Indian Corn Pins (Thanksgiving Craft)

This past week we did a unit study on Thanksgving and learned about Indian corn from reading the book Corn is Maize: The gift of the Indians by Aliki.Inspired by our Indian Corn we set out to make our own craft versions. Together we made a fun craft with pipe cleaners, beads. and brown paper.Here's how we made ours!Materials:Chenille stems (pipe cleaners)assorted 6mm faceted beads (fall colors –

Week in Review: Pilgrims, Wampanoag, First Thanksgiving (week 12)

November 15 to November 19
This week, we learned about the Pilgrims and their voyage on the Mayflower, Pilgrim and Wampanoag Indian life, the first Thanksgiving and about Turkeys. It was a fun filled week that was rich in history and culture.

On Monday, we set sail on the Mayflower by reading about about the Pilgrims and their travel to the New World through the book “If you sailed on the

Meeting a Pilgrim and Wampanoag and building homes

Today, we continued our reading of the book “If you sailed on the Mayflower” by Ann McGovern. I read aloud pages 32-50 from the book which tells the story of the Pilgrims voyage to the world and life during the 66 days they sailed and then landed in the New World.

After our reading, we enjoyed viewing a live webcast from the Pilmoth Plantation that was being made by Scholastic. I had registered

Setting sail on the Mayflower

Monday, was our first day of our Thanksgiving unit. I read aloud pages 10-31 of the book “If you sailed on the Mayflower” by Ann McGovern. We used our dry erase board to explain the story to my youngest son. We learned why the Pilgrims fled Europe to travel to the New World. The boys said that they would feel sad too if an English King told them they had to give up something or someone they love

Our plans for this week (Thanksgiving unit)

This week, we are learning about the Pilgrims and their voyage on the Mayflower, Pilgrim and Indian life, the first Thanksgiving and about Turkeys. I have a general outline of our plans for the week that I thought I would share with you. Next weekend, I will have our Week in Review on our week posted after we complete our study on Thanksgiving.

Here are the books we will be reading throughout

a Detour in our geography studies

Originally we planned to explore Canada as part of our learning about North America but we are making a short detour to learn about some U.S. History and Geography as we learn about the Pilgrims and their voyage on the Mayflower to the New World. We will having a week devoted to reading about the Pilgrims, Wampanoag Indians, their daily life, foods grown and eaten then and today, and the First

Happy Thanksgiving

Our family is enjoying a day at home and will be having Thanksgiving dinner later today. The phone rings with kind sentiment from family and friends. Each year we have our "family Turkey Hot line" between my mom, me and my sisters discussing what time we each woke up, what's done and what's not done. This year I took the laid back approach and we will taking a steady pace to prepare our

Thankfulness

This week we are preparing for Thanksgiving and it gives us an opportunity to reflect on the things in our lives that we are thankful for. As a Christian, I am thankful each day for my blessings and for my trials that I have on my journey with Christ.This week our hearts are grateful that I have both my parents and that my sons have a bond with them. I have a large number of siblings and nieces

What my child is reading: November 16-24

From November 16th to 25th we are reading books about Thanksgiving.Here are some of the boys' favorite picks this week:My first Thanksgiving (board book) by Tomie dePaola.Our Summary:This book explains to young children about Thanksgiving and a brief history about the holiday. It explains how families celebrate their Thanksgiving day and the food they eat on this day of thanks.Our review: My sons

Week in Review for November 16-21 (Thanksgiving)

WEEK 12 in reviewOur unit study this week was on Thanksgiving. My family and I will be celebrating it on November 26th. This week we spent our time learning about the First Thanksgiving between the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians. We also included in our unit study, some fun crafts, books about Thanksgiving celebrations, turkeys, and games.Early in the week, we visited my parents. My mom had her

Talking about Thanksgiving with young children

I wanted to share with you my ideas for talking about Thanksgiving with young children.Thanksgiving is a time to share family stores and traditions. Create lasting memories the children will remember fondly and share with their young ones to come. Traditions are part of every families' heritage and create special bonds between the members of that family. The tradition doesn't have to be expensive

First Thanksgiving Homes (Thanksgiving craft)

This week we are doing a unit study on the Thanksgiving. As part of our study, I wanted to teach my children about the first Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims and Wamponaog people. We read books about Pilgrim and Wanpanoag life in the 1600s.

The books we read were:
Tapenum's Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times by Kate Waters
Giving Thanks: The 1621 Harvest by Kate Waters

We read that the

Open Ended Art: Feathers

This week's Open Ended Art theme at Mommies Wise Little Bookworms is Feathers. Today my older son did not participate since he is not feeling well. We had been been making Harvest crafts this week so I think that is why my four year old preschooler Turtle used the feathers as he did.He was given stuffed nylon hosiery, paper, feathers, brushes and tempera paint. He chose only two items out of the