November is nestled tight between the arrival of fall and the start of the festive season. It is a time that families come together, the weather makes a drastic change, and pumpkin spice becomes the flavor of the month. But there are also tons of fun and interesting holidays to celebrate in between. Ever heard of Sandwich day? How about World "Hello" Day? Here is a list of 30 November preschool activities including some obscure holidays you might never have heard of and other awesome autumn activities.
1. Sugar Skull Scratch Off
The Mexican community celebrates The Day of the Dead on 1 and 2 November which is a colorful celebration worthy of equally colorful activity ideas. This fun scratch art project is perfect for preschoolers and can teach them a fascinating part of a new culture.
Learn more: Nurture Store
2. Sandwich Day Activity
The 3rd of November is Sandwich Day, so celebrate the ultimate yummy snack with this fun idea. The template lets kids cut out all the sandwich toppings and stick them on the accordion-style bun. Color the paper with crayons and stick them on in between the layers of bread to make a sandwich that they deem worthy of Sandwich Day.
Learn more: Krokotak
3. Hug-A-Bear Day
The 7th of November is Hug-a-Bear Day, another cute and obscure holiday. Instead of letting kids bring their teddy bears to class, why don't they make these cool bear paws from paper plates and construction paper? They can hug each and spread the love among classmates with this adorable bear theme activity.
Learn more: Canan Duran
4. Dear Santa Day
With Christmas just around the corner, kids need to start writing their letters to Santa. This adorable letter template is perfect for "Dear Santa Day" on 8 November and gets kids in the mood for awesome activities coming in December. All you need is some colored paper and a few cotton balls for decoration.
Learn more: Teachers Pay Teachers
5. World Kindness Day
World Kindness Day falls on November 13th and is the perfect opportunity to teach kids some valuable lessons on kindness. Make a kindness paper chain and have kids call out acts of kindness to add to the chain. This can be a growing craft throughout the month and an awesome activity to keep going throughout the year.
Learn more: Merikalane
6. Micky Mouse's Birthday
Everyone's favorite mouse friend celebrates his birthday on the 18th of November and the kids will love making birthday cards for Mickey. Use a sponge and some colorful paint to stencil a Mickey outline onto the front of the card and write him a sweet note.
Learn more: Modern Mom Life
7. World Hello Day
On November 21st it is time for kids to learn all about "hello". This cross-cultural theme activity teaches kids how to greet each other in 15 different languages from all over the world.
Learn more: Juny Tony - Songs and Stories
8. Pumpkin Pie Counting
Pumpkin pie might just be the most delicious part of November and everyone looks forward to the last Thursday of the month for this reason. Print out this cute worksheet and use cotton balls as counters on top of the slices.
Learn more: Pre School Play and Learn
9. Play-Doh Turkey
November is Turkey month so expect plenty of on-theme crafts. The easy activity for kids is great to practice fine motor skills as they exercise the muscles in their hands to get the clay nice and round and place feathers in the turkey's tail with great care.
10. Fine Motor Turkey
Another alternative turkey activity is to use a colander as the base of its tail. Kids can even work together in teams as a times challenge to see who can fill the turkey's tail first.
Learn more: A Dab of Glue Will Do
11. Measure Gourds
This thanksgiving theme idea can be used as a guessing game. Let kids guess the length of each gourd picture in terms of snap blocks and then let them measure the exact length.
Learn more: Pinay Homeschooler
12. Leaf Balancing Activity
With fall in full swing, there are bound to be tons of colorful leaves lying around. YOu can also substitute them for plastic leaves that you can keep around the classroom for all sorts of November activities. Let kids balance the leaf on their heads and walk on a taped line without dropping.
Learn more: Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten
13. Turkey Tail Hammering
Golf tees make a great tool to use in fine motor activities as they take some concentration to hit with a little mallet. Nail the colorful tees into a styrofoam half-circle and add a cute turkey cut-out for a charming autumn activity.
Learn more: Bug and Buddy
14. Turkey Pom-pom Sort
Create a fun turkey game with come painted kitchen rolls and pom poms in autumn shades of color. Kids should drop the pom poms into the corresponding color tube as fast as they can and work on their motor skills at the same time.
Learn more: Happy Toddler Playtime
15. Fall Leaf Stencils
Fall leaves are everywhere and what better way to use this free resource than as a stencil for a fun autumn-themed art project. Add some water paint to a spray bottle and spray it over the leaves on blank paper. Kids will be left with a beautiful work of art to take home.
Learn more: The Crafty Classroom
16. Turkey Bean Bag Toss
This is another great turkey game to work on motor skills while ensuring tons of fun. Create a giant turkey on top of a box and cut a hole where kids will throw their bean bags in shades of colors like red, yellow, and orange.
Learn more: Songs for Success MT
17. Yarn Trees
Fall foliage is one of the most beautiful parts of November. Why not bring this natural spectacle into the craft lesson? Let kids practice their scissor skills by cutting yarn into small strips and gluing it onto a tree trunk template.
Learn more: 3 Dinosaurs
18. Turkey Bowling
This adorable turkey craft doubles as a turkey game for double the fun. Use plastic bottles and feathers to make turkey pins to use in a game of Thanksgiving Bowling throughout the month. Kids will never tire of this action-packed activity!
Learn more: Saving Towards a Better Life
19. Turkey Rockets
This turkey craft will guarantee tons of laughs as turkeys go flying across the room in a turkey balloon rocket race. All you need is some contact paper, toilet rolls, brown balloons, and some string.
Learn more: Growing a Jeweled Rose
20. Turkey Throwing Game
Some contact paper and brown cups are all you need for this turkey craft that also doubles as a turkey game. Use a beanbag or tennis ball to try and throw over as many cups as possible in this classic children's carnival.
Learn more: The Seasoned Mom
21. Beaded Turkey Patterns
Focus on color recognition and fine motor skills by letting kids arrange beads in a pattern on this adorable turkey craft. Stick some matches into a painted styrofoam ball and print out the patterned card printables to get kids started.
Learn more: School Time Snippets
22. Corn Grinding
This is a sensory experience of note! Let kids pop off the corn kernels from the dried ears and grind them into a fine meal with a grinding stone. This also doubles as a history lesson, showing them how people would prepare food hundreds of years ago. This can also be tied into national American Indian heritage month.
Learn more: I Am Style-ish
23. Autumn Placemat Craft
Use cookie cutters or stencils to create a vibrant placemat for the Thanksgiving table. All you need is a large enough piece of paper and some vibrant colors.
Learn more: Projects with Kids
24. Autumn Leaf Suncatcher
This simple activity is the perfect take-home craft for kids to celebrate the beautiful autumn weather. Stick some cellophane on clear contact paper and string it up to hang it in the window.
Learn more: Crafts on Sea
25. Fall Play Doh Cards
Fall activities for preschoolers can be as simple as a few themed play-doh cards. The colorful clay and fun shapes are perfect to keep little hands busy and work on fine motor skills.
Learn more: Preschool Play and Learn
26. Turkey Candy Craft
All these thanksgiving activities are bound to work up an appetite with the little ones. Turn a slice of bread into a turkey with some candy corn and chocolate spread. Kids will love this sensory activity as they are richly rewarded with a yummy treat.
Learn more: Surviving a Teachers Salary
27. Fall Tic-Tac-Toe
Use some brown material and black duct tape for a large tic-tac-toe grid that you can use in any season. Use your turkey crafts as playing pieces and let kids enjoy hours of fun with this giant play set.
Learn more: Pizzazerie
28. Turkey Egg Drop
A classic egg-drop experiment can easily be transformed into a fun theme version for November by adding some tail feathers and googly eyes to the egg. STEM activities for kids aren't only for school-age children so introduce them to this method of experimenting and engineering from early on.
Learn more: Steam Sational
29. Turkey Cage Building
This is another preschool activity that will see kids thinking outside of the box and exercise their early engineering skills. Cut out the turkey printables from pieces of paper and build a marshmallow and toothpick cage to keep them all in one place.
Learn more: Mom Brite
30. Candy Corn Stacking Challenge
Few people actually know that this is how candy corn gets its name, but stacking this controversial treat quickly shows you how it was intended. It makes for a fun preschool activity as kids see who can stack the tallest tower or corn before it all comes tumbling down.
Learn more: Lesson 4 Little Ones
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