Harvest is a wonderful chance to explore themes of thankfulness with children. A "tree of thanks" is a great way to get everyone to think about why they are thankful, and at the end you have a beautiful display for your church or community hall!
Why not create your tree of thanks while listening to our "For The Harvest" album? We've Got Tomatoes! is particularly good for early years!
For this craft you will need:
Coloured paper. Red, orange and yellow.
Brown wrapping paper. A couple of rolls.
Scissors.
Writing pens.
A pencil.
Blu tac.
Stiff board or a space on the wall.
A whole pile of reasons to be thankful!
How to make a tree of thanks:
Step 1:
Using the red, orange and yellow paper. Draw many leaf shapes. Cut them out.
Step 2:
Hand out a leaf to everyone in your group and have them write down at least one thing that they feel thankful for this Harvest. Set the leaves aside.
Step 3:
Cut or tear the brown wrapping paper into 2 long strips. Twist each piece from top to bottom. No need to be delicate with this, the paper will be the bark of the tree and it's meant to look rough! Begin to blu tac the twists into a trunk shape onto some stiff board or wall. Use some of the twists to form branches.
Step 4:
Gather the leaves on which the children have written their reasons to be thankful, then stick these to the branches of your tree one by one. You may need to use some blank leaves to fill out the branches.
Step 5:
Sit back and admire your tree! Why not sing a song of thankfulness such as Harvest Hymn (Give Thanks) or For The Harvest.
Craft by: Florence Robjohn,
