Thanksgiving
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Classroom Gratitude Journal
The easiest way to help children understand gratitude is to talk about it over and over again. I’ve created a really cute freebie that will help your students put practice their thankfulness, while recording what happens each day. These pages can be used to create a classroom gratitude journal. Each day ask your students what they are thankful for, or grateful for. In the beginning you’ll likely get the same answers again and again – “I’m thankful that we got to play outside” and “I’m thankful for snack time.” You may need to set an example by telling the class what you are thankful for each day, but with practice…
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Teaching Thankfulness
Thanksgiving is a two-part holiday – first, you’ve got the historical references, and then there are the social emotional lessons. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to help children practice being thankful, and for very young preschoolers, this may be the first time they’ve ever considered the fact they they are lucky to have certain people and things in their lives. There are a number of ways to help children focus on what they are thankful for this holiday season, here are a few ideas; Host a food drive. This doesn’t have to be just for Thanksgiving, make it last until your winter break. Families need help all winter long! Some…
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Friday Freebie – Thanksgiving Roll and Graph
Happy Friday! For me, November means Thanksgiving. I spend the entire month planning and re-planning what I’m going to take to our Thanksgiving celebrations. I search endlessly for new recipes, and inevitably end up making the same old favorites. Today’s freebie fights right in with my monthly theme of food! This cute roll and graph from Ashley Hughes is all about Thanksgiving dinner. I can see kiddos loving this game, and learning so much as they begin to recognize the vocabulary and practice recording their data on the graph. This would be a great activity for large groups or smalls groups, so go download it and add it to those…
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A cranberry recipe preschoolers will love
Cranberries may not be the first Thanksgiving food that your preschoolers want to try, but this easy recipe just might change their mind – and they can help make it! These cranberry tarts are made with three simple ingredients;1 package of sugar cookie doughchocolate chipswhole cranberries The only prep work that you will have to do is to cut your whole cranberries in half. Then the children can help you press spoonfuls of cookie dough into each hole in your muffin tin (you will probably need a couple of muffin tins to use all of your cookie dough). Mix the chocolate chips and cranberries together in a bowl and the…
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Thanksgiving Activities for Preschool
Thanksgiving is the beginning of the holiday season craziness, you’ve got fun activities, parties, and family events at school and then throw in all of the stuff that also happens to be going on in your personal lives and sometimes it can be just a bit much. I have a list of simple Thanksgiving activities that children love and that will save your sanity (this is a repost from last year because these activities are still just as wonderful as they were last year)! I Spy Thanksgiving My kiddos love I Spy books, I think they are great for improving concentration and visual discrimination. These beginning reader versions also include simple…
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Cranberry Sauce Texture Exploration
I don’t think I actually know anyone who enjoys cranberry sauce. It always shows up at Thanksgiving, but personally I would rather have cranberries in my baked goods, or even dried cranberries in my salad. I think it’s a texture thing, whether your family does cranberry sauce from a can or homemade, both versions have physical characteristics that are all their own, this is precisely what makes cranberry sauce the perfect subject for a texture comparison. Whenever I use food in the classroom it is strictly for exploration, the children are always welcome to taste it if they want, but it isn’t required. Any sensory exploration is different depending on…
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Preschool Cranberry Exploration
Cranberries are amazing little fruits that can provide hours of exploration for preschoolers simply because they float. These seasonally popular berries are perfect for exploring concepts like buoyancy in an authentic way. This sink or float experiment is also the perfect way to introduce a week of cranberry-inspired activities because it is sure to pique the kiddos’ interest and keep them engaged. I like to introduce the cranberries during circle time or large group time, this gives me the opportunity to start a discussion and begin a list of what the children already know about cranberries. Some students may be familiar with cranberry juice, or dried cranberries, but for…
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Friday Freebie – Thanksgiving Graphing
Happy Friday! Every day is bringing us that much closer to Thanksgiving, and I don’t know about you but this is the time of year that my busy personal life begins to collide with my busy school schedule and everything feels just a bit overwhelming. So, I’m hoping that these Friday Freebies this month will really help you finish up those lesson plans and take a little off your plate! Today’s freebie is a set of Thanksgiving Surveys that you can use to help your students practice sharing their opinions, writing and recognizing their names, and creating graphs. These simple graphs can be extended over a number of days. Enjoy…
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Spice Air Freshener Craft
This activity is a great way to explore spices and a cute keepsake for families to use throughout the holiday season (plus, it’s REALLY easy to make). You’ll need canning jar lids (not the rings, just the lids), some ribbon, white glue, and spices (Invest in a bulk jar, any pie-related scent will work – cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin or apple pie spice), paintbrushes, and something to catch the spices as the children sprinkle them on their lids (I used paper towels, but you could use waxed paper, printer paper, or activity trays). The first step is one that you’ll want to do outside of the classroom – attach a small…
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Exploring spices
When I think Thanksgiving there are a few scents that come to mind, specifically spices, which are perfect for helping children explore their sense of smell. Here are some great ideas for exploring spices in the classroom: Create a Spice Tray Scent your playdough Paint with Spices Make Cinnamon Salt Dough Ornaments Learn scents and vocabulary Make a gift families can enjoy together Scent your pie art Make your own scent jars Match the raw spice with the bottled spice Taste test spices in cool whip or pudding Check back tomorrow for another great spice craft!
