Free printable games are a go-to during the holiday season. Here is a Thanksgiving I Spy free printable that is a fun Thanksgiving activity to do with kids of all ages! Print off a couple copies of this fun activity and enjoy either at home or in the classroom in anticipation of Thanksgiving day.
Thanksgiving I Spy Free Printable
I Spy free printables are some of the most popular posts here on the blog.
We have so much fun making them and couldn’t be happier that our readers enjoy these fun games as much as we do.
With the holiday season nearly upon us we created this fun Thanksgiving I Spy free printable that you can download for free and use at home or at school for a little Thanksgiving fun.
I Spy games are a great way to challenge little minds to organize, sort and calculate the correct number of Thanksgiving items they can find in the play box.
Continue reading to get more information about our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable including more information about this easy activity and fun ways to make this classic game even more entertaining for young kids.
In a rush? Score your free copy of our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable by skipping to the bottom of this post and using the download buttons to get your free files.
When To Use A Free Printable Thanksgiving I Spy
I Spy games are so versatile which is one of the main reasons we enjoy them so much. They’re the perfect game for so many different social situations.
This makes I Spy games our go-to free printable game when we need fun activities to entertain our own kids.
From personal use at home during Thanksgiving dinner or for educational purposes like lesson plans and even class parties, I Spy games are the perfect way to challenge kids in a fun and entertaining way.
Here are some of our favorite ways to use an I Spy Thanksgiving activity sheet:
A Classroom Party– an I Spy game is a good idea for a classroom party. It’s an easy way to let the kids have fun without the classroom getting too chaotic.
Road Trips – one of our favorite time fillers when we’re headed out on a road trip. If you’re travelling for Thanksgiving taking a copy of our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable is a great idea.
Doctor’s Office – if you’ve got an appointment and know you and your children will need to wait then print off a couple of copies to pass the time. It’s a great way to make the wait pass quickly.
Kids’ Table – our Thanksgiving I Spy is a great activity for the kids’ table during Thanksgiving dinner. It’s a great game to keep little kids occupied if they finish eating quickly.
Occupational Therapy – these fun printables are great at building confidence while working on fine motor skills.
Preparing Dinner – when you are busy cooking up a storm for Thanksgiving, our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable is a fun festive way to keep kids busy.
Thanksgiving break – use our fun Thanksgiving printables as a quiet activity for older and younger kids during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Benefits of I Spy Printables
Not only is our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable loads of fun for both young children and older kids but they have the added bonus of having educational value during home or classroom use.
An I Spy game works on important educational skills like math, vocabulary and fine motor.
Plus, they promote some screen free time which is so so important.
Top Benefits of I Spy Games:
☑️ Fine motor skills – coloring, circling, drawing Xs and making tally marks over the themed items in the I Spy play box helps strengthen fine motor skills. Little eye and hands have to work together to correctly count the hidden pictures in the grid.
☑️ Great boredom buster – kids get bored all the time. I Spy activities are great screen free boredom busters that require some hands on attention. They’re a low fuss last minute option that you can put together in minutes.
☑️ Math skills – I Spy activities are a simple way to work on number recognition, grouping, sorting and counting.
☑️ Visual discrimination skills – by organizing, grouping and classifying different Thanksgiving items by shape, position and texture kids are working on their visual discrimination.
☑️ Vocabulary – this I Spy thanksgiving free printable worksheet introduces younger children to a brand new set of vocabulary words. It’s the perfect opportunity to learn new and interesting themed words while having fun. They’ll learn a variety of different words that are commonly associated with Thanksgiving.
How to Play I Spy
The goal of our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable is to correctly count the number of themed items in the play box.
Children need to use their visual tracking skills to count how many of each Thanksgiving object they can find.
You can think of our Thanksgiving I Spy printable as a paper scavenger hunt where kids use their pretend magnifying glass to find and count all the Thanksgiving items in the game box.
Our Thanksgiving I Spy printable is loaded with Thanksgiving items that the kids need to group and count as they play.
They can choose to color, circle, highlight, tally or make an X on each item as they make their way through the game box.
To make the I Spy game more challenging, older children can choose to keep track without marking up the sheet. That’s completely up to them.
Once they’ve counted the total for each of the different items they should write the total in the small circle next to the item in the legend.
Our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable has the following Thanksgiving items:
- Pilgrim hat
- Ear of corn
- Turkey
- Pumpkin pie
- Turkey dinner
- Acorn
- Pumpkin
- Thankful
- Apple
- Cornucopia
- Slice of pie
- Leaf
- Mayflower
- Gobble til you wobble
- Pumpkin spice drink
What You Need To Play I Spy
The beauty of using our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable is how easy it is. It requires very few supplies to prepare to play I Spy.
We suggest the following:
☑️ Home printer – we love this printer. It’s a budget friendly option that doesn’t cost a fortune in ink.
☑️ High quality card stock– we suggest high quality thick cardstock to make each I Spy printable and answer sheet more resistant and durable. But if you don’t have any, standard paper you find in a 10 ream case of paper will do just fine.
☑️ Clip board – if you’re taking our I Spy games on a road trip or to an appointment a clip board is a great idea since it provides a stable surface for coloring and writing.
☑️ Writing tools – pencils, crayons, dot markers, dry-erase marker, washable markers work well.
☑️ Binder – a great way to keep your I Spy games organized or create a themed bust binder.
☑️ Laminator – if you want to reuse your I Spy printable next year then you can consider laminating it. We love this budget friendly laminator from Amazon.
☑️ Dry erase markers – if you go the laminating route then you can have kids use dry erase markers to complete their I Spy game. We suggest these budget friendly dry erase packets of markers to save some money.
In a rush? Skip to the bottom of the page to get your free files.
Creative Uses For I Spy Games
Our free Thanksgiving I Spy Free printable can be used in a variety of different ways.
Besides typical home and classroom use here are some other creative uses for our I Spy activities.
Holiday busy bags – if you like creating busy bags then tucking our Thanksgiving I Spy into a Thanksgiving busy bag or binder is a great idea.
Family game nights – we love using our Thanksgiving I Spy printable for a family game night during the Thanksgiving holiday break.
Restaurants – a great solution for kids who have a hard time sitting through dinner at a restaurant. Print off a couple of copies and keep them tucked in your purse for nights when you’re out for dinner and need to keep the kids calm.
Early finishers – our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable is a wonderful option for teachers who want to keep their early finishers busy while their classmates complete their work.
Lesson plans – include our Thanksgiving I Spy in a Thanksgiving themed lesson at school. A fun way to wrap up a unit on Thanksgiving.
More Thanksgiving Activities For Kids
Thanksgiving count & color – with a hard version and easy version this colored version and I Spy inspired activity is perfect for especially young children.
Thanksgiving color by number – a classic color by number in a cute turkey design.
Thanksgiving word scrambles – a set of 3 fun Thanksgiving word scrambles perfect for Thanksgiving, a busy binder or anytime in the month of November.
Thanksgiving crafts – some great craft ideas for kids who love being creative. These Thanksgiving crafts are a great way to get kids excited for Thanksgiving.
Painted Pumpkins – gorgeous painted pumpkin tutorials perfect for kids who love to decorate pumpkins.
Even More I Spy Printables:
Halloween – a spooky Halloween I Spy activity perfect for classroom Halloween parties or some spooky fun at home.
Christmas – get the kids excited about the arrival of Santa with this fun holiday I Spy activity.
Valentine’s Day – perfect for celebrating the most romantic day of the year!
I Spy 4th of July – a cute patriotic I Spy activity in honor of Independence day.
Fall – celebrate the beauty of fall and the changing leaves with this adorable fall I Spy printable.
Earth Day – highlight the importance of protecting the planet!
Download & print Instructions
Our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable was created on standard US letter sized paper (8.5 x 11) in black and white.
To download our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable simply click on the download link found down below.
Each pdf file contains a Thanksgiving I Spy free printable in addition to an answer sheet with solutions.
Once you’ve downloaded the file it will open in a new browser window where you can print.
Please note that our Thanksgiving I Spy Free Printable was created for non commercial classroom or personal use only. In addition, it is prohibited to alter, modify or reproduce it in any way. Please see our complete terms of use for details.
More Free Thanksgiving Printables:
📁 Thanksgiving word search – a neat Thanksgiving word game for kids who love completing word puzzles.
📁 Thanksgiving bingo – coming soon
📁 Thanksgiving word scramble – a fun little word puzzle perfect for keeping the kids busy while you prep Thanksgiving dinner.
📁 Closed for Thanksgiving signs – perfect for letting your customers and clients know you are closed for the national holiday.
📁 Thanksgiving potluck sign up sheets – hosting a potluck? Then you’re going to want to use these potlluck sign up templates to keep everything organized.
📁Thanksgiving count and color – with harder versions for older kids and easier ones for kids who need extra time these fun printable games are always a hit during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Final Thoughts
We hope you plan to use our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable this year!
Whether you plan to use it at home or you’re a teacher with plans to bring it to your students we would love to hear about it.
Let us see our Thanksgiving I Spy free printable in action by reaching out to us on social media (Facebook and out Facebook group is probably your best bet!) or by dropping us a comment down below.
Don’t forget to leave us a valid email address so we can get in touch with you.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Download Links
Thanksgiving I Spy Free printable – digital pdf file + answer key
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