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Contact_FullName: Cheryl Contact_Email: PaXiller@aol.com date:: 11/04/01 Area: Thanksgiving Idea: I go to the local feed store and buy a 50-pound bag of corn feed to put in our water/sand table for our 2 & 3 year olds. They love the different texture and smell of the corn.
11-18-00My class does a Thanksgiving booklet entitled "I am Thankful for All These Things" The children are the illustrators of the book. First page- My Family, children glue a picture of their family and sponge print a heart near it. Second page- My Home, children connect the dots I have made of a triangle and square to make a house, then they color it in. third page-My Senses, children glue features on a face( wiggly eyes, cotton ball, yarn, macaroni) Fourth page- My Trees and Flowers, children glue a tree trunk out of construction paper to page and glue tissue paper for the leaves and then draw flower stem and either tissue paper the petals or draw them. (pom poms can be used also) Fifth page-My Food, children cut their favorite foods out of magazines and glue that to the page. Sixth page- My Friends, children cut out a traced paper chain of two children holding hands and glue that to page. (make it simple, just head hands and legs) not only does this booklet reinforce basic motor skills but teaches children about things they are thankful for. Also you can tie this into a theme about Authors and Illustrators. I know my children were really excited to be called illustrators after this activity.
11-10-00This summer we planted a few mini pumpkin plants in our garden. The kids were fascinated watching them grow daily, and they are very hardy and easy to grow. We used them for a variety of things for 3 different themes: Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. We've painted them, did stamping, played games, counted sorted by size the possibilities have been endless!
11-7-00This year we are doing something new for Thanksgiving. During the week of Thanksgiving we will be having a friendly feast. It will take place during lunch hour since parents these days have such a hard time finding time I realized they all had an hour at lunch! invitations will be sent out and each parent will join us for a lunch( probably chicken ) and each child will bring something from home to contribute. During the lunch the children will be performing some fall songs and a Thanksgiving poem.
11-7-00We built an Indian Tee Pee in our dramatic play area this year for exploration of how the Indians who feasted with the Pilgrims actually lived. Using 5 seven foot poles (an inch and 1/2 around) held together at the top with thin rope and duct tape, we wrapped the shell in old white blankets. The structure is sturdy, with about 23 square feet inside. (Next year we'll use 8 feet poles for an even larger Teepee. Then the fun really began. I filled baskets with Indian Corn, gourds and feathers and placed them inside and around the tent. I made a little pumpkin patch with mini pumpkins off to one side. With blocks, we made a campfire area and filled it with rolled newspapers painted orange, red and yellow. We painted the outside of the Teepee together. Activities that we enjoy with this theme; making Indian jewelry with fall colored pasta, making Indian clothes with tea stained T-shirts that the kids get to paint, playing with clay and shaping quick dry play dough into bowls and platters, filling the sensory table with ears of corn to touch and handle while we learn about how important corn was to the Indians. They get to clean it and we cook it for lunch! Of course we make headbands, painting with with Indian corn, mini pumpkins and feathers. We pop popcorn and glue it to paper corn cobs of various colors. The blank spots make it look more like Indian corn. We pop Indian corn in the microwave-place in brown paper bag, and include a small bowl of water to keep the bag moist. It really pops! We did Indian face painting, planted popcorn seeds with fish fertilizer to honor Squanto, and made acorn totem poles. The list goes on and on. And the kids have no shortage of ideas for their own child directed play. This is a big, big hit!
11-7-00I wanted to do something to celebrate Thanksgiving but I realized that all the cute craft projects did not follow the High/Scope approach so I decided to let my kids create a Tee-Pee. First we taped two long sections of brown bulletin board paper together. Then we put this down on the floor in the art area. We supplied the children with patterned paint rollers, brushes, sponges and tempera paint. I had previously read a Thanksgiving story to them and we had discussed the pilgrims and the Indians etc. Once the children were through painting their Indian mural we set it aside to dry. The next day I set up the frame that my husband created for me out of pvc pipe and we wrapped the painted paper around it. We then cut a whole for the door and moved it over to the block area. The children are having a blast pretending to be Indians. We have also added some pottery type dishes and some Indian costumes.
11-4-00Turkey bulletin board. Make a large turkey body out of brown wrapping paper with facial features. Send home a cardboard, cut-out feather with each child with a note explaining to decorate it as a family. Everyone will love the creative and unique effect of all the homemade feathers. Arrange the feathers behind the turkey body as they arrive. Some have cereal, candy corn, glitter, tissue paper, markers, etc.
11-4-00Centerpieces: you will need a basket for each child along with a (foam squares used for flower arrangements), silk leaves or real leaves, small pine cones, acorns, and a candle to place in the middle. Have the kids put the foam in the center of the basket, place the candle in middle of the foam, stick the leaves, pine cones, and acorns in the foam and around the foam to fill in the basket. Once done you have a beautiful centerpiece for your Thanksgiving dinner. When the kids are finished they have the biggest smiles and since of accomplishment and the parents have a keep sake.
11-4-00For a Thanksgiving Placemat, we use appropriate size paper so we can print both hands and have ample space. Let the children paint the background with pine branches, usually green paint and then when it dries or the next day, let them make handprints of your choice paint color for your theme. Between the handprints, or centered on the bottom I glue on this poem," Sometimes you get discouraged, Because I am so small, And always leave my fingerprints, On furniture and walls. But everyday I'm growing up, And soon I'll be so tall, That all those little handprints, Will be so hard to recall. So here's a special handprint, Just so that you can say, This is how my fingers looked when I placed them here today." Thanksgiving 2000.
11-4-00During the month of November my preschoolers learn about foods, as well as Thanksgiving. We cook many different kinds of foods, but most important we learn to set a table. To help learn this, we glue an actual setting (paper plate, plastic utensils, napkins) on paper and then paste foods on our plate that have been torn from a magazine.
11-4-00Turkeys are not easy to come by for touching, but feathers at the sensory table shouldn't be too hard to conjure up.
11-4-00When the holiday is over, what do you do with all of those window clings? Laminate a closed file folder then gently slit it open and cut it into two sheets. Hole punch the edge and insert it into your theme notebook. The clings stick to the laminated side but not to any other sides. Keeps it all together for next year!
10-23-00For a bulletin board, I have a turkey head, body and legs. I give each child a pattern of a feather to decorate and I let them cut it out. These are 3 year olds who are learning to cut. The feathers look so cute with all the snips and cut off pieces. I put all the feathers around the body.
10-7-00"Making Gravy"- In the water play tub, add plastic ladles, turkey basters, plastic gravy boats, measuring cups, etc. You could also color the water brown with the children. Let the fun begin as they stir, mix and pour the "gravy".
10-7-00I saw this once - another teacher had done it, I've copied it every since! Gather old ties, in various sizes and colors, staple them in a fan shape in the middle of your board, layering them to look like tail feathers, the more the better. Last, staple a turkey body with head on to the ties. It's pretty impressive when you finish up the board with other fall decorations, pumpkins, etc.
10-7-00I draw a large turkey on white sheet paper, thus we have a colorless turkey, during circle time the children receive a feather, colors are called out and children glue on their feathers for a bright colored turkey. Children love this activity and are learning colors.
10-3-00Hand and Feet Turkey Trace child's 2 feet on brown paper. Cut out and glue at heel so the feet fan at toes. Trace green, yellow, red, blue and orange hand prints for the feathers. Cut out 3 orange prints and one of the others. Glue one orange hand on either side of turkey for wings. Fan the other five hands and glue them behind brown feet (turkey's body) Add eyes, nose, feet and waddle. Write the date on the back of the turkey to see how much the child has grown next Thanksgiving.
ideaI have long given up on the big Thanksgiving classroom feast. Instead, we have a sharing feast where each child brings a small amount of food to share. This year, the most fun came with the "pretend" feast. We decided early on that the children would be the Native Americans and the teachers would be the pilgrims. Once the Native Americans were dressed in their costumes, they role played. I hung our big parachute from the ceiling and shaped it into a teepee (duct tape at the bottom was a big help). We gave them plastic food on the floor (grown in the fields); a boat and fishing poles; round laundry baskets turned upside down with red, yellow, and orange pompoms underneath - for the grill and fire; pots, pans, and utensils; and most importantly, a bowl of corn meal. They cooked up a feast, made a mess and had a ball! 11-30-99ideaI got this idea from Mailbox. It is a bulletin board idea. Use a turkey body and face and make his feather out of your children's feet and hands. Two hand and one foot for each feather. Paint each hand in paint and put on brown paper ( like brown grocery bags ) and do the same with one foot. arrange each "feather" around the turkey body. Date: 11-23-99ideaIn celebration of November and Thanksgiving we filled our sensory table with several types of Dried Beans, split peas, Squirrel food, and all kinds of funnels and measuring items. The Squirrel food comes with dried corn actually on the cob, and the kids love picking it off and adding it to the table. When the cobs are empty we use them for corn cob painting. This is a great activity, and the table is clear so it looks quite nice in the classroom! Date: 11-18-99ideaMake A Thankfulness Bag. Get a brown paper lunch bag. On the front, make a picture of a turkey holding a sign that says "Made by:" with a spot for the child's name. On the inside are 2 pieces of paper. One says: Thank you for your loving care And the kindness that you share, For helping me to learn and grow, And showing me all that you know. That's why I just want to say, "THANK YOU" in the biggest way! On the second sheet is: Thankfulness Bag Ingredients 1. A rubber band - to keep our hearts tied together always 2. A candy kiss - to say thank you for all your love. 3. A penny - to say thank you for sharing my thoughts and letting me know they are important to you. 4. A warm fuzzy (small piece of furry fabric) - to make you feel good when you are sad, like you always do for me. 5. An adhesive bandage - to say thank you for all the times you make my hurts feel better. 6. A facial tissue - to say thank you for all the times you dry my tears. 7. A piece of Lifesavers candy - a circle to show that my love for you will never end. Have all these items on hand for the children to put in their thankfulness bags Date: 11-17-99ideaDuring Thanksgiving I put a cornucopia on my bulletin board and I bring in the theme about the Fruits of the Spirit. ( Found in Galatians) At the end of the cornucopia I have fruits that I copied on different color paper or have the children color them and then write on each fruit what they are thankful for. On the cornucopia itself, I write the Fruits of the Spirit. Its a great way for kids to remember what they are thankful for. Date: 11-17-99ideaA Turkey out of a Clay Pot Take a 3 inch clay pot. Sponge paint it with brown acrylic paint. Then take yellow foam and make a beak and red foam to make a wattle and feet. Glue wiggle eyes on the rim of the pot. Then glue the beak, wattle, & feet. Then take craft foam and stick it in the pot with some raffia or moss. The take Dum Dum or Tootsie Roll suckers and those are the feathers. Have fun!! Date: 11-17-99ideaI teach Pre-K and they enjoy learning about Native Americans. I buy (Dollar Store 3 for $5.oo)Men's t-shirts. I cut the arms and around the bottom to look like fringe, then I tea stain them and dry them in the dryer to set it in. We then decorate them with handprint turkeys and Native American symbols. Each child comes up with their own Indian name which is written on the back in permanent marker to easily tell whose is whose. It is a great idea and Grandma loves it when they wear them to Thanksgiving dinner. Date: 11-17-99ideaMake a Holiday Recipe Book with your class. Ask the children to give you step by step instructions on how to prepare their favorite meals for the holidays. Copy them on cute clip are recipe cards and display or reproduce for their families to enjoy. Date: 11-13-99ideaFRIENDSHIP TURKEYS - Cut out of wood a semi circle. Cut out of fun foam a turkey head, gobbler, beak, and eyes. (Wiggle eyes can be used also.) Paint the semi circle brown for the turkey body. Give each student in your class wooden ice cream spoons (The number of students in your class will determine how many spoons you will hand out). Have each student choose a color and paint all of his or her spoons that color. When they are dry, write with a permanent black marker that child's name. When all the students have completed their spoons, have each one hand out one of their spoons to all of the other children in your class. Glue the spoons on the back of the brown semi circle to complete the colorful FRIENDSHIP turkey. The children will have a very special memory to keep forever. PLEASE NOTE: on a limited budget, this can also be done with construction paper. ENJOY....... Date: 11-13-99ideaPumpkin Pie! Cut a paper plate in fourths. Give each child a piece of the pie and have them paint or color the wide edge brown and the rest of it orange. dab a little paste in the middle and sprinkle with real nutmeg. Glue a fluffed up cotton ball in the center for the whipped cream! Wolahh! Pumpkin Pie! Date: 11-7-99idea 11-2-99Cut a paper cornucopia out of brown construction paper. have the children glue it onto a piece of large, colorful construction paper. then cut out pix of food from magazines and glue them onto the opening of the cornucopia. ideaThanksgiving Centerpieces: Purchase small pumpkins (or apples will work). Using a large, blunt nail, help children hammer holes all around the top half of the pumpkin. Then allow children to select from a wide variety of silk flowers and greenery (in fall colors) that you have bought. Insert the plants into the nail holes. These make a beautiful centerpiece that lasts a long time. 10-19-99ideaIn preparation for our Thanksgiving Feast we talk about different foods we might eat like pumpkin pie. We then paint a large triangle with orange tempera paint and sprinkle on pumpkin pie spices like cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, etc. and glue on a cotton ball for whip cream. ideaFor Thanksgiving we make a big turkey for the bulletin board. I then give each student a large feather shape, cut out of paper, then they either paint it or decorate it with collage items. Afterwards I ask them what are they thankful for and write it on their feather. The BB heading is "The Thankful Turkey". Date: 9-12-99Date: 12-5-98(found in mailbox magazine years ago) make a large round circle then use your (teachers) foot to make the turkey head and neck. glue or staple to large circle Have children trace there feet at least 4 times on different colored construction paper and cut out. This will be the turkeys feathers Curl the feathers out using a pencil (heal toward the body) Makes a very colorful thanksgiving bb Date: 11-19-98Enlarge a picture of a Turkey to hang on the wall. Send home a different colored feather with each child for them to decorate as they wish. Have the child bring back the feather and place them on the Turkey! Some ideas to give to the parents to use for their feathers: a family or child's photo, sequins, glitter, magazine cut outs, feathers, crayons, markers or paints, bows, etc. Date: 11-7-98We do a Friendship Soup at Thanksgiving time as we talk about how the Pilgrims and Indians worked together to celebrate their first year together. Each family in our class sign up for one thing to put in the soup (ie. potatoes, carrots, beans, barley). In the morning during group time, we put all of the ingredients in the crock pot and cook the soup while the children play and at snack time we eat the Friendship Soup that everyone helped make. We have also made it a school project by getting all of the classes involved: Toddlers make butter, one class makes bread to put the butter on and another class makes the soup. Then we sit down together to eat our meal. You can easily turn it into a family event and invite the parents at noon and have the tables decorated with the children's art work. Date: 11-7-98We talk about CORN and what a big part of life corn was for the early Pilgrims and how the Indians taught the Pilgrims all about corn. At the Science Table we display LOTS of different kinds of corn. We even let the kids taste if they want to. Here are some suggestions: corn chips (yellow, blue & red) popcorn (popped and unpopped) canned corn frozen corn corn on the cob creamed corn corn meal corn nuts candy corn (pretend corn) corn flakes Indian corn (decorative kind) corn muffins Date: 11-7-98Cut out a turkey body. Cut out a feather shape for each child large enough to write a message on. Let the child write what they are thankful for on the feather and then attach the feathers to the back of the turkey. This makes a very nice bulletin board decoration. When Thanksgiving is over the children can take the feathers home. Date: 10-29-98Native American Village--You start with a soda or beer shallow box the ones they use for stacking in the store) Have the children paint with blue-water, green-grass and brown-dirt. You can also add sand at this time for texture. Next day add TPs made from snow cone cups or similar cone shape cup. Children use Q-tips and paint with various colors-cut door, add toothpicks on top and a couple of feathers. Next day, use drying clay etc. to make canoes. They start by making a ball and pinch the ends and mold. Next day, totem poles-these I make from old Lincoln logs or you can use spools hot glued to whatever height. Paint faces etc. again with Q-tips and add a couple of feathers. Next day, Native Americans made from those rounded clothespins or whatever you have that would work. The children make face and decorated with felt, (capes, headband feathers etc. Next day, you give each child a little bag to either take home or do at school and hunt for little rocks, twigs etc. to complete your village. Teacher then gets to help....After they set up all their village items, hot glue everything onto the box except the doll and canoe. Takes a while to do but the children love them. Date: 10-25-98Have children bring a photo of each member of their family. Child can glue the photos on orange, yellow or brown construction paper. Also, add turkey stickers, or other Thanksgiving-related stickers. Then cover the paper with Contact paper and the child has their own Thanksgiving Placement. 10-21-98 Name: Rhonda 10-6-98 Name: Patsy Paper Plates and Food cut out from magazines Let children glue food onto paper plates. Any food items from magazines are appropriate because not everyone has turkey! 9-14-98 Name: Kelly E-Mail: kmlh1809@bellatlantic.net While working on my E.C.E. degree, the four year old class and I worked on this wonderful Thanksgiving turkey centerpiece for our Thanksgiving feast. You will need brown paint, paper plates, various colors of construction paper, and empty paper towel tubes. Paint the paper plates brown. While they are drying, cut 6 feathers from the different color pieces of construction paper. Cut out the turkeys head from brown paper and the "waddle" from red paper. Once the turkeys body has dried, glue the feathers onto the inside of one of the plates. Glue or staple the paper plates together. Take and cut about a 2 inch piece of the paper towel tube to make a holder. ( You can either paint this brown, or paste brown paper around it. ) Take and cut a slit down 2 sides of the tube about 1/2 inch long. Insert the bottom of the turkey into the slits. These made great centerpieces for the kids to take home with them for their Thanksgiving table. 8-26-98 Name: lindy E-Mail: btuttle@slip.net Thanksgiving is a holiday in which many stereotypes of Native Americans are unconsciously perpetuated...There are times throughout the year in which Native Americans can be talked about, and the contributions can be emphasized. A book called GIVING THANKS written by native authors is wonderful. Thanks.Lindy 8-18-98 Name: Kathleen E-Mail: Stephanie@rsg.org Give each child a lunch bag (brown), paper plate, green construction paper, hole puncher, orange construction paper, pre cut turkey legs and brown yarn. Have the children stuff their brown paper lunch bag with crumpled newspaper. Tie with yarn. Hole punch green construction paper for peas, tear or cut orange construction paper for carrots. Glue turkey legs on side of brown paper bag. Glue bag, peas and carrots on paper plate. 4-10-98 Name: jen E-Mail: davidjr@valunet.com One event that we hold each year is a Thanksgiving day feast. The children make invitations to take home to their family to attend the feast. The children also make homemade noodles for the chicken noodle soup that we serve the parents. We offer the feast around noon so that a lot of parents are on their lunch break at work and can attend the feast. The children make place settings for the parents and help serve the food. It brings everyone together and is really an enjoyable event. It has become a tradition at our center and everyone always looks forward to the feast. The First Thanksgiving Tack a long sheet of butcher paper to the wall. Tell the children the children the story of the first Thanksgiving. Let the children tell you what they are thankful for. As each child shares why they are write it on the paper. Tack the list on your classroom door for everyone to read. Nut Game Have different types of nuts (in shells) in a pile in front of you. Ask several children come to the pile and find all of the nuts that look the same. Sort them into pie pans. Once all of the nuts are sorted, have the children carry the pie pans to the water table for further sorting fun! Thanksgiving Foods: Before and After Find pictures in magazines of foods before and after they are prepared. For example: fresh cranberries and cranberry sauce, raw carrots and cooked carrots, raw potatoes and mashed potatoes, raw yams and candied yams. Glue each picture to a piece of felt. Show the children all of the pictures. Place one of the 'before' foods up on your flannel board. Have someone find that food 'after' if has been prepared. Have the child place it up on the flannel board Continue matching the before and after foods. Pin the Feather on the Turkey Draw a picture of a featherless turkey on a large piece of poster board. Attach the picture to a wall. Put loops of masking tape (sticky sides out) on the backs of real or paper feathers and place the feathers on a table close to the turkey picture. Have the children take turns choosing a feather from the table and then closing their eyes while they try to "pin" the feather on the turkey. Turkey Feather Game Cut five turkey body shapes and fifteen feather shapes out of felt. Number the turkey body shapes from 1 to 5 and put them on a flannel board. Place the feather shapes in a pile. To play the game, have the children take turns selecting a turkey identifying the number on it and adding that many feathers to it.
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