20 Thanksgiving Math Activities
reviewed by Jo-ann Caballes
Updated on October 23, 2024
Thanksgiving is an unofficial start of the holiday season, so we all like to have fun with our loved ones. Nevertheless, it is an opportunity to consolidate children’s knowledge in an informal setting. Implement the best Thanksgiving math activities into your holiday routine to improve your child’s math skills while still having a good time!
What do Brighterly math teachers do on Thanksgiving?
Math is tied to every aspect of daily life, and that’s why Brighterly math teachers usually look for exciting ways to incorporate math studies into routines. We examine different situations and create games and Thanksgiving math puzzles.
Brighterly tutors offer personalized tutoring sessions tailored to each student’s needs and learning style. We focus on the specific areas where the child needs more support, such as fractions, decimals, or problem-solving.
Thanksgiving math activities for middle school
Teenagers still want to have fun even while they act edgy, so they will still like Thanksgiving math activities for middle school. You can ask them to conduct games for younger kids or do holiday shopping together.
Ask the teen to pre-calculate the approximate budget and find the best discount and coupon deals. Tell them that all saved funds will transfer to the child’s pocket money to encourage them to do holiday math.
Thanksgiving math worksheets by Brighterly
Our goal is to make education accessible to everyone, so we have prepared free Thanksgiving math worksheets by the Brighterly team. They will help your kid understand different math concepts, solve problems, and develop critical thinking skills.
By providing positive reinforcement and encouragement, even with free Thanksgiving math worksheets, we want to help your kid build confidence in their math abilities. It can be especially helpful for children anxious about STEM subjects. Download and print these holiday-themed math tasks to show your kid that counting is fun!
Thanksgiving math problems
Thanksgiving math problems shouldn’t look like math lessons, as kids want to have fun during the holiday season. The safest way is to conduct Thanksgiving math activities that look like real-world situations or games. If you ask kids to solve actual school-like tasks, they may rebel and refuse to do math at all.
Thanksgiving math games
Thanksgiving math games are a great way to boost kids’ skills in an engaging way. When choosing a suitable activity, consider your child’s age and interests. While kindergarteners may like distinguishing colors, older students may call it childish.
For instance, Thanksgiving activities in 2nd grade may include riddles, bingo games, count-and-clip activities, etc. 4th grade Thanksgiving activities may include adult tasks like budgeting, writing checks, etc.
Recognition Game
Prioritize ease of use over complexity when selecting Thanksgiving math activities for preschoolers with recognition games. Encourage your child to count and recognize numbers and symbols in daily situations.
If you want to create more complicated Thanksgiving math activities for 3rd grade, teach your child to properly mix different ingredients to cook something new.
Counting Games
Counting games is a great way to spark math interest while boosting hard skills. Meanwhile, tailor questions to the child’s interests. Here are some questions that you can ask them:
- How many turkeys are we roasting?
- How many potatoes do we need to peel?
- How many glasses do we need for the drinks?
- How many people are coming to dinner?
It’s not a typical math problem, so it is a cool occupation. At the same time, it’s one of the greatest Thanksgiving activities for 4th-grade kids, kindergarteners, and even teenagers.
Color Games
Your kindergarteners may occupy themselves with color games and other math Thanksgiving activities. Ask them about colors and their mixing. Teach them about ratios while mixing food dyes.
You can explain how seasoning changes the food color, making this explanation one of the brightest turkey math activities they will remember forever.
The “How many pumpkins?” Game
Asking “How many pumpkins?” is a fun way to introduce children to the math Thanksgiving activities. Get a bunch of pumpkins and see how many your child can count.
If you want to make it harder, creating potential Thanksgiving 3rd-grade activities, ask kids to divide pumpkins among guests. It makes counting more palpable.
Thanksgiving Hundreds Chart
Thanksgiving Hundreds is one of the most interesting Thanksgiving math games since it resembles sudoku. You can download and print any available Hundreds Chart or create something special:
- Draw a 10×10 chart on a large paper.
- Number the squares from 1 to 100.
- Use the chart for various counting activities: counting, number identification, or number puzzles.
Use different colored markers or stickers to highlight numbers or patterns. Adjust the difficulty level based on the children’s ages and abilities.
Thanksgiving Squares (Football)
Thanksgiving squares (or Thanksgiving football) are simple Thanksgiving activities for 2nd grade and later. It’s a perfect way to practice addition, subtraction, and number recognition while celebrating the holiday season. You need a piece of paper or poster board, markers, and dice to play it.
- Divide the paper or poster board into 16 equal squares.
- Randomly fill the squares with numbers.
- Players take turns selecting two adjacent squares.
- Add or subtract the numbers in the chosen squares.
- If the player is right, they can cross out the square. The game continues until someone scratches their whole field.
You can use this game as Thanksgiving multiplication worksheets while making math fun. Increase the difficulty by introducing multiplication, drawing a huge field, or limiting the timer.
Thanksgiving Riddles
Thanksgiving math riddles are an amazing way to spend the evening. Here are the 3 best short mysteries to solve.
| Riddle | Answer |
| I have 2 legs, 2 wings, and 1 gobble. How many legs do 5 turkeys have? | 10 legs |
| A pie is cut into 8 slices. If 3 slices are eaten, how many slices are left? | 5 slices |
| A Thanksgiving feast has 4 tables. If there are 5 chairs at each table, how many are there? | 20 chairs |
Subtracting Plates
Subtracting Plates is one of the Thanksgiving math activities for preschoolers that can be intriguing even for adults. You need a large piece of paper or a poster board, some markers, and dice.
- Create the Plate Grid: Divide the paper or poster board into 16 equal squares.
- Draw Plates: Draw a plate with a number between 1 and 10 in each square.
- Roll the Dice: Players take turns rolling two dice.
- Subtract the Numbers: Subtract the smaller number from the larger number on the dice.
- Find the Plate: If the result matches some plate, the player can cross out it.
The game ends when someone crosses out all their plates. Increase the difficulty if you want to create Thanksgiving activities for 4th graders and older. Use multiple dice, draw more squares, and place more plates.
How Many Pie Fractions?
“How Many Pie Fractions?” is one of the math Thanksgiving activities that provides a lot of fun while being useful in real-life situations. Prepare some dice, and let’s start:
- Draw a large circle on the paper to represent a pie.
- Divide it into equal sections (e.g., 2, 4, 6, 8).
- Label each section with a fraction (e.g., 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/8).
- Players take turns rolling two dice.
- If the child rolls dice 4 and 6, they should color the fraction that represents 4/6 of the pie.
If you want to create Thanksgiving math activities for middle school, try to divide the pie into more sections (e.g., 10, 12) or use larger dice with numbers up to 12.
Turkey Time
This bird is the symbol of Thanksgiving, so it’s safe to implement turkey math games into the holiday routine. It boosts the child’s addiction and subtraction skills and improves number recognition. You can easily modify the game’s complexity to make it one of the Thanksgiving math activities that unite kindergartens and middle schoolers.
Turkey Cups Counting Game
The Turkey Cup Counting Game is one of the best Thanksgiving math activities for preschoolers. However, you can play this game even with teenagers.
- Gather the players around a table. Place an empty paper cup in front of each player.
- Give each player a handful of turkey stickers.
- Start the timer: you can set 1 minute or make a long 10-minute session.
- Once you launch the timer, kids must start counting turkeys and stuff them into their cups.
Who has more turkeys in their cup wins. The competitive nature of this game fosters a healthy competitive spirit.
Count And Clip Turkey Cards
Counting and clipping Turkey Cards is one of those free Thanksgiving math activities that can stay in memory as a fun game. Here is how to play it:
- Create the turkey cards by cutting paper and drawing a turkey on it. Each card will oversee a corresponding clothespin.
- Write any number inside of each turkey.
- Set up a clothesline or string at a suitable height and attach clothespins to the line.
- Place the turkey cards face down on a table.
- The first player turns over a card and counts the number written on it. They then find the corresponding clothespin on the line and clip the card onto it.
- Players take turns flipping cards and clipping them to the matching clothespins.
- If a player makes a mistake, they lose their turn.
This turkey counting activity suits kids of all ages. You can start with numbers 1-5 for younger children and gradually increase the difficulty. To make it one of the Thanksgiving 3rd-grade activities, include addition or subtraction problems on the cards.
Grocery List
You may assist your kids in getting better with money by involving them in clever Thanksgiving math activities like creating shopping lists. Kindergarteners may make imaginary lists, while elementary and middle school students can help you with the actual shopping.
For instance, calculating the validity of discounts and couponing is one of the intriguing Thanksgiving math activities in 4th grade, especially if this list includes some things for a kid.
The Measuring Exercise
The measuring exercise is one of the math Thanksgiving activities that benefit kids in adult life. Ask the child to cook a holiday dinner with you. Teach them how to measure and convert.
Get your little one to help you measure the ingredients while preparing the meal. It can be one of the coolest Thanksgiving math activities for kindergarten while still being an engaging family routine, even for teenagers.
Conclusion
Thanksgiving is a joyful occasion for any age group. Meanwhile, you can make this holiday more educational by playing math games or asking your child to help.
Want to find out even more fun math activities for the holiday season?
Book your first free math tutoring session at Brighterly so our tutors can determine your child’s knowledge gaps and show you fun ways to improve their STEM skills!
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