Thanksgiving PE Games and Activities: 7 Seasonal Ideas for Physical Education Lessons
Updated: 1 day ago
Thanksgiving is all about family, friends, and food, and the weeks leading up to it are a perfect time to get creative in the gym. Your students are already buzzing about the holiday, so why not put that energy to work? Thanksgiving PE games, activities, and stations tie the season right into your physical education lessons. When movement feels connected to what kids are excited about, they show up ready to play, ready to learn, and ready to work hard without even noticing it.
Quick Answer: Thanksgiving PE games add a seasonal theme, like turkeys, pies, and the Mayflower, to fitness, tag, and skill activities students already enjoy. They're a fun way to keep kids active and engaged the week before the holiday while still working on real skills.
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Short on planning time this November? My PE Thanksgiving Activities & Games: Seasonal 6 Set Super Bundle includes movement stations, instant activities, a memory game, and fitness warm-ups, all ready to print and teach. See it on TPT →
Why Use Thanksgiving PE Games and Activities in Your Lessons?
There are plenty of good reasons to bring Thanksgiving-themed games into your PE lessons. Seasonal themes make your lessons timely and relevant, and that relevance pays off in engagement. When kids are engaged, they're far more likely to remember the skills they're practicing and to keep practicing them.
A festive theme also creates a positive, fun learning environment. As a physical education teacher, you can easily build fitness and motor skill development into your elementary PE lessons through a game or activity that ties into Thanksgiving. The kids think they're just having fun. You know they're learning.
Quality Thanksgiving PE games, stations, and activities also help students meet SHAPE America Standard 1: Develops a Variety of Motor Skills.*
How to Prepare Your Thanksgiving PE Activities
A little preparation goes a long way toward making your holiday lessons run smoothly and giving students a positive experience. Here are some tips for getting your Thanksgiving PE games and activities ready:
Keep it age-appropriate: Choose activities that fit the age and ability level of your students.
Gather your materials: Make sure you have all the props and equipment each game or activity needs.
Set up early: Have everything in place before class begins so the lesson flows from the start.
Connect to your goals: Pick games and activities that line up with your learning objectives and standards.
Video by Jon-Michael Shea @JonMichaelShea1
Give clear instructions: Explain each activity and demonstrate it (or have students demonstrate) so everyone knows exactly what to do.
Expect questions: Be ready to answer questions before and during play.
Plan your transitions: Know how you'll move from one activity to the next to keep downtime to a minimum.
Let students reset: Have your current class reset the equipment so the next class can start on time.
Thanksgiving-themed games and activities fit easily into just about any physical education program. Here are 7 detailed ideas you can use this November. They're fun, challenging, and festive, which makes them perfect for the holiday season.
7 Thanksgiving PE Games, Activities, and Stations
1. Pen the Turkeys
Overview
Students take turns guiding turkeys (balloons) across the gym using paddles, rackets, or hockey sticks.
Set-Up
Blow up balloons to use as turkeys
Lightly draw turkey faces on the balloons
Set up several relay lines using poly spot markers and cones. Keep lines short (3 or 4 students per line)
Place an equal number of balloons in a hula hoop at the start of each line
Put a long-handled implement in front of the poly spot at the start of each line
Directions and Rules
Students form small relay lines of 3 or 4.
On the signal, the first student takes a balloon and guides the turkey to the other side of the playing area using their implement.
They steer the turkey into a pen on the far side (another hula hoop, a coned-off area, a basket, or a large box).
The first student returns and hands the implement to the next teammate, who repeats the process.
Play continues until every turkey has been penned!
Groups can race other teams or time themselves and try to beat their best score.
Picture by Alyssa Wheeler @AWheelerPE
2. Mash the Potatoes
Overview
Students jump across a path of poly spots, bases, or tape marks on the floor that represent the potatoes.
Set-Up
Set up one or more courses where students can jump from one object to the next
Use poly spots, hula hoops, plastic rocks, or similar items as the potatoes
Place a start cone and an end cone at each mashed potato course
Have an object for students to carry through the course (a rubber chicken, rubber pig, beanbag, etc.)
Directions and Rules
Students form small lines at one end of each mashed potato course.
The first student grabs the carry object, then jumps and lands on each potato as they cross the course.
At the end, they turn and travel back through the course to the start.
If they fall off a potato, they walk back and hand the object to the next person in line.
Play continues for a set time, which makes this a great Thanksgiving station.
If you have more than one course, groups can race each other.
For an extra challenge, time individual students or the whole group.
3. Turkey Bowl
Overview
Students take turns rolling an indoor bowling ball or playground ball to knock down the turkeys (bowling pins).
Set-Up
Print a few turkey pictures
Laminate the turkey pictures
Tape a turkey onto each bowling pin
Set up several bowling areas (5 to 10 pins each) around your playing area, or use it as a station
Mark a rolling line and place a ball (playground or gator skin) at the line
Directions and Rules
Students form small lines at each bowling area.
The first student rolls the ball and tries to knock down the turkeys.
Another student resets the turkeys and returns the ball.
Each bowler gets 2 rolls to knock down all the turkey pins.
Groups work together to get as many rolls in as possible during the set time.
Groups can keep individual or team scores for pins knocked down.
From My PE Classes
Turkey Bowl was a Thanksgiving station all of my grades played. We put turkey faces on bowling pins, and students bowled to knock the turkeys down. My K-2 students loved it most. Every time they knocked down a pin, you'd hear a big "Gobble, gobble!" It was always a hit.
4. Turkey Trot to the Pumpkin Patch
Overview
Students take turns carrying a pumpkin (a medicine ball or basketball) across the gym to a hula hoop pumpkin patch, alternating between dropping it off and picking it up.
Set-Up
Set up several relay lines using poly spot markers. Keep lines short (3 or 4 students per line)
Place a large ball at the start of each line
Place a hula hoop (the pumpkin patch) across the playing area for each group
Directions and Rules
Students form small relay lines of 3 or 4.
The first student carries the pumpkin across to the hula hoop patch and sets it inside.
The ball has to stay in the hoop. If it rolls out, the student goes back and secures it.
The first student runs back and tags the next teammate's hand.
The second student runs across and picks the pumpkin up from the patch.
They carry it back and hand it to the next person in line.
Play continues until every teammate has had a turn, or for a set amount of time.
Groups can race other teams or time themselves and try to beat their best score.
5. Paper Plate Activate: Thanksgiving Version
Overview
Students move from one laminated plate to the next every 30 seconds, performing Thanksgiving-themed fitness movements. This one makes a great warm-up activity.
Set-Up
Laminate several plates with exercises (jumping jacks, push-ups, curl-ups, burpees, etc.) and Thanksgiving icons (turkeys, pumpkins, pilgrims, the Mayflower, etc.)
Scatter the plates face up around the playing area
Spread students out evenly among the Thanksgiving plates
Picture by Stacy Godwin PE @DoveCreekPE
Directions and Rules
Explain the activity to your students.
Turn on some upbeat music.
Set a timer for 30 seconds.
Students perform the exercise on their plate for 30 seconds.
When the music stops, students rotate to a new plate they haven't visited yet.
Continue the pattern for 4 to 6 minutes.
6. Cornhole
Overview
Students play modified games of cornhole using cornhole boards and beanbags.
Set-Up
Build or borrow some cornhole boards and set them up in your gym or outside
Place boards facing each other, or use one board per group, depending on how many you have
Cornhole makes a great station alongside other Thanksgiving activities
Directions and Rules
Go over the basic rules of cornhole.
Mix cornhole in with other activities around the gym so students rotate to it as a station.
Players toss a beanbag underhand toward the opposite board, alternating throws with the player next to them.
1 POINT for each bag that lands on the board.
3 POINTS for each bag tossed or knocked through the hole.
After all 8 bags have been thrown, tally the inning using cancellation scoring.
TOTAL = YOUR POINTS - OPPONENT'S POINTS
The game ends when a player or team reaches (or passes) 21 POINTS.
Modify as needed for the age group and number of students in your class.
7. Mayflower Ocean Cross
Overview
Students ride scooter boards across the "ocean" and through a maze of cones.
Set up one or more courses where students can take turns crossing the "ocean"
Use cones and poly spots to mark the water
Place a scooter board (or a pair of combined boards) at the starting line of each course
Mark an end area where students turn around and head back to the start
Directions and Rules
Students form small lines at each ocean course.
The first student rides a scooter board through the course, around the end cone, and back to the start.
If you have them, use poles or paddles as oars.
Play continues for a set time, which makes this a great Thanksgiving station.
If you have more than one course, groups can race each other.
For an extra challenge, time individual students or the whole group.
If it's safe for your group, students can push each other through the course.
Picture by lisa cutting @lisajean9
Thanksgiving PE Games: Frequently Asked Questions
What if I don't have bowling pins or scooter boards?
Plastic bottles or tall cones work as turkeys for Turkey Bowl. For the Mayflower Ocean Cross, students can travel through the course with a locomotor movement, like crab walking or skipping, instead of riding a scooter.
How can I include students who don't celebrate Thanksgiving?
Use a fall or harvest theme. The skills and the fun stay the same.
Final Thoughts
Thanksgiving PE games and activities are a great way to bring a holiday theme into your lessons while keeping students moving. They build excitement for the holiday, develop real skills, and keep kids active during a busy time of year.
These 7 ideas are just a starting point. After more than 30 years in the gym, I can tell you that a little creativity goes a long way. Mix and match these games, turn them into stations, and come up with your own twists to make your November lessons fun, challenging, and festive. Why not add a few to your PE lesson plans this year?
What are your favorite Thanksgiving PE games and activities? Share them in the comments below. And for more seasonal ideas, check out Halloween PE Games and Christmas PE Games. Thanks for reading!
*National Physical Education Standards are used under license from SHAPE America. © 2024, SHAPE America, https://www.shapeamerica.org/. All rights reserved.
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Looking for a fun fitness instant activity to get students moving the moment they walk through the door?
Fill in the form below to download the FREE Thanksgiving Edition PE Fitness BLAST: 6-Workout Set, with 6 workout visuals from Cap'n Pete's Thanksgiving Fitness Blasts pack. Just download, print, laminate, and use it for years! These 6 fun workouts work great in PE classes or for classroom teachers during transition times, and they're designed for a wide range of ages.
If you're looking for more PE Thanksgiving games and activities for large, medium, or small groups, check out Cap'n Pete's
This Super Bundle includes 6 active, engaging Thanksgiving movement and fitness activities for large or small groups that work in PE classes, classrooms, or camp settings. It combines 6 of Cap'n Pete's most popular fitness, game, and movement sets, all with a Thanksgiving theme. Together, they give you several weeks of holiday movement experiences you can print, laminate, and use in your November PE lessons for years.
You can find this bundle in my Teachers Pay Teachers store: PE Thanksgiving Activities & Games: Seasonal 6 Set Super Bundle
What Resources Are in the PE Thanksgiving 6-Set Super Bundle? 1. Thanksgiving PE Movement Stations: 20 "Gobbling Good" Activity Cards
About Pete Charrette
Pete Charrette is a National Board Certified physical education teacher and former Georgia PE Teacher of the Year with more than 30 years of experience teaching elementary PE. He is the creator of Cap'n Pete's Power PE and has developed more than 1,000 PE and health resources used by teachers around the world. Pete loves helping PE teachers build programs their students enjoy.
