SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Even though Thanksgiving is a few weeks away reflections of what you are thankful for can begin with you and your child right now. 

Why not begin this week before Thanksgiving and have your child sit down with you and record some things they are thankful for. 

Keep a written journal day by day. Friends, home, family and sharing are just a few of the thank-you’s I have heard come from young mouths. 

Include your little one in getting ready for this day of gratitude by letting them do the following. 

Parents can teach many lessons of thankfulness to their young child during the Thanksgiving season. This can start way before Thanksgiving as your child looks forward to this special day. 

You may be a two-parent family, a single-parent family, or a grandparent, but take advantage of those teachable moments as Thanksgiving approaches. 

This can be done in three ways by:

•Looking at the history of Thanksgiving through easy young child appropriate crafts,

•Looking at Thanksgiving in the present,

•Showing how thankful you are for your child. 

Many very simple crafts adopted from the preschool/primary classroom can be used with your child at home. 

In teaching them about the Pilgrims coming over on the Mayflower a favorite craft that young children like to make is from walnut shells, clay or Play-Doh, toothpicks, construction paper and scissors. 

Half a walnut shell forms the hull of the ship. Place a small ball of clay in the bottom of the boat, and use this to anchor a toothpick mast. Sails are cut from construction paper, and simply thread into the toothpick mast. 

As you are making this craft with your child, ask them how they would feel traveling in a small boat for many months. 

Ask them to pretend they are a child of the Mayflower as they move their little Walnut boats. Creative skills are encouraged here. 

Use simple brown paper bags you have at home for Indian vests or even Pilgrim coats. 

They love to decorate their brown bag outfits with crayons and markers.  With food coloring, dry macaroni and a piece of non-cutting string or yarn you can make colorful Indian necklaces. 

Simply dye the dry macaroni in the food coloring and let it dry. 

Small motor skills are used as the child laces the macaroni on the string. Counting and patterning lessons are taught here also. Headbands and hats can be made from these good old brown bags too. 

Set up a very simple Thanksgiving feast of the first Thanksgiving by inviting over a few of their young friends, brothers, sisters, mom and dad to role play how the Indians and Pilgrims shared on that first Thanksgiving Day.

In looking at Thanksgiving in the present for your young child don't forget to look right outside your front door for pine cones. Pine cones turkeys are a huge favorite for young children. 

You have to guide them not to stick their little fingers but this is such an easy craft for young hands. 

You simply need a pine cone, construction paper, scissors, glue, pipestem cleaners or just broken twigs. 

The pine cone forms the base for the turkey. Use the rim of a cup to trace circles of different sizes for the tail. Then trace your child's pointing finger by the thumb for the head. 

The two twigs or pipe cleaners can be wedged into the pine cone petals for the legs.  You have a decorative center piece for your Thanksgiving table from the hands of your young child. 

You can trace your child's hand with the thumb being the head and the pointing finger, index finger, ring finger and pinkie being the tail. This makes your child feel very special when you trace his/her hand. 

Simple cornucopias can be made by rolling and taping a piece of construction paper in a cone shape making the back small then making the opening a large circle. 

Shape recognition and small motor coordination with the fingers is emphasized in this craft.  Let your child pick out fresh fruits to put in the cornucopias. 

In showing your child how thankful you are for them, include them in safe chores in meal preparation. Children love to stir and mix so think ahead in including them. 

This is a good time to teach them measurement skills. 

If traveling over Thanksgiving entertain them by asking them to orally list things as you write down the things they are thankful for. 

Young little minds come up with so many things. Share this thankful list at a special family time. In the future they will be thankful for the time you took and the memories you made for them. 

Beth Pinyerd serves as the director of young children at Faith Family Fellowship in Spanish Fort.