This is the perfect season to make this craft with the kids and let them spin in the wind! They’ll love to make these Thankful Wind Spinners, choosing to add different things they are thankful for, and making a fun spinner that is pretty to watch in the fall weather!
While we try to practice gratitude year-round, it’s always nice to give it some extra focus around Thanksgiving time. I love for my girls to record a list in some way of all the things they are thankful for. It’s so fun to look back at their lists from year to year.
Thankful Wind Spinners
We’ve done thankful trees and turkeys, so this year we made something totally different – thankful wind spinners! These simple paper spirals were the perfect canvas for our gratitude lists this year, plus they look so neat spinning in the wind out in our yard.
Make your own thankful wind spinner
Supplies:
- white craft paper
- colored pencils
- scissors
Instructions:
Start by tracing a circle onto sturdy paper, like card stock or watercolor paper. Then, starting in the center, draw a spiral to fill the circle. No need for perfection here – a freehand spiral will work just fine! Go ahead and cut out your circle, but don’t cut on your spiral lines yet.
Write a list of all the things you are thankful for inside the spiral. My girls chose to use markers in fall colors for their writing. Younger kids can dictate their thankful list to you. I love how my girls lists have a nice mix of things they are thankful for – from their family to nature to favorite foods and animals.
Once you have filled the spiral with words, flip it over and decorate the back. We used crayons to cover the back with stripes or random designs. You could also watercolor or paint the back.
Now it’s time to carefully cut along the spiral lines.
The last step is to add some yarn or string for hanging your spiral. Punch a small hole in the center of the spiral, thread your yarn through, and tie a knot on the back.
You’re ready to hang your wind spinner and watch your words of gratitude spin in the breeze! Happy crafting!
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*Originally posted 11/18/13
I’d love to print some of these ideas to use at a later time (so I dont forget!). It would be great if you had a printable, one page type version of the directions as a link in this post.
This is a great idea! What a fun reminder for kids to be thankful each day.