While the board may not end up being a precise design or replica, it will be a lot more fun and have a much deeper meaning, if the preschoolers have some input. This gives you the opportunity to be thankful for the children in your class, and the talents they want to develop and share.
Preparing the Bulletin Board
To begin this project, you will need to cover the background in two different colors of butcher paper. Use blue for the sky and a green for the ground. This step is easier to complete on your own before the children arrive.
In order to complete this project you will need:
- Brown construction paper
- Orange construction paper
- Markers
- Feathers
- Beads
- Precut figures of Pilgrims and Indians
- Precut shape of a table
- Tree cutouts
- Cutout letters, optional
Write or use cutout letters to place a related Bible verse in the blue section of the bulletin board. This is a verse that you can possibly use as a memory verse for Thanksgiving.
The first step involving the kids is to create turkeys for a border. There is an easy pattern to use. Simply have each child trace a hand and cut it out. The thumb will be the head of the turkey with the rest of the fingers as the tail feathers. These crafts are very cute when you create the turkey from brown paper and then cut out legs in orange. Have each child write their name on the turkey, and decorate it to their liking.
Adding the Bulletin Board Features
These cute little turkeys make an excellent border for the top or sides of any bulletin board. You can either staple the turkeys around or have the children place them around the board by placing scotch tape on the backs of the turkeys.
Next you will want to hand out the cutouts of Indians and Pilgrims for each child. Let the children decorate each person. While they are preparing the attendees, you can put together the table and trees that you previously prepared for the board. Once they have the figures decorated, allow the children to arrange them around the table. You can then take the beads and feathers to decorate the board further.
A Fun Variation
One great thing you can do is to add to the board each week. You can create the main scene the first week, and then add something else each additional week leading up to Thanksgiving. Start the project four Sundays before Thanksgiving. On the first Sunday, you will do this project. The following week, you can add tee pees and bonfires to make an Indian village. The third week, you can add houses and roads for the Pilgrim settlements. The final week before Thanksgiving, you can add the feast to the table, including a turkey, corn and all the trimmings.
This is a great project that will leave the preschoolers looking forward to class each week. By taking time over a period of time to build such a vivid scene, the kids will learn quite a lesson. You will also be surprised at how much the kids enjoy seeing the project develop over the weeks. When you remove the bulletin board, let each child have their cutout, but also let them choose one more piece of the board decoration to take home. It will give them good memories of the fun time they had creating this bulletin board project. Remember to take plenty of pictures, and give a copy to each child when the prints are ready.
Find additional Sunday school bulletin board ideas at Preschool Sunday School Central. You can also find a fun Thanksgiving Sunday School Lesson here at Suite101.
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