Thanksgiving is a great time for families to get together and give thanks for the good things they have…but, let’s be honest: children might get a little bored. Between their parents buying ingredients at the store and trying to cook, the long trip to grandma and grandpa’s house, the older relatives talking ceaselessly about the old days, and the constant drone of football on the TV, there might not be a lot to entertain them during the holiday. Bored kids can get rambunctious, and no parent wants their kids to get up to trouble while they’re stuffing the turkey.
Well, tell your parent patrons they needn’t worry about bored kids—your public library can help! If your library subscribes to the Just for Kids Streaming Collection, your young patrons have access to thousands of videos, audio titles, and interactive games and puzzles. Just for Kids is a thoroughly kid-safe, advertisement-free media platform that will keep children entertained and even educate them for a few hours while their aunts argue over who has the best green bean casserole recipe. Here are just a few Thanksgiving-themed programs your kids are sure to enjoy and learn from!
12 Just for Kids Thanksgiving Videos (with Even More Content on the Platform!):
Thanksgiving, 2nd Ed.: Holiday Facts and Fun (#74723)
Children learn interesting facts about how harvest festivals are celebrated in various places around the world, along with a description of the Pilgrims’ first year in the New World and a historically accurate reenactment of the harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621.
All About Thanksgiving (#204764)
In this program, kids learn all about the origins of Thanksgiving and how, as young people, it is a time to celebrate with family and food and to reflect on all of what we have for which to be thankful.
Squanto and the First Thanksgiving: Holiday Classics (#82599)
Discover the moving, true story of the Native American named Squanto, who is captured from his beloved Pawtuxet tribe, taken to Spain, and sold into slavery. Years later, Squanto regains his freedom and embarks on a miraculous journey back to his homeland where he teaches the Pilgrims how to survive the difficult early years in the Plymouth colony—culminating in the first Thanksgiving celebration. A touching drama about trust, faith, and renewal
The Thank-You Pie (#169002)
In this cartoon from Highlights for Children, Danny and his family enjoy a “thank-you” pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and share reasons they feel thankful.
Thank You Song (#206709)
In this episode of the Bookaboo series, Tony, Janaye, Victor, Gary, Cottonball, and Mr Orlando sing about all the things they are thankful for.
Fall (#194452)
In this episode of the Nico Can Dance series, Miss Frost and Nico learn fun new dance movies like dancing like Fall!
The Pilgrims of Plimoth (#83480)
The arrival of the Pilgrims in the New World is chronicled in this dramatic reenactment of their daily activities during those first trying years in the colony they called Plimoth. Marcia Sewall’s stunning paintings embellish the adaptation.
Mariana Gives Thanks (#168941)
In this cartoon from Highlights for Children, Mariana gives thanks for the various things in her life.
Stone Soup (#184215)
This traditional story retold with three Chinese monks as the tricksters searching for the meaning of happiness. They soon discover that the more you give, the more you get and that happiness can be found in the most simple of endeavors.
A Good Day for Sharing (#168790)
A rabbit shares the fruit of her shopping trip with her friends, who then return the favor by sharing with her some of what they made from those ingredients. In the end, they all return to the rabbit’s house for a Thanksgiving potluck supper.
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message (#83478)
Known as the Thanksgiving Address, this Native American good morning message is based on the belief that the natural world is a precious and rare gift—from the moon and the stars to the tiniest blade of grass. Narrated by Chief Jake Swamp in English and in the Mohawk language.
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message: Reading Rainbow (#66444)
In this episode of Reading Rainbow featuring the same book as the video above, LeVar Burton introduces the Beaton Family of Maine, who grow and harvest cranberries. Viewers see cranberry plants, the inside of the berries, and how flooding the bogs help the harvest. LeVar then visits Pueblo, Arizona, and introduces viewers to the Naranjo family. This grandmother, mother, and daughter explain the process and traditions of creating beautiful pottery, from mixing the clay to decorating the final piece. Finally, LeVar visits with kids in New York City as they talk about why they are planting a tree in their neighborhood. Viewers watch and listen as they dig the hole, plant and water the tree, and add flowers around it.
What Else Can You Find in Just for Kids?
Just for Kids has the educational videos children want to watch—Sesame Street, The Electric Company, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, The Berenstain Bears, Franklin, and thousands more—plus songs, games, and other interactives that are sure to entertain, educate, and inspire young patrons.
In addition to being great for entertaining children during an otherwise dull family get-together, the collection is ideal for librarians hosting a video storytelling hour, activities for preschoolers and early learners, an after-school or ESL/ELL program, homework help for students, or resources for homeschoolers that they can access anywhere, anytime.
See also:
- Video: Just for Kids: Storytime Anytime
- Webinar: Build Strong E-Content Foundations at the Public Library
- Webinar: Public Library Programs for the Homeschool Community
- Do your adult patrons need an escape from Thanksgiving, too? Access Video On Demand streaming video for public libraries gives your patrons access to a wide variety of giggle-worthy comedies, uplifting dramas, and cozy romances, all on a mobile-friendly platform that allows patrons to stream them anytime, anywhere. Learn more here.
