Pilgrims for Kids: Hands-on History Activities

April 16, 2025
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Make learning about pilgrims for kids fun and engaging with this hands on history for kids unit for preschool, pre k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and 4th grade students! The unit includes pilgrim printables, DIY costumes, how to make marbles, johnny cakes recipe, writing with quills, and so much more! Us this for a thanksgiving history lesson for kids, to learn about life in colonial America, or to learn about American history.
Make learning about pilgrims for kids fun and engaging with this hands on history for kids unit for preschool, pre k, kindergarten, first grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and 4th grade students! The unit includes pilgrim printables, DIY costumes, how to make marbles, johnny cakes recipe, writing with quills, and so much more! Us this for a thanksgiving history lesson for kids, to learn about life in colonial America, or to learn about American history. 


Pilgrims for Kids

We love making history come alive for kids so that they will learn more and retain more too. Our history units contain not only free printables and book recommendations, but lots of hands on history activities, games, costumes and more so your preschoolers, kindergartners, grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, and grade 4 students will feel like they lived through and experience that moment in the past. This Pilgrims for Kids unit is perfect for helping children learn about life in early America.

In our second week of learning about the colonial america for kids in our  history for kids  we are exploring the pilgrims. Sure we have all heard of the Pilgrims from Thanksgiving, but how much do you really know about them. In this week’s study you will make some costumes, write with a quill, make your own marbles, try johnny cakes, and can print more pages to your free printable life in colonial America book. Whether you are a family preparing some meaningful Thanksgiving activities, a teacher planning a fun Pilgrim week, or a homeschooling family creating an immersive pilgrim history lesson – you will loe these clever history activities for your students.

Plus don’t miss week 1 – Jamestown for kids.

Pilgrims History

The next Colonial settlement we read about  the Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 and settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

DIY Pilgrim Costume

Pilgrim Activities

We started by getting in costume and made stereotypical costumes (easy Pilgrim hat tutorial here)

Thanksgiving Activities - Squanto teaches the pilgrims how to plant corn for homeschoolers

Thanksgiving Activities

Squanto taught the Pilgrims to plant corn so we made a pictures showing his method by gluing a goldfish & 3 corn kernels topped with soil. I HIGHLY recommend Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas. It is a beautiful, informative, and faith written book. There is a LOT about Squanto that I did not know!

thanksgiving activities for kids using a quill and writing like early settlers the pilgrims

Thanksgiving Activities for Kids

We practiced writing like the Pilgrims did with a Quill feather. We made our authentic “ink” using dirt, water, and charcoal. It came out great and the kids thought it was hilarious!

Colonial Food -Johnny Cakes

Colonial Food -Johnny Cakes

We also talked about Colonial food. Cooking was hard work and dangerous as they cooked over an open fire. They grew their own vegetables, made their own bread, milked cows for milk, churned mil to get butter, and used corn a lot! To reinforce we had Johnny Cakes, traditional colonial dish with corn (see Great Colonial American Projects for recipe). We also had Pumpkin Pie to celebrate the 1st Thanksgiving.

thanksgiving activities for preschoolers - How to Make Marbles for Kids - Hands on Colonial America History Project

How to Make Marbles for Kids

We read Samuel Eaton Pilgrim Boy to see what a day looked like for a Pilgrim boy. Then we talked about what Colonial life would have been like for kids.  Goofy thought it was HILARIOUS that boys wore dresses until they were 7! Then we made our own marbles to play with like Colonial kids did.

Making your own marbles is actually really easy! Simply mix in a sauce pan 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1 cup baking soda, 5/8 cup water and continue stirring over medium heat until it forms a ball. Cool on wax paper. Add in food coloring if you want to make colored DIY Marbles. Shape your marbles and allow them to cool completely. You are ready to play some fun marble games just like the pilgrims would have played hundreds of years ago!

Colonial America Pilgrims Books to Read

Pilgrim Worksheets - FREE Life in Colonial America Printable Book

Pilgrim Printables

We added the pilgrim worksheets to our Life in Colonial America book we’ve been making to record what we’ve learned in our unit.  Each page includes a place for children to draw a picture or place a photograph of a pilgrim activity you did together. The pages included with these free pilgrim worksheets include:

  • Squanto being taken
  • Squanto helps the Pilgrims
  • Food in Colonial America
  • Clothes in Colonial America
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    Colonial America Worksheets #3

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    Beth Gorden is the creative multi-tasking creator of 123 Homeschool 4 Me. As a busy homeschooling mother of six, she strives to create hands-on learning activities and worksheets that kids will love to make learning FUN! With over 20 years educating children, she has created over 1 million pages of printables to help teach kids alphabet, math, science, English grammar, history, and so much more! Beth is also the creator of 2 additional sites with even more educational activities and FREE printables - www.kindergartenworksheetsandgames.com and www.preschoolplayandlearn.com. Beth studied at the University of Northwestern where she got a double major to make her effective at teaching children while making education FUN!

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