Thanksgiving 3 part card FREEBIE!!!!

Gobble! Gobble!  It's getting to be Thanksgiving time!  A time when families gather around the table, yell "pass the 'taters!" and "hey...why's the gravy lumpy?!", kids and unpopular relatives are left to the 'kiddy' table (this is also where the single vegetarian/vegans go as I once was one...) and you wonder how much booze it'll take for you to forget and come back again for Christmas. ;)

On that note of togetherness ;) I thought I'd share all the stuff we've been making and doing so your monkeys can make up some stuff that decorates for the last bit of fall, reminds you of what you're thankful for or what your blessings are and it gives you a few minutes to eat a piece of sweet potato pie you've got stashed on top of the fridge.  Hey...at my house if it's not pecan pie it's sweet potato pie and they like it too! 

So! Rhea's been reading to Sunshine Sarah Morton's Day by Kate Waters. It's about a little girls life in 1627. Tyler's reading the boy's version called Samuel Eaton's Day by Kate Waters.  Sunshine walks us through all the pictures and retells what she heard.  And we've all started reading 'Squanto Friend of the Pilgrims' by Clyde Robert Bulla

         
They have enjoyed these stories every year.  This year I realized how much they have grown because last year they could all cuddle beside and on me, although it was REALLY tight, on the loveseat.  Now with Sunshine being really involved with her learning (she talks with her hands and has to hold the books) we need a couch for family reading.  I wonder how many years or months we'll have family reading....

We made some amazing crafts courtesy of Craft Gossip.  I'd share our pics but well...let's just say Sunshine decided that the Mayflowers should float while I was running the bath water.  **Note to self....take some pics DURING and immediatly following creations.**  The tub looked more like the start to a man made coral reef....  I swear that kid has her brother and sister wrapped firmly around her little pinky.

We're having Thanksgiving with friends and while the kids are playing games, watching the Macy's Day Parade and I'm cooking I thought it'd be cute to have some snacks and decorations that'd keep them out of the kitchen.  Paper Glitter, a printable decoration site, has a REALLY cute freebie for Thanksgiving decorations.  (Side note...she also had a Halloween!!!! one and she'll pop stuff up every now and then.  Check her out on facebook 'cause that's where I ALWAYS see the freebies first.)  I'm using the place cards as a way to write what each of the snacks are and the banner and the toppers.  I thought they'd be cute to make a little 'take home' thank you.  I'm making little apple muffins with a cider icing and sticking the little circle tags on a stick as a cupcake topper. 

Another thing we do every year is a thankful tree.  Normally we've drawn a tree and added cut out leaves but this year I wanted to do something 'fancier' and I wanted to keep it to add to it every year.  Early this year I saw some blog posts where moms had made fabric leaves and decorated trees they had permanently drawn on their walls, paper leaves with blessings and they were taped to branches in a jar on a table where they were read during the meal.  So...I mixed those ideas and voila!  Fabric and felt leaves where the kids add their blessings and thankfuls and they get added to the tree.  Now...the tree will be made fuller and bigger each year and we're able to track the kids and their joys.  Here are some leaf patterns you can download and cut out from LollyChops.  (Check the remnant section for fabrics especially when Christmas stuff goes on sell is a good time for me to find 90% off fabrics.) 

I've JUST found this gal and wow....hello! handmade Christmas things.  She's got a bird pattern that I'm making for the girls room for Christmas.  Rhea LOVES all things birds...little glass figures, statues, drawings, softies....even cement birdy yard ornaments are worthy of adoration.  And...I'm back on track.

We do poems in the pocket chart...make handprint and thumbprint turkeys...create a pilgrim village...create pilgrim and native american outfits...read books like 'Turkey's Gift to the People' (so beautiful and I'd tell you the author but it's downstairs in the learning room!)...match up nuts to their trees...

The toy maker has some foldable pilgrim and native americans for your village.

This year we've watched on the History Channel some Thanksgiving specials.  I'm popping some clips here so you can watch too.  They're REALLY informative and so appealing to our visual and auditory learning styles.



http://www.history.com/videos/the-mayflower Is a snazzy catchy song and overview of the whole pilgrim thing.  Warning...it may hold an odd appeal for your son who will sing it over and over and over and over and over and over until you threaten to duct tape his mouth shut.  It's times like these I wish my kids believed my threats and wouldn't giggle at me.  One of these days they're going to wake up in Timbucttoo!

http://www.history.com/videos/deconstructed-mayflower Is a very cool video of the Mayflower and its spot in the journey

If you have a copy of America the Story of Us be sure to rewatch Rebels.  It's FULL of info.  We have this and it's AWESOME!!!!!  There is also downloadable guides for every section. 

http://www.besd61.k12.il.us/webquests/sewest/pilgrim/pilgrimsprogressstudent.html is a theme unit for some additional ideas and in case you are in a more traditional school setting.

Don't forget Heidi at http://www.amonco.org/fall99.html.  She's TONS of ideas and there is new ones every fall newsletter.

Jocelyn Scotty has a Montessori Gratitude Jar.

Motherwell made an AWESOME Thanksgiving download for noun sorting. I love these.  I like when you involve the holidays.  She also has some other nice downloads too.
And my beautiful friend Karen at Little Acorns wrote a great post about what she does with her kids.  Oh...and not to like BRAG! or anything but...I was with her when she came up with the boat idea.  As we stood watching the kids (who were dropping like flies!) at their knighting ceremony with St. George and the Dragon but I forget the festival name....I've never seen so many children fainting.  But that's another story.  But, it's all quiet and Karen's looking around and picks up this little nut and goes, "Doesn't that look like a boat?  A boat with little people sailing down the river (you should also see the river she made and the gigantic racoon.)....  She's Irish and seriously when you look in her eyes you can see a twinkle doin' a heel stompin' jig and almost hear the music....then again that could be because she dragged us to listen to music at the festival. ;)  Word to the wise...don't mention riverdance....shhhh! ;) heheh!  (I'm teasing you Karen!)

Anyways, she's some seriously amazing pics and you should sign up with her as she's ALWAYS coming up with some really great and amazing things.

Oh yeah...and I made some Thanksgiving 3 Part Card downloads for you.  Hope you like them.  There is lots of pics and simpler cards for the younger ones and some more complicated for the older children.  You can get them here.  Links to the post are always appreciated.

 Well, it's time for Sunshine's Chestal by Childrens.  She's a sore throat and between it and the popsicles she's doing pretty good but she's not sleeping well at all.  I gave her some Ibuprofen about an hour ago and she's out here next to me...humm...I think I'll let her sleep.  Have a good night and I hope ya'll enjoy the links and download.  Be sure to check 'em all out 'cause they're seriously some amazing links and you'll LOVE using them with the kids.

Honey
 ...pardon the typos and spelling errors.  My spell check isn't working for some reason and as it's 1 in the morning...I'm off to bed.  Nighty!