Teaching Young Kids the True Meaning of Thanksgiving

Dear Dr. Bill:

My husband and I have two young children who haven't started school yet. So for them, Thanksgiving Day is pretty much a big meal and a chance to see some relatives. But I would like to help them better understand what this holiday is really all about, especially from a godly perspective. I'm not sure telling them the Pilgrim story would be all that meaningful at their age. What do you suggest?

— Marie

Dear Marie:

I have a 4-and-a-half-year-old son and a 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter at home. A few nights ago I sat down with them and read them a children's book about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. The book was written for school-aged kids, so I showed them the pictures and simplified the story a bit.

I told them that a long, long time ago, in the "old fashioned" days, there were a group of people called the Puritans who lived in a country called England. They believed in God and wanted to follow Him the way the Bible tells us to. But the king of England said they needed to worship God the way that HE told them to. They felt it was more important to do what God said than what the king said. So they loaded up everything they owned on ships and sailed across the ocean to a new land, the land which is now our country, the United States.

Crossing the ocean was very hard, and many of the people got sick on the way over. Some of them even died. When they arrived, the land was very wild and there were no towns or streets or houses. Just forests and fields. The people worked very hard and built small houses. The winter came and it was very cold. Many of the people got sick and died.

There were Indians living in the land, and at first the Pilgrims were scared of the Indians and the Indians were scared of them. But then they worked together. They traded things with the Indians, and the Indians helped them to hunt and fish. They planted corn and other crops. The next year their crops grew better. They decided to have a special feast to celebrate. Even though their lives were hard, they thanked God that they were alive and that they had enough to eat. They also thanked God that they had made friends with the Indians.

I realize that all of the details aren't perfectly accurate, but my kids enjoyed the story and looking at the pictures in the book. We'll probably talk about it again at our Thanksgiving dinner, and we'll thank God for all the blessings He has given us in our family.

Marie, let me also recommend a book from Focus on the Family that will provide you with some creative ideas that you can use to celebrate Thanksgiving with your kids. It's called Celebrating Special Times with Special People and is written by Shirley Dobson and Gloria Gaither. You can learn more about the book when you call Focus on the Family at 1-800-A-FAMILY (1-800-232-6459).

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