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Mayflower Crafts and Activities for Kids

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These Mayflower crafts and activities for kids are mostly boats. Paper plate boats, milk carton boats, coffee pod boats. Kids love a boat, and the Mayflower is the one boat everybody hears about in November.

Doing a full Thanksgiving unit? Pair this list with our pilgrim crafts and activities and you have the passengers and the ship covered.

Fun Mayflower Crafts and Activities for Kids

The list is split into ship crafts, science and snack ideas, and printables for reading and writing. Below that are a few Mayflower facts you can read out loud while the glue dries, plus the questions kids usually ask.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission when anything is bought. This is at no additional cost to you. 

Mayflower Ship Crafts

1
Paper plate Mayflower ship craft with straw masts and paper sails
kidsactivitiesblog.com
Paper Plate Mayflower Craft
A paper plate folded in half becomes the hull, straws hold up the sails, and cotton balls dipped in paint stamp the waves. It is the easiest ship on this list and works for a whole class at once.
See the Craft
2
Handprint Mayflower ship card with paper sails and blue waves
kidsactivitiesblog.com
Handprint Mayflower Ship
A brown painted handprint turns into the hull of the ship on a folded card. Little kids do the messy part and you add the sails. It makes a good Thanksgiving card for grandparents.
See the Craft
3
Mayflower ship made from a milk carton covered in craft sticks
stirthewonder.com
Milk Carton Mayflower
Cover an empty half-gallon milk carton in craft sticks and it looks like a wooden ship. Paper sails on straws finish it off. Older kids can handle most of the gluing on their own.
See the Craft
4
Small cardboard box painted brown as a Mayflower ship with paper sails
allkidsnetwork.com
Cardboard Box Mayflower
A small box from the pantry gets painted brown and topped with paper sails stuck in clay. It is a good one for the recycling bin you have been meaning to empty.
See the Craft
5
Mini Mayflower ships made from painted K-cups with toothpick sails
raisingwhasians.com
K-Cup Mayflower Craft
Used coffee pods get painted brown, filled with play dough, and topped with tiny paper sails. Make a whole fleet in one afternoon. Kids like how small they are.
See the Craft
6
Mayflower ship made from a coffee sleeve and egg carton
gogrowgo.com
Coffee Sleeve Mayflower
A cardboard coffee sleeve and a piece of egg carton make a little ship with card stock sails. Add names to the sails and they double as place cards for the Thanksgiving table. This one needs hot glue, so it is a grown-up step.
See the Craft
7
Mayflower centerpiece made from a cereal box and craft sticks
funfamilycrafts.com
Cereal Box Mayflower
An empty cereal box, some craft sticks and paint turn into a Mayflower big enough for a centerpiece. It is a weekend project rather than a ten-minute one, and older kids get the most out of it.
See the Craft
8
Painted printable Mayflower ship with cut-out waves
learncreatelove.com
Printable Paint-and-Glue Mayflower
Print the ship and the waves on card stock, let the kids paint them, then cut and glue. The template does the hard part, so even preschoolers end up with something that looks like a ship.
See the Craft
9
Paper model Mayflower ship centerpiece with burlap sails
funfamilycrafts.com
Paper Mayflower Centerpiece
A paper model ship with burlap sails that looks nice enough to leave on the table all week. This is the most involved craft here. Save it for older kids or a grown-up project.
See the Craft

Mayflower Books for Kids

The Story of the Mayflower book cover

The Story of the Mayflower

A board book for the littlest kids. Short, sturdy, and easy to read twice in a row.

The Story of the Pilgrims book cover

The Story of the Pilgrims

A picture book for ages 3 to 6 that covers the trip and the first Thanksgiving without getting long.

History Smashers: The Mayflower book cover

History Smashers: The Mayflower

For ages 8 and up. Clears up the myths kids picked up in kindergarten.

Mayflower Science, Snacks and Games

10
Mini Mayflower boats made from applesauce cups floating in water
fantasticfunandlearning.com
Mayflower Craft and Float Test
Kids build small boats from applesauce cups, then test whether they float and how the wind moves them. It sneaks a science lesson into the craft. Do it near the sink.
See the Activity
11
Mayflower ship snack made from a hot dog bun with cheese sails
kidscreativechaos.com
Edible Mayflower Snack
A hot dog bun becomes the hull and cheese slices on pretzel sticks become the sails. Kids build it, then eat it, which is the best kind of craft. Good for a Thanksgiving week lunch.
See the Snack
12
Homemade magnetic game moving the Mayflower across the ocean
funfamilycrafts.com
Magnetic Mayflower Game
Kids steer a little Mayflower across a cardboard ocean using a magnet underneath. It takes a bit of setup, but they will play it more than once. Good for a rainy day during Thanksgiving break.
See the Game
13
Dry erase Thanksgiving placemats with a Mayflower scene
funfamilycrafts.com
Dry Erase Mayflower Mat
Make a Mayflower placemat, cover it in contact paper, and hand over a dry erase marker. Kids can draw on it at every meal of Thanksgiving week. It wipes clean, so it keeps going.
See the Craft

Mayflower Printables and Learning

More Thanksgiving Printables From My Shop

MEGA Thanksgiving Preschool Pack printable

MEGA Thanksgiving Preschool Pack

100 pages. Covers every day of the break, and then some.

Thanksgiving Math for Preschool printable

Thanksgiving Math for Preschool

20 pages of counting and numbers. Turkeys optional.

Pretend Play Thanksgiving Dinner printable

Pretend Play Thanksgiving Dinner

Menus, name tags and play food. No dishes to wash.

14
Text reads find the letter M is for Mayflower against a backdrop of scattered letters. An illustration of a ship graces the bottom, perfect for adding a festive touch to Thanksgiving printables for kindergarten.
M is for Mayflower Worksheets
My own free letter M worksheets with a Mayflower theme. Use them for letter of the week or as a quiet table activity while you work on the bigger crafts.
Get the Worksheets
15
Poster map of the Pilgrims voyage with a small egg carton Mayflower
enchantedlearning.com
Pilgrims’ Voyage Map and Mini Mayflower
Kids draw the route from England to Cape Cod on a poster map, then sail a tiny egg carton Mayflower across it. It is a simple way to show how far the trip really was.
See the Activity
16
Free printable Mayflower coloring pages
survivingateacherssalary.com
Mayflower Coloring Pages
A teacher-made roundup of free Mayflower and Pilgrim coloring sheets. Print a stack and keep them for the kids’ table on Thanksgiving Day.
Get the Coloring Pages
17
Mayflower reading comprehension worksheet
k12reader.com
The Mayflower Reading Worksheet
A short free reading passage about the voyage with comprehension questions. It fits second and third graders who are ready for a little real history.
Get the Worksheet
18
Mayflower journal writing prompt printable
writeshop.com
Mayflower Journal Writing Prompt
Kids imagine they are on the Mayflower and write about what they would miss and what they hope for. It works for reluctant writers because the question does most of the work.
Get the Prompt
19
Step by step ship drawing tutorial for kids
artprojectsforkids.org
How to Draw a Ship
A step-by-step video lesson for drawing a sailing ship. Pair it with the reading worksheet and older kids get both art and history out of one afternoon.
Watch the Lesson

Mayflower Facts to Read While the Glue Dries

  • The Mayflower left England in September 1620 with about 102 passengers on board.
  • The trip across the Atlantic took about 66 days.
  • The ship was roughly 100 feet long, so picture all those people, plus the crew, packed into a space about as long as two and a half school buses.
  • It reached Cape Cod in November 1620, and the Pilgrims later settled at Plymouth.
  • The Mayflower was a cargo ship, not a passenger ship. Before this trip it mostly carried wine.

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

The Mayflower questions that come up once the boats are built.

About 66 days. The ship left England in September 1620 and reached Cape Cod in November. For little kids, that is a little over two months on a crowded boat with no bath.

About 102 passengers, plus a crew of roughly 30 sailors. Not all of the passengers were Pilgrims. Some were hired workers and families looking for a fresh start.

The paper plate Mayflower or the handprint ship. Both use supplies you already have, and preschoolers can do most of the work while you handle the sails.

Mayflower Crafts and Activities for Kids

More Thanksgiving Learning for Kids

Shop My Homeschool Room:

Here are a few homeschool room picks you can find on Amazon. Click any image to see it. Yes, these are affiliate links.

Black Home Sweet Homeschool wall sign
Home Sweet Homeschool Wall Sign
Bamboo rotating art supply caddy filled with colored pencils and markers
Rotating Bamboo Art Supply Caddy
The Homeschool Planner, an undated spiral planner with a gold spiral
The Homeschool Planner (Undated)
Black t-shirt reading Homeschool Mom, just add coffee, in leopard print lettering
Homeschool Mom Coffee T-Shirt

Want more learning without printing more pages?

If your little one is between 2 and 8, ABCmouse is a full online curriculum of learning games, books and puzzles, so the practice keeps going on the days you are out of ink. Take a look at ABCmouse

Prefer something that shows up in the mailbox? Highlights High Five is made for ages 3 to 5, and the classic Highlights magazine picks up from 6 to 12. See High Five | See Highlights

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