Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays–even as a child I held it right up there with Christmas.  I loved gathering around the dinner table with my family for a special dinner which was always preceded by a special prayer and offering of thanks to God for all of our blessings–both large and small.  Thanksgiving provides a great way to teach children many important lessons such as acceptance of others, gratitude, respect, and countless others.  As a child it was always addressed by my family (and my teachers) as a very special holiday.    I still remember creating a Mayflower boat craft in kindergarten and learning all about the wonderful way that the Pilgrims and Native Americans came together in a peaceful union eventhough the Pilgrims had previously thought there was a need to be guarded.  It speaks volumes about mankind doesn’t it?  To this day my mom still has that crafted Mayflower in my school scrapbook.  This year I will be helping to create more memories for both my own children and the children in my pre-k class with lots of special projects, games and crafts.  In the pre-k and at home we will be playing Thanksgiving Bingo,  (FYI:  you can get free printable online bingo cards for your class and your kids in many different holiday themes such as Christmas, Easter, and St. Patrick’s Day) creating the traditional handprint turkey (their parents will love seeing their little hands years from now!!) making our own versions of Pilgrim hats and Native American headdresses as well as our very own cornucopias.  We will also tackle this pine cone turkey I found on line:

Cute isn’t it?

     In the class room we will also be sharing many wonderful Thanksgiving themed books.  My favorite for the 3 year old class is called: ”Five Silly Turkeys” by Salina Yoon.  I will also discuss the history of Thanksgiving at the pre-k level and of course I will be discussing all of the wonderful sentiments behind Thanksgiving  as well.  What better time to highlight kindness and appreciation than Thanksgiving?  These are definitely strong and necessary lessons that all children need to be carefully taught.  Starting at age 3 is a great point. 

     I hope you are looking forward to your 2009 Thanksgiving and I hope you will share some of your Thanksgiving traditions with me too.  I will be sure to post some of my kids’ and my students’ Thanksgiving art work here for all to see!

Blessings today and always,

Cheryl