Thanksgiving Pilgrim Coloring Pages
Welcome to my Pilgrim coloring pages section!
The Pilgrims sailed from England on the Mayflower in 1620, hoping to live and worship in their own way. They settled at Plymouth in what is now Massachusetts.
Jump to: Preschool | Finding Food | Cartoon | Animals | Classic | Teens and Adults
Preschool Pilgrims
Pilgrims Finding Food in a New Land - The First Thanksgiving
When the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts after two months at sea, winter was almost here and it was far too late to plant a single seed. They had a little food left from the ship and a whole lot of unfamiliar woods to explore.
That first winter at Plymouth was a hungry one, and the food from home was running low.
This pilgrim boy has found something round and very mysterious... a mushroom, a truffle!? Can we eat it?? Oh no... maybe it's sasquatch poop!!!
Is it dinner or a terrible mistake? Luckily for the pilgrims some helpful neighbours were nearby...
The Wampanoag had lived on this land for thousands of years, so they knew exactly what was safe to eat. They also reassured that the odd ball the boy had found wasn't poop (sasquatch or otherwise)... it was a puffball mushroom! The Wampanoag showed the newcomers which plants were safe to eat and how they should be prepared. Suddenly there was a lot of harvesting to do!
The Pilgrims were used to big, sweet, juicy apples from home, so the mouth puckering little crabapples they found here came as a bit of a shock! Johnny Appleseed (and others) came along years later and started planting European apples all over North America, but the first pilgrims had to make do with tart little crabapples.
The woods weren't empty, of course. England had no skunks, porcupines or raccoons, so the pilgrims kept running into surprises. A raccoon steals a crabapple, a skunk makes a very smelly first impression, and a porcupine turns out to be a prickly new friend.
Everyone in the forest wanted a share of the harvest. A black bear wonders if she can help herself to some of the crabapple harvest and a gang of squirrels stashes acorns faster than anyone can count.
Some of the animals had come along from home. Dogs sailed on the Mayflower, and cats came too to keep mice and rats out of the food supplies. That means a tug of war over a sock, a kitten hiding in a bonnet, and one very brave mouse who has just grabbed the biggest acorn in the forest.
What a lot to learn! No wonder the pilgrims started a trend of giving thanks for a good meal.
Sugar Loaf Hats and Bonnets
Sugar used to be sold as a hard cone called a sugar loaf, and the tall pointed hats pilgrims wore started to be called "sugar loaf hats" because they had the same shape.
Pilgrim Animals
Dogs really did make the trip, and at least two sailed on the Mayflower. The rest of the animals here are just fun to imagine!
Classic Pilgrim Coloring Pages
Detailed Pilgrim Coloring Pages for Teens and Adults
Fine lines, flowing hair and lots of small shapes make these comic style Pilgrim couples a good fit for teens and adults. Each couple carries a basket of the autumn harvest.
Plymouth was hard work. The Pilgrims had to grow food, build homes and get through a harsh winter in a new land. The Wampanoag people, whose home this was long before, shared skills like how to grow corn in the local soil, and those lessons helped the settlers survive.
These pages remember the courage and cooperation it took to start over far from home.