CIRCLE TIME:
Thanksgiving is a special holiday when we can all take time to be thankful for the people we love and what we have. The first Thanksgiving was when the Pilgrims first came to this country. In 1621, these people and some Native American Indians became friends and were thankful for their harvest. They decided to have a party and enjoy the great food they harvested. They served deer, corn, cranberries and other roasted meat. They also had pumpkins! The people played games, sang songs and danced. Now we Americans continue to celebrate and remember what we are thankful for. We eat Turkey, ham, cranberries, yams, and many other yummy treats. What kinds of things does your family do on Thanksgiving?
ACTIVITY * Cut out a large selection of magazine pictures depicting the kinds of things the kids could be thankful for. Place the pictures in the center of the table and give the kids a piece of paper and a glue stick. Allow the kids to pick a few of the things they are thankful for and glue their items to their paper. Once they have their Thankful Pictures done, discuss what they chose as a class.
ACTIVITY* Listen to a turkey gobbling! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uifiqanNoM
SCIENCE
Fall Feast Taste Testing & Charting
This should be fun! I chose things that could be easily purchased to make it easy. Print the chart HERE.
You Will Need:
Cranberry Sauce
Canned Yams
Gravy
Stuffing
Pumpkin Pie
Plastic forks & spoons
You could do this all at once or you could do 1 taste test per day. Allow the kids to taste test the foods. Make sure to check for allergies first! They should decide whether they liked the food or not. If they do, circle the smiley face on the chart. If they don't, circle the frowny face. Once the chart is complete, chart the whole classes' results to review as a class. Discuss the differences and similarities.
BIBLE
Thanksgiving Lesson
From Ministrytochildren.com
"Jesus and the Ten Lepers" http://ministry-to-children.com/preschool-thanksgiving-lesson/
Memory Verse: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1 (NIV)
MATH
Turkey Feather Math Mats
Print out the math mats HERE. The idea is to have the kids make turkey feathers for the turkeys out of playdough. Each turkey has a number on his tummy and that is the number of feathers the kids should put on him.
It is best to laminate these mats or you can put them inside sheet protectors.
Thanksgiving Symbol Patterning
Print out the worksheets HERE. There are a few rows of Thanksgiving symbols in differing patterns. At the end of each row of symbols there is a choice of 2 symbols that could be next. The kids should circle the symbol that they think should be next.
Math is really the science of patterns. Identifying patterns is a great first step in understanding math!
MOTOR SKILLS
Fine - Coloring
Coloring is a perfect fine motor skill activity. It promotes control and grip. Click on the link below and choose a Thanksgiving themed picture to color.
Gross - Turkey Run Game
Individual pictures of Thanksgiving feast items
Posterboard
Large space
Choose the items for the Thanksgiving feast. Print pictures of each individual item. Place 1 of each item on the poster board at the "finish line". This will be where the kids end the run and make sure they have collected all the components by matching their pictures to the ones on the poster board. Place 1 of each item on the wall in various places around the room. You will need a stack of the same picture placed below where the picture is hung for the kids to collect as they run around the room. The idea is for the kids to complete the Thanksgiving feast by locating and collecting all of the feast components and then be the first to the finish line where the full feast is waiting. (By the way, they should be gobbling and wobbling the whole time they are looking for the pictures!) They will then check that they have all components. The first one back with all the feast wins!
LETTER/READING
Letter U
The next letter for us to study is the letter U. U for Up, Umbrella, Umpire, and Under.
Print the worksheet HERE: http://www.kidzone.ws/prek_wrksht/learning-letters/u2.htm Talk about the letter and the sound it makes in the words on the sheet. Practice writing the U.
Reading Short U
Review the ug lesson on Starfall.com http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/load.htm?f
Review the short U sound on Readingbear.org http://www.readingbear.org/Presentation.aspx?PresentationID=6
*BONUS!
Read this Thanksgiving Rebus story with your class!
ART/CRAFT
Art - Thanksgiving Wreaths
Materials Needed:
Paper plates
Glue
Fall leaves, sticks, pine needles, etc (collect on a nature walk!)
Glitter, sequins, craft poms, etc
Cut the middles out of the paper plates to make a circle. Have the kids glue whatever items to the wreath that they think looks pretty. The result will be a room full of beautiful Thanksgiving wreaths!
Craft - Turkey Hand Print & Poem
Materials Needed:
Paper
Brown, orange, yellow tempura paints
Paint rollers or brushes
The Poem below...
Pre-print the below poem on the paper. You will want to make sure there is room for the kid's hand print so it does not cover up the poem. Paint each child's hand brown for the palm, then every other finger paint orange and yellow. Have the child firmly press their painted hand onto the paper. Make sure you guide their hand to the spot you planned! Once dry, Draw an eye, a beak, a waddle, and a pilgrim hat on the thumb or head! Draw little feet coming out the bottom. These turkeys are a super cute gift for their parents!
POEM - This isn't just a turkey, as you can plainly see.
I made it with my hand, which is a part of me.
It comes with lots of love, especially to say...
I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving Day!
BOOKS
Sure, Thanksgiving is about pilgrims and history--and turkey, of course!--but most importantly, it's a holiday all about everything that we are thankful for. Cheerful, colorful illustrations accompany the simple text in this celebration of family, friends, and the holiday that brings them all together.
The incomparable Dav Pilkey adapts Clement Moore's classic Christmas poem to tell his wacky Thanksgiving tale. The day before Thanksgiving, eight boys and girls take a field trip to a turkey farm. They have fun playing with eight exuberant turkeys but are shocked to learn that Farmer Mack Nuggett plans to kill all the turkeys for Thanksgiving dinners. So the children decide to smuggle all the turkeys home, and all their Thanksgiving dinners become vegetarian this year. The turkeys' lives are saved!
MUSIC
5 Little Turkeys
(from DLTK's site)
5 little turkeys standing at the door,
1 waddled off and then there were 4
4 little turkeys standing near a tree,
1 waddled off and then there were 3
3 little turkeys with nothing to do,
1 waddled off and then there were 2
2 little turkeys in the morning sun,
1 waddled off and then there was 1
1 little turkey better run away,
For soon it will be Thanksgiving Day!
COOKING
Sugar Cone Cornucopias
A cornucopia is a cone-shaped basket that is usually shown stuffed full of bountiful harvest foods. They are a symbol of Thanksgiving and the harvest.
Ingredients:
Sugar cones
Mini pretzels
Circle shaped cereal
Dried fruits
Seeds or peanuts
Baby Goldfish crackers
Each item in our cornucopia represents something important. The Sugar Cone represents the cornucopia. The pretzels symbolize arms folded in thanks and praying. The circle cereal symbolizes the circle of unity. The dried fruits represent the fruits available at the first Thanksgiving. The seeds represent planting the new crops. The Goldfish symbolize the fish that the first Thanksgiving participants ate.
Place each item in a large bowl and mix. Scoop a portion out and fill each sugar cone. You can place them into a plastic bag and attach a note that explains what each item represents.
I have made some you can print HERE!
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