This Mayflower craft is the cutest Thanksgiving craft for kids. Our Mayflower is a paper ship craft using a few common supplies like a paper plate, a straw and some construction paper. Kids of all ages can make their own Mayflower boat art. We love this Mayflower craft idea for preschoolers and Kindergartners – at home or in the classroom!

Easy Paper Plate Mayflower Craft for Kids

Let’s make a paper plate Thanksgiving Mayflower craft that looks just like the sailing ship the Pilgrims sailed in on their way to America. The Mayflower traveled across the Atlantic Ocean carrying with it 102 passengers who were pilgrims looking for new land.

Related: How to make a paper boat

Who knew a paper boat could be so cute? This makes a great Thanksgiving craft while teaching our children about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving.

This is an easy and fun Thanksgiving craft to make with the kids. They will love painting with paper towels and cotton balls instead of paintbrushes.

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Supplies needed to make a Thanksgiving Mayflower boat

• Paper plates x2
• Blue paint
• Brown paint
• Straws x2
• Paper towel
• Cotton balls
• Blue construction paper
• Glue
• Scissors or preschool training scissors

Instructions for Thanksgiving Mayflower Craft

Step 1

We started by cutting the bottom portion of a paper plate to look like a boat. Actually we really just trimmed each side of the plate a little to give it a ship-like look.

Then we used a paper towel to paint the paper plate boat brown. Paper towels with paint create a streaky look on the surface you are painting on. We were trying to give the bottom of the boat a wooden look.

Step 2

The remaining section of the paper plate was cut into three sails. We cut two smaller sails for the front section of the boat and a larger one for the back.

Step 3

We cut two small slits in each of the sails to pass a narrow straw through. The two front sails were placed on one straw and the larger sail was given a straw of its own.

Step 4

The sails were set aside and we started working on painting the water and waves on the blue construction paper. We dabbed blue paint onto cotton balls and then stamped it onto the construction paper. The blue dabs were supposed to represent the movement of the water.

Step 5

After all the paint had dried on the boat and the blue paper, we started to assemble the boat. The first thing we did was glue the boat onto the blue paper. Then we put glue onto the back of the sails. The sails were positioned so the ends of the straws would be hidden behind the plate.

Related boat crafts: origami boat and make a homemade boat

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• These free Thanksgiving printables are more than just coloring pages and worksheets!
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How did your Mayflower paper plate craft turn out? Was it seaworthy?