Free Thanksgiving Bingo Game Printable for Kids
Inside: Download a free Thanksgiving bingo game printable with 3 unique bingo cards, 32 picture calling cards, and easy instructions. It’s a fun Thanksgiving activity for homeschool families, small groups, and kids who enjoy picture-matching games.
I like having a few simple activities ready for the days leading up to Thanksgiving, especially when our regular homeschool routine becomes a little more relaxed.
This Thanksgiving bingo game printable is one of those activities that requires very little preparation. Children can play a classic game of bingo while recognizing Thanksgiving pictures and learning seasonal vocabulary.
I created the game with 32 different illustrations related to Thanksgiving, autumn, harvest foods, and family traditions. Some will be familiar to younger children, while others provide opportunities to introduce new words.
The free download includes three different bingo boards, making it particularly useful for siblings and small homeschool groups.
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Free Printable Thanksgiving Bingo Cards
The free printable Thanksgiving bingo cards include everything you need for a game with three players.
Each board has a 5×5 grid with 24 Thanksgiving pictures and a FREE SPACE in the middle. The three boards contain different arrangements and combinations of illustrations, so children won’t always be covering the same pictures.
The free printable includes:
- 3 unique Thanksgiving bingo boards
- 32 illustrated picture calling cards
- A FREE SPACE in the center of each board
- Easy-to-follow game instructions
Each board contains 24 Thanksgiving pictures and a center FREE SPACE. The boards use different combinations and arrangements from the collection of 32 illustrations.
You can print the boards on regular paper or cardstock. If you’d like to reuse them for future Thanksgiving celebrations, laminate the cards or place them in reusable sleeves.
You can find more seasonal games and activities in my Free Homeschool Printables Library.
How to Play Thanksgiving Bingo with Kids
Thanksgiving bingo follows the same basic rules as traditional bingo, but players match pictures instead of numbers.
- Give each player one of the printable bingo cards.
- Cut out the 32 calling cards, shuffle them, and place them face down.
- Give everyone a few bingo markers, such as buttons, pom-poms, dried beans, or small paper squares.
- Choose a bingo caller to draw and announce the pictures.
- Players cover a matching picture if it appears on their boards.
- The first player to cover five squares in a straight line—horizontal, vertical, or diagonal—calls BINGO!
The center FREE SPACE counts as already covered.
For young kids, I recommend showing each picture calling card as you announce it. This helps them match the illustration to the correct space.
Older children can take turns as the caller or describe the object before showing the card. My full printable includes riddle cards for more vocabulary practice and a fun twist to bingo.
Turn Thanksgiving Bingo into a Vocabulary Guessing Game
One of my favorite ways to make bingo more interesting for older children is to replace the usual calling words with short clues. Instead of showing the picture immediately, describe the object and give children time to identify it. The questions don’t need to be difficult. The idea is simply to encourage children to listen to a description, think about the information, and connect it with something they recognize.
You can also ask older children to create their own clues.
Have them choose a calling card without showing it to the other players. They can describe its shape, appearance, purpose, or connection to Thanksgiving without saying the actual word. That gives them practice using descriptive language and selecting details that help someone else identify an object.
For the complete Thanksgiving Bingo Pack, I’ve created 32 Thanksgiving Guessing Cards, with a ready-to-read clue for each illustration. You can still use the regular picture calling cards when you want a quick game. The guessing cards simply provide another way to use the same boards for listening comprehension and vocabulary review.
Thanksgiving Bingo for Homeschool Families with Different Ages
One of the things I appreciate about games like bingo is that children don’t all need to be at the same reading level to participate. If you’re homeschooling three children of different ages, you can use the three free boards for one family activity and adjust the expectations for each child.
Your youngest child can concentrate on recognizing the pictures. You call out an object, show the matching illustration, and let them find it.
A child who is beginning to read can practice saying or spelling some of the Thanksgiving words as the cards are drawn.
An older child can become the caller, read the vocabulary, or provide descriptions instead of showing the pictures.
Everyone is still participating in the same game, but each child has a slightly different task. I find this particularly useful for seasonal activities because it means you don’t have to prepare separate worksheets or games for every grade level.
The full version also includes picture-and-word boards and word-only boards, which provide more options for children who are working on reading. But even with the free picture boards, you can make the activity suitable for several ages simply by changing how the calling cards are used.
What Children Can Learn from Thanksgiving Bingo
I wouldn’t describe bingo as a complete Thanksgiving lesson. It’s a game, and part of its appeal is that children can enjoy it without much preparation. But that doesn’t mean it has no educational value.
Depending on how you play, children can practice several skills.
- Picture recognition and visual discrimination: Children search their boards for specific illustrations and distinguish between pictures that may have similar shapes or colors.
- Vocabulary development: They hear and use words related to Thanksgiving foods, harvest objects, autumn, and seasonal traditions.
- Listening comprehension: When you use descriptions instead of showing the calling cards, children have to pay attention to the clues before choosing an answer.
- Reading practice: Older children can read vocabulary labels, use the word-only boards, or become the caller.
- Descriptive language: Making up their own clues encourages children to think about what an object looks like and what makes it different from other objects.
- Following instructions and taking turns: Children practice waiting for the next card, checking their boards, and following the same rules as the rest of the group.
- Not every round needs to focus on all of these skills. Sometimes I would simply let children enjoy the game.
Other times, especially if we’re already discussing autumn or Thanksgiving traditions, I’d spend a little more time talking about the vocabulary.
Ways to Use Thanksgiving Bingo in Your Homeschool
This is an easy game to include in your November homeschool plans, but it works just as well during a Thanksgiving celebration.
You could use it for:
- A Thanksgiving morning basket or vocabulary activity
- Family game nights and holiday gatherings
- Homeschool co-op activities
- Thanksgiving classroom parties
- A quiet activity while preparing for Thanksgiving dinner
You can also extend the learning by talking about autumn harvests, seasonal foods, and family traditions.
For more autumn science activities, my Deciduous Trees for Kids printable explains why leaves change color and includes an opportunity to explore the natural world during fall.
Need Thanksgiving Bingo Cards for a Larger Group?
The free Thanksgiving bingo game is designed for three players using different boards.
If you’re organizing a classroom party, homeschool co-op, or larger Thanksgiving gathering, you may need more unique cards.
The complete Thanksgiving Bingo Pack includes:
- 30 unique bingo card arrangements
- 5 printable board styles
- Color and black-and-white options
- Picture-only, picture-and-word, and word-only boards
- 32 picture calling cards
- 32 Thanksgiving guessing cards
The guessing cards include short vocabulary riddles that children can solve before marking their boards.
You only need to print one board style for your group, and each of the 30 players can use a different card.
The full pack also includes all 32 picture calling cards and 32 Thanksgiving Guessing Cards, giving you two different ways to play.
More Free Autumn Activities
Thanksgiving is also a good opportunity to talk about gratitude with children. If you’d like an activity that encourages them to think about the people and things they appreciate, try my Free Gratitude Tree Printable Leaves. Children can write or draw what they’re thankful for and add their leaves to a family gratitude tree.
For more autumn learning, I’ve also created a Free Fall Animals Bingo Printable, which introduces animal science vocabulary such as migration, hibernation, foraging, and food storage.
You can also explore pumpkins, seasonal changes, and beginning reading with the related activities below
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Final Thoughts
Thanksgiving bingo is a simple way to include a seasonal game in your homeschool routine or family celebration. You can use the pictures for younger children, add vocabulary clues for older kids, or simply enjoy a few rounds together.
I hope your family enjoys the free Thanksgiving bingo cards!
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