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November Games for Children

The third week in November is National Game and Puzzle week according to Northeast Kansas Library System. Two national holidays fall in November, Thanksgiving and Veterans Day. Daylight Savings Time jumps the clocks back an hour and the Catholic Church celebrates All Saints Day and All Souls Day immediately following Halloween. These holidays provide an appropriate backdrop and subject matter for some November children's games.

Thanksgiving Trivia
- Collect trivia questions about Thanksgiving traditions and the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621. Assign points to the questions based on difficulty. Write questions using different topic headings such as Thanksgiving foods, Mayflower facts and helpful Indians. Use a Jeopardy-type format for your game.
Name the Saint
- In honor of All Saints Day, provide game cards with questions about major Catholic saints. Include information about the miracles associated with the saints, details of their lives and their countries of origin. Provide verbal clues such as "the historical saint who is the foundation for the Santa Claus myth." Place the students in teams of three or four to increase the chances of successfully naming the correct saint.
Veterans Day Bingo
- Set up bingo cards using the names of various famous veterans to honor Veterans Day. Include family members who have served in the armed forces. Place strips with the veterans' names in a box and assign one person as your caller. The caller pulls the names and reads them aloud. Provide a small prize for the family member or student who fills his card first.
Word Games
- Use Thanksgiving, fall and names of Native American tribes to create word puzzles such as anagrams, crosswords, hangman and scrabble. Make sufficient numbers of copies for your children to each have three or four different options. Offer points or small prizes for the child who completes the most number of puzzles correctly.
Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt
- Prepare a list of items to make the Thanksgiving meal, decorate the table and take to a homeless shelter or donations drop off box. Divide the items into three or four lists with eight to 10 items on each list. Your lists might include a cornucopia, a can of corn, a turkey oven bag, a pair of pants no one can wear and a garland of fall leaves. Appoint a team captain and send your scavengers off to located the items.
  
  Use the collected items to prepare your Thanksgiving meal, decorate the house and donate to area charities or church groups.

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