Thanksgiving Prayer for Children

Teach kids this prayer of Thanksgiving and gratitude toward God. It includes simple hand & body movements to make it easy to memorize. The free download below includes the printable version of the prayer, the directions, and a bonus Thanksgiving coloring page.

🆕 Turn this prayer into a whole Thanksgiving lesson — free

The free sample from our new Bible Bake Off curriculum is a complete Week 1 Thanksgiving lesson with a repeat-after-me prayer built in — plus the opening game, object lesson, scripted Bible story, discussion questions, craft, and word search, all in one print-ready PDF:

👉 Download the FREE Thanksgiving Sunday School lesson
See the full 5-week series (Bible Bake Off) →

Children’s Prayer of Thanksgiving (Video Demonstration)

---

Teaching a child to engage God in prayer should be a top priority for children’s ministry leaders. This is a great time to teach about being thankful, when so many families and ministries are focusing on thankfulness. Teach children a thankful prayer, one that they can use all year long and watch their relationship with God grow. By combining simple phrases with hand and body movements kids will want to pray a thankful prayer every day. First, here is a thankful prayer. I have kept it short so that it will be easy for children and teachers to remember.

---

Thankful Prayer to Teach Children

Father, Father up above

Thank you, thank you for your love

Thank you, for my parents and my teachers too

I can see and I know these came from you

Father, Father up above

Thank you, thank you for your love

Thank you for my meals and my warm bed too

I can see and I know these came from you

Father, Father up above

Thank you, thank you for your love

Thank you, for my friends old and new

I can see and I know these came from you

Thank you Father

For your gifts to me

Amen

---

---

Now comes the fun part! Ask children to stand and repeat the hand movements that you make. Here are my suggestions for hand and body movements but feel free to mix it up and make up some of your own.

• Father: give yourself a hug
• Up above: raise your hands above your head
• Thank you: clap your hands
• For your love: rub your heart with the palm of your right hand
• I can see: point to your eyes with your pointer fingers
• And I know: point to your head with your pointer fingers
• My meals: on rub your tummy with the palms of your hands
• My warm bed: fold your hands like you are sleeping
• My friends: point to the other children
• Old and new: close your hands into this for old and open them for new
• For your gifts: cup your palms together like you’re holding a present
• To me: point to yourself with your palms
• Amen: bow your head and fold your hands

Teaching children to be thankful for what they have will help them grow into appreciative adults, aware of all of the blessings that God has given them.

---

• Craft: How to Make a Prayer Cube for Kids
• Lord’s Prayer Hand Motions (for Memorization Help)
• Mother’s Day Prayer Ideas
• What Can a 2-Year Old Teach You About Prayer?
• 4 Things Moms (and Dads) Should Teach Kids About Prayer