thanksgiving history and what it’s all about.
Tell The Thanksgiving Story – Ask your kids if they know the Thanksgiving story. Unless you have taught them the story, they may not even know what Thanksgiving is all about. You can remedy that.
A few of the books I recommend from my teaching days are The First Thanksgiving by Linda Hayward (ages 4-8), A Turkey for Thanksgiving (ages 4-8 – I love this one!),. . . If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 (ages 9-12), Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl (ages 9-12), and Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy (ages 9-12).
Make it Interesting – While you are discussing the Thanksgiving story, make it interesting to your kids. They don’t want a boring history lesson. Bring the Thanksgiving story to life when you talk about the pilgrims and Indians. If you know a bit about your family’s history, include stories of your earliest known relatives or how your great-grandmother celebrated Thanksgiving. You may also want to discuss how Thanksgiving became a national holiday during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. Bring the Thanksgiving story to life.
Incorporate Today Into the Thanksgiving Story – Once you’ve discussed the history of Thanksgiving with your kids, bring it full circle, back to today. Ask them what they are thankful for. Remind them of the little things we so often take for granted that many third-world countries do not have. Ask them how they can be more thankful for the things they have.
The key to teaching children about Thanksgiving history and it’s meaning is to lead by example. Talk about the past in a way that makes it meaningful to the present. Link it to your own family history. Model the different ways you can show you are thankful. Most importantly, use these 3 tips to teach kids about Thanksgiving to help them build a bond with you and their heritage.
