While pilgrims and turkey crafts are fun for kids to make, you can actually use those crafts to help kids think about all they have to be thankful for.  

This adorable thankful Turkey Paper Bag Puppet is one of our favorite November crafts for kids preschool-first grade.  Over the years it has become one of our most popular Thanksgiving crafts.

This Thankful turkey craft is a fun Thanksgiving craft for preschoolers, but works well for kindergarten and first graders, too.

If you are looking for more ways to teach young kids about gratitude, check out this simple idea for  Teaching Kids to Give Back.

Paper Bag Turkey Craft

Affiliate links have been provided below; see my full disclosure here. 

Materials Needed:

• Brown Paper Lunch Bag
• Construction Paper
• Self-Sticking Googly Eyes
• Glue Stick and Scissors
• Crayons or Markers

My son did this craft in his first grade religious education class.  To help things go a little faster, the teacher used a marker to write a shortened version of  Ephesians 5:20 — “Always give thanks to God the Father for everything” on the front of each paper bag ahead of time.

If you are doing this Thanksgiving craft with kids in a public school, or you would rather just not have a Bible reference on it, you could simply write, “I am thankful for…” on the front of the turkey.   (And, of course, kids can write it on the bag themselves, too.)

You could also try one of these simple verses:

Once the feathers have all been added, cut 2 yellow triangles to glue on as a beak. 

Glue a pair of large googly eyes onto the turkey to complete the craft.  (Don’t you just love googly eyes?)

Other Turkey Crafts:

• Fine Motor Skills Turkey
• Paper Plate Collage Turkey
• Hand and Footprint Turkey 

The post Thankful Turkey Paper Bag Puppet first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Stopping in the garage before going into the house, I took off my coat, boots, jeans, and finally my panties.  Shards of glass fell to the ground.  Shivering, I left it all there to clean up later and headed towards the shower.  It all still felt a little surreal.

Once I was dressed, I started emptying the contents of the car, shaking the glass into the trash can, wiping down the kids’ books…  And then I stopped and looked at the car.

It could have been so much worse.

If the deer had had antlers that had gone through the windshield…

If the deer had jumped 1/10 of a second later and gone through my daughter’s window instead…

If we had been in a smaller vehicle…

If the 2″ square of glass I found next to my daughter’s car seat had flown just a slightly different course…

If my children hadn’t been buckled up securely in their car seats…

So many if’s…

When I close my eyes I can still see the deer slamming into the windshield.  I can hear the thump, the glass.  So much glass.  Glass that showered the entire SUV all the way to the back of the car.

In the light of a new day, as I emptied the contents of the glove compartment and waited for the tow truck, I was struck once again by the damage to the car.  By what could have happened.

I don’t know when I last fell to my knees in prayer.  Usually I say my prayers at night, snuggled deep beneath the comfort of the blankets.  But today I found my knees.

We may be without the family car.  We may be inconvenienced for a while.  There will be money that has to be spent that we weren’t planning to need to spend.  But it could have been so much worse.

I know what I will be giving thanks for this week.

May you all have a safe Thanksgiving, spent with those you hold dear.  I will be spending the next few days treasuring what is most important.

The post It Could Have Been Worse first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

If you’ve been a regular reader here, you know that until recently I always had a Thankful Thursday post.  While I still share what I’m thankful for each week on the Facebook Page, I’ve decided not to stress about a weekly commitment here on the blog.

But this week, Mama Kat’s prompt to write about something you’re thankful for came at just the perfect time.

I’ve been dealing with sick kids.  The house is a mess.  (When is it not???)  No one seems to want to eat what I cook for dinner.  I’ve got a list of things I want/need done a mile long.

Everyone’s been tired, cranky.  I yelled at the four-year-old.  I mean really yelled.

It’s been a week of not feeling good enough, just trying to make it to the next day.  I’m struggling.

Tuesday was a low point.  And I went to bed dreading having to get up and do it all again the next day.  Having to face my parents when they came up as planned the next day.

And then, as I forced a smile on my face, and pretended everything was okay while they visited, my husband walked through the door.

In the middle of the day.

Totally unannounced.

My first thoughts?  Is he sick too?  Did something happen at work?

I jumped straight to the negative.  That’s where my mind has been focused lately.

I never thought that he’d just come home to surprise me, because he knew I’d had a rough couple days.

What am I thankful for?  My husband.

Sometimes I lock my feelings away, make the mistake of not opening up to him, not telling him what’s on my mind.  I make the mistake of thinking I’m alone in this.

And then he does something like this.

And I know he is there if I just reach out.

The post Thankful Thursday 11/21 first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

His hand squeezed my left index finger with all its might as we approached the building.  After the past week of, “I don’t want to go!” over and over, and knowing how nervous he gets when more than a couple other kids are around, I was fully prepared to stay in the classroom during this first day of church preschool.

His face looked so serious, like he was going to an execution instead of an hour-long period of stories and crafts.  I had promised him that if he tried it 2-3 times and still didn’t like it he wouldn’t have to go anymore.  And then we were there, in the doorway.  The teacher introduced herself, and one of her many teenage helpers.  And the next thing I knew, my preschooler was letting go of my finger, taking the hand of a tall boy named Will, and heading to the colorful rug to read a few books.

He didn’t even look back.

That was two weeks ago.

This week, when he came running out, he was smiling.   And then, so quietly, “I think I like it.”

I can’t begin to explain how much those 5 words mean to me, and to my husband.  We have watched him run, crying like he was injured, from the table when a group of 3 kids came to sit with him at a birthday party.  He has clung to my fingers, pinching  them in his anxiety, while we watched his big sister play in those indoor play areas.  Just last week when it looked like there would be more than 2 kids at library story time, he looked terrified and begged me to leave.

I know that a big part of his success at church preschool stems from the fact that there are so many teens who have volunteered to help.   With just 12 students and 6 teen helpers plus the teacher, he is getting that needed individualized attention from a “big person,” which makes him feel more confident.

There is no doubt about it, church preschool and those who volunteer there are at the top of things I am thankful for this week.

The post Thankful for Awesome Teen Helpers first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Fall.

With temperatures still in the 90’s this past week, it is hard to believe it is here.

And while I am sad that the days of swimming, laughing, and having no particular place to be are over.  There are things I am looking forward to this fall.

1.  Cooler temperatures.  This last, sudden burst of heat has been miserable.

2.  Watching 2 daredevils jumping from the big rock out front into the crackling pile of leaves.

3.  Celebrating my kindergartner’s 6th birthday.  Last year it was a tea party theme…  I can’t wait to see what she asks for this year.

4.  Halloween.  Every year for Trick-or-Treat we head down to my parents’ house.  We walk the kids along the same streets I walked, then we head back for cocoa and spend the night.  On top of looking forward to this tradition, I am looking forward to helping my kids turn into whatever creature/item they challenge me with this year.

5.  Motorcycle class.  It’s one of the goals I have set for myself to achieve by 40.  All my gear has come in, and class is scheduled.  Here’s hoping I don’t have to test that gear!

6.  Watching my kids grow.  One’s in kindergarten.  Every day she learns so much, grows so much.  One started church preschool on Sundays.  (I could write a whole post about how amazing that is.)

I am thankful today that there is so much to look forward to this fall!

(Inspired by Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop prompt:   6 things you look forward to this Fall.

***

For over 2 years now I’ve written a Thankful Thursday post weekly.  Last week I lost track of days, and as I climbed into bed Wednesday night, I realized I wasn’t going to have time to write a post before our busy Thursday began.

Having just jotted down numerous commitments on the calendar for September, I’ve decided I need to give myself a break.  While Thankful Thursday may not happen every week here on the blog, I will still be celebrating it on the Facebook page each week.  I hope you will join me there in taking a moment to think about all there is to be thankful for in the world.

The post Looking Forward to Fall first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

How’s your summer bucket list?  Did you get it all knocked out?

When I saw this prompt from Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop, I thought it would fit nicely into this week’s Thankful Thursday post.

What did not get accomplished this summer that you wish you had time for?

This year we put together a summer bucket list using Post-It Notes on our pantry door.  The kids had a blast putting up the colored sheets and thinking up things they’d like to do over the next few months.

This week I’m thankful that we were able to do most of the items on our list.

Several of our items were taken care of during our vacation:  we saw beautiful sunsets and Lightning McQueen, and my daughter and I met some of the Disney Princesses.

We had several picnics and trips to the park, along with a few trips to the zoo.  And the kids were tickled pink when Grandma and Grandpa spent the night one night.

But there is one thing we didn’t get to do that I wish we had….

We didn’t get to go camping.

Growing up we went camping all the time — at least a few times each year.  I remember setting up the tent, or sometimes sleeping in our big van (back then we didn’t have passenger seats, so there was plenty of room for sleeping bags).  I remember all the campfires, and making s’mores and fruit pies over the fire.

I want to start making those memories with my own children.

I want to show them how to set up the tent, tuck them into their own little sleeping bags, and fall asleep listening to the crickets.

So, I’m adding it to our fall to-do list…. After all, the cooler weather is better for those campfire moments anyway.  Right?

What’s something on your summer list that you still want to do?

Leave a comment below, and, if you have your own thankful post, be sure to link it up this week!

I am also linked with Black Tag Diaries, The Fontenot Four, and Reading List

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