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Children often do not understand the significance of festivals, so you need to find easy and fun ways to explain. Thanksgiving Day is a good opportunity to teach your children about generosity and togetherness, and how people and things around us make our lives easier and happier. So, here are some Thanksgiving quotes for kids that can be a great way to introduce them to the importance of gratitude in life. This harvest holiday is a time to teach them to count their blessings rather than looking at the difficulties and challenges. If you wish to imbue some positive energy in your children and help them become kind and compassionate, teach them poems about kindness, sharing, love, and thanksgiving tradition. So, go through the beautiful and inspiring quotes that will fill your children’s hearts with love and warmth.
Thanksgiving Quotes For Kids
Quote 1:
“Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house…, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.”
William Bradford’s excerpt from the first Thanksgiving Day Proclamation in 1623
Quote 2:
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Melody Beattie
Quote 3:
Image: IStock
“Thanksgiving is more than eating, Chuck… Those early Pilgrims were filled with thankfulness for what had happened to them, and we should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that’s what they mean by ‘Thanksgiving,’ Charlie Brown.”
From A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving by Charles M. Schulz
Quote 4:
“Great as the preparations were for the dinner, everything was so contrived that not a soul in the house should be kept from the morning service of Thanksgiving in the church.”
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Quote 5:
“The unthankful heart… discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!”
Henry Ward Beecher
Quote 6:
Image: IStock
“Gratitude … goes beyond the “mine” and “thine” and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.”
– Henri J. M. Nouwen
Quote 7:
“Thanksgiving like contentment is a learned attribute.
The person who hasn’t learned to be content we will not be thankful for he lives with the delusion he deserves more or something better.”
Robert Flatt
Quote 8:
“We can always find something to be thankful for, and there may be reasons why we ought to be thankful for even those dispensations which appear dark and frowning.”
Albert Barnes
Quote 9:
Image: IStock
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.”
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Quote 10:
“Gratitude is born in hearts that take time to count up past mercies.”
Charles E. Jefferson
Thanksgiving Poems For Kids
11. Five Little Turkeys:
Five little turkeys standing by door,
One waddled off, and then there were four.
Four little turkeys under a tree,
One waddled off, and then there were three.
Three little turkeys with nothing to do,
One waddled off, and then there were two.
Two little turkeys in the noonday sun,
One waddled off, and then there was one.
One little turkey better run away,
For soon will come Thanksgiving Day.
12. Thanksgiving Feast:
Image: IStock
When the Halloween pumpkins are gone,
And the leaves have all fallen to ground,
When the air has turned windy and cold,
Then Thanksgiving will soon be around.
Thoughts of loved ones all feasting together,
Pleasant pictures from past times appear
To dwell in each heart and each mind–
Then Thanksgiving is finally here!
The kitchen has scrumptious aromas,
The dining room looks oh, so fine,
Decorations with pilgrims and turkeys,
And now we are ready to dine!
First the napkins are placed on our laps;
Now the prayer for the meal to be blessed,
Then we stuff the good food in our tummies,
And we hope for it all to digest!
13. Thanksgiving Every Day:
The table is brimming with good things to eat;
We’re surrounded by family and friends; what a treat.
The feelings that fill us today can’t be beat;
It’s Thanksgiving Day, and it all feels complete.
But other days, sometimes, things don’t seem so fine;
Those days are not polished and don’t seem to shine.
It’s then in our minds, we forget all the good,
And think of the things we would get, if we could.
On days when our thinking causes us dread,
If we could remember, it’s all in our head,
And not let our minds take our gratitude away,
Then we’d make every day like Thanksgiving Day.
14. Twas The Night Of Thanksgiving:
Twas the night of Thanksgiving, but I just couldn’t sleep.
I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep.
The leftovers beckoned–the dark meat and white,
but I fought the temptation with all of my might.
Tossing and turning with anticipation,
the thought of a snack became infatuation.
So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door
and gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.
I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,
pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.
I felt myself swelling so plump and so round,
till all of a sudden, I rose off the ground.
I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky
With a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie.
But, I managed to yell as I soared past the trees…
happy eating to all—pass the cranberries, please!
15. Over The River:
Image: IStock
Over the river and through the wood
To Grandmother’s house we go.
The horse knows the way
To carry the sleigh
Through white and drifted snow.
Over the river and through the wood
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes
And bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.
Over the river and through the wood
To have a first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring,
Ting-a-ling-ling!
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!
Over the river and through the wood,
Trot fast, my dapple gray!
Spring over the ground
Like a hunting hound,
For this is Thanksgiving Day.
Over the river and through the wood,
And straight through the barnyard gate.
We seem to go
Extremely slow…
It is so hard to wait!
Over the river and through the wood~
Now Grandmother’s cap I spy!
Hurrah for fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!
16. A Thanksgiving Thought:
The day I give thanks for having a nose
Is Thanksgiving Day, for do you suppose
That Thanksgiving dinner would taste as good
If you couldn’t smell it? I don’t think it would.
Could apple pie baking—turkey that’s basting
Not be for the smelling? Just be for tasting?
It’s a cranberry-cinnamon-onion bouquet!
Be thankful for noses on Thanksgiving Day.
17. We Give Thanks:
Our Father in Heaven,
We give thanks for the pleasure
Of gathering together for this occasion.
We give thanks for this food
Prepared by loving hands.
We give thanks for life,
The freedom to enjoy it all
And all other blessings.
As we partake of this food,
We pray for health and strength
To carry on and try to live as You would have us.
This we ask in the name of Christ,
Our Heavenly Father.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How can I use Thanksgiving quotes to teach my children about gratitude?
There are many ways to say thank you, and Thanksgiving quotes can be great for teaching children about gratitude. One way to use them is to choose a few meaningful quotes and discuss them with your children. Then, ask them to share what they are grateful for and encourage them to express gratitude through words and actions. You can also have them create gratitude quotes or write thank-you notes to people in their lives.
2. What are some ways to incorporate Thanksgiving quotes into crafts and activities for children?
There are many ways to incorporate Thanksgiving quotes into Thanksgiving crafts and Thanksgiving activities for teens and kids. For example, you can create a gratitude tree where children write down things they are thankful for on leaves and attach them to the branches. You can also have children make thanksgiving cards for loved ones and write a quote about gratitude inside.
Allison Sonnier, a mother of four with knowledge in early childhood and child development, shares how she uses crafts to teach her sons about gratitude during Thanksgiving. She says, “It’s important to me that my children remember to be thankful. I am going to do everything I can to put the focus on gratitude.”
To teach her sons how to show gratitude, she decided to make turkeys with milk jugs, to which they would add feathers each day. Sonnier explains, “Starting tomorrow we will add a feather each day. On each feather we will each choose something we are thankful for and write it down… I certainly don’t expect that one little activity is going to magically turn my sons into grateful little boys. What I do hope to establish is the habit of intentionally focusing on what we have been given (i).”
3. Can Thanksgiving quotes be used as a teaching tool in the classroom?
Thanksgiving quotes can be used as a teaching tool in the classroom. These quotes can teach students about the history and cultural significance, culture and happiness of Thanksgiving for the Native Americans, and encourage gratitude and reflection.
Thanksgiving is when people express their gratitude for all they have and spend quality time with their family and friends. With the help of these Thanksgiving quotes for kids, you can also include your child in the celebration and teach them about its importance. We have also included a few poems related to Thanksgiving for you to read to your child and teach the importance of this day. You also share Thanksgiving stories about the origin and history of this day and enjoy the togetherness. You may also watch Thanksgiving movies for kids to make your children more excited about the special day.
Right before Christmas is a week of Thanksgiving, an opportunity to show appreciation and gratitude to your loved ones. Celebrate this Thanksgiving by sharing the quotes from our infographic with your loved ones. These quotes can also help one understand the meaning of Thanksgiving and its importance.
Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
Key Pointers
- Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude for all the good things in life and to spend time with family and friends.
- Thanksgiving poems and quotes can teach children about being generous and grateful.
- Encourage your children to share what they are thankful for to inculcate the spirit of thanksgiving.
Illustration: Best Thanksgiving Quotes And Poems For Kids
Image: Stable Diffusion/MomJunction Design Team
Personal Experience: Source
MomJunction articles include first-hand experiences to provide you with better insights through real-life narratives. Here are the sources of personal accounts referenced in this article.
i. Thankful turkey – teaching children gratitude;http://www.learnplayimagine.com/2012/10/thankful-turkey-teaching-children.html
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