Thanksgiving Poems for Church: 7 Short Poems + a THANKS Acrostic

Seven short, original Thanksgiving poems for church kids to recite at your Thanksgiving service or class, plus a THANKS acrostic for six children holding big letters. Every poem thanks God for His gifts, and each is marked with the age it fits: two lines for the littlest, six for older kids. Finish with everyone saying Psalm 107:1 together.

The poems

1. Welcome (ages 3–4) Welcome, friends! We're glad you came. We give thanks in Jesus' name!

2. Thank You, God (ages 3–4) Thank You, God, for every day, For food and friends and time to play!

3. The One Who Came Back (ages 5–8, Luke 17:15–16) Jesus healed ten sick men that day, But nine of them just went away. One turned back and praised God loud, And at the feet of Jesus bowed.

4. Enter His Gates (ages 5–8, Psalm 100:4–5) We enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with a song of praise, For the LORD is good, and His mercy Is everlasting, all our days.

5. Five Loaves (ages 5–8, John 6:9–13) Five barley loaves and two small fishes: Not very much, you'd say. But Jesus gave thanks and fed them all, With twelve baskets left that day!

6. Every Good Gift (ages 8–11, James 1:17) My home, my food, my family, The friends who pray with me: Each good and perfect gift I see Comes down from God above. So I will thank Him every day For all His gifts of love.

7. In Every Thing (ages 8–11, 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Acts 16:25) When skies are blue, I'll give Him thanks, And when it storms, I'll pray. "In every thing give thanks," God says, So I will, every day! Like Paul and Silas, I can sing And praise Him anyway!

THANKS: an acrostic poem for six children

Each child holds one big letter and says one line:

• Thank the LORD, for He is good! (Psalm 107:1)
• His mercy lasts forever. (Psalm 107:1)
• All good gifts come from above. (James 1:17)
• Never forget His benefits. (Psalm 103:2)
• Kneel and pray, like Daniel did. (Daniel 6:10)
• Sing to Jesus every day! (Psalm 100:2)

Then everyone says Psalm 107:1 together: "O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."

Tips

• Send poems home two weeks early so families can practice at the table.
• Pair a shy child with a buddy who says the poem with them.
• Paper plate letters for the acrostic are easy to hold up and easy to read from the back row.
• Poem 3 tells the story of the ten lepers, whose memory verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:18, and poem 5 is the feeding of the 5,000. Act the ten lepers out with our ten lepers Thanksgiving skit, and find more on our Thanksgiving page.