Thanksgiving Story Beads

I love this beaded craft that helps you teach children the story of the first Thanksgiving.

Not only is it great for fine motor skills and color recognition, but it's a wonderful way to start a conversation about the Pilgrims, Native Americans, religious freedom, and giving thanks.

You'll need a package of multi-colored pony beads as well as ribbon, pipe cleaners, twine, or something else upon which to string the beads. I followed the instructions from LittleGiraffes.com, but I changed some of the colors to fit what I had on hand.

•    1 brown bead (I used black): Pilgrims left England for religious freedom
•    1 white bead: sails on the Mayflower
•    3 blue beads: the long trip over the ocean
•    1 green: land!
•    3 white (or clear glitter): trying to survive the long winter
•    1 green: spring arrives and brings hope
•    1 tan (I used cream): the Native Americans who helped the Pilgrims survive
•    4 beads: foods served at the first Thanksgiving
     - 1 red: cranberries
     - 1 yellow: corn
     - 1 brown (cream): turkey
     - 1 orange: pumpkins

A made a bracelet out of pipe cleaner, while E strung them to make a necklace. I also think these would be great on the end of a bookmark.

I'm linking up to:
- ABC & 123's Show & Tell
- Tot Tuesday @ My Delicious Ambiguity