An Easy Thanksgiving Word Search for Kids and Beginners

Eight short Thanksgiving words, from four letters to six: the turkey and its gobble, the bread on the table, the plate, the feast itself, the leaf falling outside, the season of fall and the thanks that give the holiday its name.

The grid is 8 by 8, with no diagonals. Three words read backwards along a row and one climbs from the bottom up, so even an easy puzzle asks the eye to look in more than one direction.

Easy Thanksgiving Vocabulary: 8 Words to Find

Words run across, up and down; 4 of the 8 read backwards. The longest words are Gobble, Thanks and Turkey, with 6 letters each.

Bread: Food baked from flour, water and yeast, and the base of most stuffing.
Fall: The North American word for autumn, the season when leaves fall from the trees.
Feast: A large, special meal for many people.
Gobble: The call of a male turkey, and also to eat quickly and greedily.
Leaf: The flat green part of a plant. In fall, the leaves of many trees turn red, orange and yellow.
Plate: A flat dish to eat from.
Thanks: What we say to show we are grateful, the heart of Thanksgiving.
Turkey: A large bird native to North America, roasted as the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner. Wild turkeys can fly short distances.

How to Solve the Easy Thanksgiving Word Search

"Turkey", with the only Y, "thanks" and "feast" all read backwards, from right to left. "Gobble", with its double B, reads across, like "bread" and "plate". "Fall", with its double L, runs down, and "leaf" is the only word that runs from the bottom up.

Easy Thanksgiving Activities for Kids

Set the puzzle at each child's place at the table to keep them busy while the turkey rests.
After solving, ask kids to say one thing they are thankful for that starts with the first letter of each word.
Color the grid in fall colors: one color per word, from red to gold.