For the past few weeks, I’ve been over on Pinterest pinning all kinds of Thanksgiving activities for kids. I’m always on the lookout for great activities for kids, but you know what I’ve noticed? There aren’t very many gross motor activities out there for Turkey Day!
I know, I know. You’re probably thinking that the best thing to do after a big Thanksgiving dinner is to just let the tryptophan coma take over.
But, how many of us really get to enjoy that post-Thanksgiving dinner nap anyway? With a pack of kids running around the house and a rowdy bunch of relatives watching football, there isn’t usually much rest happening, right?
Your best alternative? Get up and get moving! This fun Thanksgiving-inspired game gives a healthy dose of whole body movement and incorporates a little hand strengthening too!
This game is great for a Thanksgiving theme, but turkey basters are a fun fine motor and gross motor tool any time of year!
Looking for more Thanksgiving fun? Check out these ideas!
Move to the Menu FREE Printable Cards
These Thanksgiving games for kids take all the best parts of a turkey dinner and put them to movement!
Thanksgiving Balance Challenge
This kids Thanksgiving balance challenge is a fun and engaging way to work on balance by changing positions on an uneven surface!
Mashed Potato Game
Add this awesome gross motor idea to your list of fun Thanksgiving games for kids! This one is sure to get a lot of laughs!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
-A turkey baster
-Colorful feathers (or make your own out of paper)
-A small container or box
WHAT TO DO:
Find an open space to play. Place the feathers in one spot and place a small container or box to collect the feathers some distance away from the feathers.
Give your child the turkey baster and let her practice squeezing and releasing it (to blow a feather forward on the floor).
Now the fun can begin. Have your child move toward the container/box on the other side of the room, using the turkey baster to puff the feather across the floor as she goes. She can crawl, slither like a snake, walk like a duck…however she can move the fastest while puffing her feather along the floor!
How quickly can she get all of the feathers from the starting point to the container?
HOW TO CHANGE IT UP:
-Use scooters for an extra leg strengthening boost!
-Do you have a preschooler playing this game? Take advantage of the opportunity for learning and have them count the feathers as they put them in the box, or try sorting the feathers by color!
-Make your own feathers out of paper to throw some extra fine motor practice in as the kids color and cut!
-Do you live somewhere that’s still warm and sunny at the end of November? Take this game outside!
-Try just puffing the feathers back and forth across a table to focus on the fine motor challenge. Make it like a game of hockey with two kids playing against each other, trying to get the feather to fly off the opposing person’s end of the table.
SKILL AREAS ADDRESSED: Fine motor skills, grasp, strength, gross motor skills, coordination, motor control, visual motor integration


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