Thanksgiving {Pilgrims & Indians} Day

• Read “Thanksgiving Mice!” by Bethany Roberts … I was in the mood for a fun, light Thanksgiving book and this was it. Not the most informative but fun rhymes and cute illustrations.

• Thankful Feathers
  1. Cut out several colorful feathers.
  2. Ask the kids what they are thankful for.
  3. Write their response on each feather. You could definitely take the time to have them write themselves or trace your writing (write in a lighter color and they trace with a darker color) but I decided just to talk about it and write it for them today.
  4. Save the feathers for the next project!

• Pattern Headbands … simple & traditional. My girls loved wearing these!
  1. Cut 2 long strips (I did 3” wide) from brown paper. Tape together to form a long headband.
  2. Cut 1” strips from several colors (I used 3).
  3. Let the kids cut their strips of paper in squares. Or into any shape you want, like my 2-year-old above
  4. Glue the paper squares to the headband in a pattern.
  5. Tape the feathers onto the headband.

• Noodle Necklaces {Sort & Patterns} … again, simple & traditional, but they loved it.
  1. Dye noodles several colors. I just wanted a small batch of each color, so this is what I did:

     Prep: Insert a ziploc baggie into an empty cup and fold over the lip of the cup. Trust me, it just makes things easier! Add 1 Tbls. white vinegar. Add 7 drops food coloring into the vinegar. Fill the baggie with noodles (about 1 cup). Zip the baggie closed and gently toss to coat all the noodles. Spread the noodles onto paper towels to dry overnight.

  2. Mix up all of the colors.
  3. Let the kids sort the noodles into bowls.
  4. String the noodles onto a piece of plastic cording. Help them make a pattern with their noodles if they want!

• Teepee Lunch … with our feather headbands and our noodle necklaces we were all decked out and ready for a fancy lunch in our homemade teepee.
  1. Tie 4 long poles together at the top (ours were about 6’ tall 2x2s)
  2. Cover with a large blanket.
  3. I used a couple of thumbtacks to hold the blanket at the “door”. Worked great.
  4. ADD A FIRE! Oh boy, was this a hit. I used a battery-operated flicker light (thank you Halloween pumpkins). Cut yellow and orange paper into flames. Tape together in a tube and place the flicker candle inside. It looks like a glowing fire!
  5. Enjoy lunch inside the teepee. We had pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, blueberries, sugared almonds and cubed cheese.

 

• Hunting for ABC Fish … we talked about how the Native Americans taught the pilgrims how to hunt and fish and plant food. So after lunch, we went hunting for ABCs.
1. Print this great ABC fish printable from Making Learning Fun. Click here.
2. Hide ABCs all around the room. I used some simple paint chip ABC cards I made (felt letter stickers on paint chips). You could use ABC flashcards or even ABC magnets. You could even cut the paint chips into fish shapes!
3. Have the kids go hunting for ABCs.
4. When they find one, have them color in (or trace) the matching fish on their page. My 4-year-old traced each letter. My 2-year-old scribbled her page every time they found one

• Thanksgiving Photo Fun … My kids think it’s great when I change up their photos on the wall. Can you spy the little Thanksgiving surprise I left for them to notice?!
  1. Add a small brown paper headband.
  2. Add a couple of small feathers (in their favorite colors, of course.)
  3. We even made one of them a turkey for the day

Pilgrims & Indians

With I week landing early in November, it’s perfect to start getting ready for Thanksgiving with some fun activities with Pilgrims and Indians (of course, you can explain the term Native Americans, too).

 

• Read “The Story of Thanksgiving” by Nancy J. Skarmeas … I love these books. There are several of them. They’re simple and do a great job explaining on a kid’s level.

• Simple Indian Headband
  1. Place a long piece of colorful duct tape sticky side up on the table.
  2. Give the kids several colorful craft feathers to choose from.
  3. Place the quill (stem?!) of the feathers on the sticky tape.
  4. Top with another long piece of duct tape … sticky side down.
  5. Measure around your preschooler’s head and use one more piece of matching duct tape to secure the headband at the right size!
• Learning to Plant Corn … also a Treat!
  1. Read a simple book about Squanto, a friend to the pilgrims, who showed the Indians how to plant corn and other seeds, by adding a fish to the hole (as the fish rotted, it became natural compost adding nutrients to the soil … great for the seeds to grow!)
  2. Mix up a batch of chocolate pudding and pour into individual serving bowls.
  3. Crumble chocolate graham crackers and spread on top of the pudding for dirt.
  4. Use the end of a wooden spoon to make a hole in the “dirt.”
  5. Drop in a candy corn (corn seed) and a swedish fish or goldfish cracker. Cover the hole with “dirt.”
  6. Enjoy your planted corn treat

• A Thanksgiving Tale with Puppets
  1. Use this fun short story from Scholastic.com
  2. Cut out the circles with each of the four children. Attach each to a popsicle stick.
  3. Introduce the pilgrim & Wampanoag children (John, Sarah, Strong Bear and Little Doe) to your preschooler.
  4. As you tell the story, have them hold up the characters talking in the story.
  5. You could also make up actions to go along with the story (run when they run to their friends, pretend to shoot a bow and arrow, plucking birds, gathering firewood…)

• Indian Corn … what a cute, colorful craft from Musings of Me!
  • Cut out a simple corn shape from yellow cardstock
  • Squeeze glue into a small bowl and use a Q-tip to dab glue onto the corn.
  • Add colorful Fruit Loops to make the Indian corn.
  • Back with a green paper husk, just larger than the corn.
• Mini Teepee Printable … a great ready-to-color teepee from Danielle’s Place. Click the link, then scroll about halfway down.
  1. Print the blank teepee here.
  2. Color in the fun designs. The kids can write their names in the blank area and use as a place card for dinner!
  3. Cut out and tape or glue.
  4. NOTE: You can also add 3 toothpicks to the top to look more like a real teepee!