Get ready
Put the fruit in the basket. Tie the string loosely around one bunch of grapes (or one fig). Line up the ten paper people on a table across the room, and keep the paper fruit shapes and markers handy.
Teach it: the basket
Hold up the basket.
"This is a harvest basket. A long time ago, before there were grocery stores, families grew almost everything they ate. What would happen if the figs didn't grow, or the grapes dried up?"
Let kids answer. (No snacks, no lunch, no money.)
"So when the first fruit of the year finally got ripe, it was a big deal. And God gave his people a special way to celebrate."
Read Deuteronomy 26:2 and 10:
"...you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that the LORD your God gives you. You shall put it in a basket... Now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, LORD, have given me."
Take the fruit out one piece at a time and name it. Point to the grapes with the string around them.
"The farmer didn't wait to see how much he would get. He gave God the very first fruit. It was his way of saying, 'All of this came from you.'"
Did you know?
A Jewish writing called the Mishnah, written down around AD 200, describes how this worked near the time of Jesus. A farmer walked into his field, and when he saw the first ripe fig, grape cluster or pomegranate, he tied a reed string around it and said, "Let these be firstfruits."
Later, whole villages traveled up to Jerusalem together. An ox walked in front with its horns covered in gold and a crown of olive leaves on its head, and a flute played the whole way. Rich families carried baskets covered in silver or gold. Poor families carried baskets woven from willow branches. Both kinds of basket were welcome.
At the Temple, everyone carried their own basket on their shoulder, even King Agrippa. Then they said the thank-you words from Deuteronomy 26 out loud.
The big turn: the one who came back
Point to the ten paper people.
"Here's another story about thank-you, from when Jesus was grown up."
Tell Luke 17:11-19 in your own words. Ten men had a skin disease called leprosy. They had to live away from everyone else, so they stood far off and shouted, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests, the people who could say they were well again. On the way, all ten were healed.
Walk all ten paper people across the table toward "the priests." Then stop and pull one back.
"One of them looked down and saw his skin was healed. He turned around, ran back shouting praise to God, and fell down at Jesus's feet to say thank you."
Read Luke 17:17-18:
"Weren't the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?"
"All ten got the same gift. Only one came back. The nine weren't bad people. They were just in a hurry and forgot. Being thankful means stopping and turning around to say it."
Talk about it
- Why do you think the farmer gave God the first fruit instead of the leftovers?
- All ten men were healed. What made the one who came back different?
- What is something good God has given you that's easy to forget to say thank you for?
- Who is one person you could "go back" and thank this week?
Pray together
Hand out the paper fruit shapes. Each child writes or draws one thing they're thankful for, then puts it in the basket. Hold up the full basket and pray:
"God, everything in this basket came from you. Thank you for (let kids call out what they wrote). Help us be like the one who came back, and remember to say thank you every day. Amen."
Take it further
- Preschool: Share the raisins or grapes. Before each child eats, they say one thing they're thankful for. Count the paper people together: ten went, one came back.
- Elementary: Make a class "firstfruits" basket that stays out until Thanksgiving. Add one new thank-you each week.
- Preteen: Read Deuteronomy 26:5-11. The farmer tells Israel's whole story (slavery, rescue, the land) before he gives his basket. Have each student write a short "my story" thank-you: three things God has brought them through.
Questions teachers ask
What is a good Thanksgiving object lesson for kids?
A harvest basket works well. In Deuteronomy 26, Israelite farmers carried the first fruit of their harvest to God in a basket and said thank you for everything he had given them. Kids fill their own basket with paper fruit, each one a thank-you, then hear about the one healed man who came back to thank Jesus.
What were firstfruits in the Bible?
Firstfruits were the first ripe crops of the year. God told Israel to bring some of them to the place of worship in a basket and give them to the priest (Deuteronomy 26:1-11). Giving the first and best part, before you know how big the harvest will be, said "this all comes from God."
What is the story of the ten lepers about?
In Luke 17:11-19, ten men with a skin disease called out to Jesus for mercy. He sent them to show themselves to the priests, and on the way all ten were healed. Only one, a Samaritan, turned back, praised God and thanked Jesus. Jesus asked, "Where are the nine?" It is a simple story about remembering to say thank you.
How do I teach thankfulness to preschoolers?
Keep it concrete. Let each child put one real or paper fruit in the basket while they say one thing they are thankful for, then pray a one-line thank-you together. Act out the ten lepers with paper people so they can count how many came back.
