Thanksgiving is the perfect time of year to combine studies of trees, families, and service or giving. 

Whether you're here for tree activities, ideas on how to teach about your family tree, or to inspire the love of service into your children, you're in the right place!

The Giving Tree Family ThanksGIVING Unit with Free Printables is inspired by the book, The Giving Tree.

The Giving Tree Family ThanksGIVING Unit with Free Printables

Family Name Spelling

The kiddos will practice spelling the names of everyone in our immediate family.  They will also practice spelling father, mother, sister, brother, and family.

Family Word Noun & Verb Sort

Kiddos will sort family related words into the categories of nouns and verbs.  I just love my new Montessori Grammar Symbols!

Source:  I created the printable for this activity as part of my Family Unit Printable Pack. This is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Family Member Vocabulary

In this activity the kiddos will match up family member titles to definitions.  Once they've done this they can sort family members and place them under the proper titles and definitions.  

This activity seemed a little challenging for the kiddos at first, so I'm guessing we'll be doing it together at least one more day, before they venture to do it on their own.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity as part of my Family Unit Printable Pack.  This is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Sequencing Family Pictures

We've done this activity in the past. The kiddos LOVED it.  If it's possible, the kiddos enjoyed it even more today, a second time around.  

In this activity, I've included a picture of each kiddo for every year of their little lives.  Their job is to put the pictures in order from youngest to oldest and then place the correct labels below each picture.  

If they're feeling up to a real challenge they can sort all of the pictures, not just their own.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity as part of my Family Unit Printable Pack.  This is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Who Is In My Family? Graphing Activity

The kiddos will put together a graph of all of the individuals in our family, putting them into groups of babies, toddlers, children, teenagers, adults, and grandparents.  

One can graph their real family, or use dice to create imaginary families.

Source:  I created the printable for this activity as part of my Family Unit Printable Pack.  This is a Subscriber's Only Freebie. For your copy follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Sorting People By Family Activity

The kiddos will sort individual extended family members by family, so they learn which cousins belong to which aunts and uncles etc.  We've done this in the past and it was a favorite activity.

Our Family Tree

We've done this activity in the past also, but it's always great to review.  

The kiddos will build their family tree using the pictures provided.  

I created this tree using family members who are living. Sadly, Jason lost his Grammy over the last year, hence the missing photo.  

The kiddos are so blessed to have so many great grandparents still living, and so many sets of grandparents that love them.

Parts of a Tree

The kiddos will color and then label the parts of a tree in their own little books.  All of them have thoroughly enjoyed this activity. Even Bulldozer has done it!

Source:  The printable for this activity can be found at Trillium Montessori.

Parts of a Leaf

The kiddos will create their own books, coloring and labeling parts of a leaf.  Just like the tree book, this has been a big hit on our shelves this week.

Source:  The printable for this activity can be found at Trillium Montessori.

Tree Match Up

Last year, the kiddos did each of these match ups, but at different times. This year we're doing them as a combined activity.  The kiddos sort and match the different types of trees in the pictures.

Source:  I created the printables for this activity. The Deciduous Tree Match Up and Conifer Tree Match Up are Subscriber's Only Freebies. For your copy follow the directions at the bottom of this post.

Q-Tip Tree Painting Activity

Before doing this activity, we reviewed what a tree looks like during the different seasons.  The kiddos will use Q-Tips to create a tree for each season.  

They've really enjoyed this activity and are choosing different kinds of trees, which has been really fun.

Source:  I found this activity at Mess For Less.  The free tree printable I used for the activity can be found at DLTK Growing Together.

A Family Portrait Drawing Activity

One of the kiddos' favorite things to do lately has been to draw pictures of their family.  

I thought it might be fun to include a photo of us for them to use as a visual, and see just how detailed their drawings can get.

Button Leaf Tree

I just love this activity. The kiddos do too. The glass bowl is filled with leaf buttons that the kiddos string on to the pipe cleaner tree branches.  The tree looks beautiful once all the leaves are on.

Tweezing Leaves

The kiddos will practice their fine motor skills by tweezing these tiny foam leaves, transferring them from one bowl to the other.

Hanging Family Photos

What's not to like about a clothes line filled with family photos from the present and past?  

I've laminated the photos, so they're thicker and stiffer, making them hang more easily.  The results are beautiful and such a fun decoration!

The Giving Tree Invitation to Play

I couldn't resist including an invitation to play on our shelves this week.  

Besides enjoying it during learning time, it will be a great activity to occupy the kiddos, while I'm trying to fix Thanksgiving Dinner on the big day.

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