I built these Thanksgiving toddler trays around food and dinner, since that is the one thing every family’s Thanksgiving has in common. They are a festive way to learn and play.
What are some toddler trays I can do with my toddler that have a Thanksgiving theme?
I made this set of Thanksgiving trays mostly with dinner and food in mind. I figured that everybody eats different things on Thanksgiving, but eating is a constant. These trays will be great for your toddler. It will give them a chance to practice their fine motor skills, color sorting and other great skills in a fun way.
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Set the Table
What you Need
How to Play
Trace the shapes of the paper plate, napkin, styrofoam cup and spoon, fork and knife in the correct place on the construction paper. Put all items on the tray and have your toddler match the dinnerware to the right place on the construction paper. This will help them practice “setting the table”. This activity is a great matching activity. My toddler sometimes has difficulty with this tray, but the more he does it the better he gets.
Beading
What you Need
How to Play
To make this toddler tray, put two pipe cleaners into the bottom of a Styrofoam cup and put some cut straw pieces into a small glass bowl. Have your toddler put the straw pieces onto the pipe cleaners so it looks like a straw is coming out of a cup.
Sorting
What you Need
How to Play
This tray has several orange and yellow fake flowers. It also has two Styrofoam cups. Have your toddler sort the orange flowers into one cup and the yellow flowers into another. You can also use clear glass vases rather than styrofoam cups. This is great practice for sorting colors and I found my toddler really enjoyed it! He wanted to do it over and over again and became his favorite tray for the week.
Coloring
What you Need
- Turkeys and Corn Printable
- Brown and Yellow Crayon
How to Play
Have your toddler try to color the turkeys brown and the corn yellow. They may not always be accurate but it is good practice anyways.
Spooning
What you Need
How to Play
This toddler tray was another of our favorites. The idea is to teach your how to serve food by spooning it from a bowl to a plate. We used sunflower seeds as they are a sort of Fall-ish item. Have your toddler spoon the seeds onto the plate and then pour them back into the bowl when they are done.
Here is a list of the printables that we used for the learning notebook and tray with printables and the links to them.
Learning Notebook
- Which One is Different? (Thanksgiving Pack part 1 pg. 10 from 3 Dinosaurs)
- Thanksgiving Maze (Thanksgiving Pack part 3 pg. 2 from 3 Dinosaurs)
- Color the Pumpkin Pie (Thanksgiving Pack tot pack pg. 17-18 from 3 Dinosaurs)
- Coloring Pages (Thanksgiving Preschool Pack pg. 2-3 from 1+1+1=1)
- Pre-Writing Practice (Thanksgiving Preschool Pack pg. 9 from 1+1+1=1)
Tray Printables
- Matching Cards (Thanksgiving Pack part 1 pg. 2-3 from 3 Dinosaurs)
- What Comes Next (Thanksgiving Pack part 1 pg.14 from 3 Dinosaurs)
- Color Matching (Thanksgiving Pack part 1 pg. 38 from 3 Dinosaurs)
- Size Sorting (Thanksgiving Preschool Pack pg. 5-6 from 1+1+1=1)
- Sorting (Thanksgiving Preschool Pack pg. 20 from 1+1+1=1)
Looking for more toddler activities? You will find them all on our toddler learning activities page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age are toddler trays best for?
They work well from about 18 months through age 3 or 4. You can make any tray easier or harder to match where your child is.
How long should my toddler spend on a tray?
Usually just a few minutes each. Rotate trays in and out to keep them fresh, and always follow your child’s lead.
Do I need special supplies for toddler trays?
Not at all. Most trays use things you already have at home or cheap finds from the dollar store, like pom poms, tongs, and ice cube trays.