Too Much THANKSGIVING Fun for One Blog Post

Thanksgiving is just "around the corner"! Roasted turkey with dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato and green bean casseroles, freshly baked dinner rolls, cranberry sauce, and all the pumpkin pie you can eat with family and friends. Football (maybe) in the afternoon and evening. And those wonderful leftovers the next day. But before all that - it's time to study up on the pilgrims and their voyage in 1620.

Day 1

I read The First Thanksgiving to the kids. This is my favorite book about Thanksgiving! Not only does it describe the voyage for the pilgrims, but it also includes the Pawtuxet and Wampanoag and how Abraham Lincoln set aside the last Thursday in November as a "day of thanksgiving". (And Jean Craighead George is one of my favorite authors.)

Have you seen the Thanksgiving link on the Scholastic website? It's AWESOME! We watched and listened to the videos on the "Voyage on the Mayflower" tab. (Click the sound icon at the end of the descriptions and someone will read the information to you and your kids!) We toured the Mayflower and then took the journey.

And then we watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving". 

Day 2
We partook in a Mayflower meal: beef jerky (for dried meat), Saltine crackers (for hard tack or dry biscuits), a block of cheese (for, well, cheese LOL), and water. Sugar Maple and Balsam Fir declared the beef jerky "yucky"! LOL

We discussed what the pilgrims brought on board the Mayflower with them. Although the hold was large for a ship of the Mayflower's size, the 102 Saints and Strangers could not bring many personal items. Food, water, seeds, animals, and tools for the New World were more essential supplies. The kids filled out these worksheets, listing MODERN things they would bring on the Mayflower.

Sugar Maple started her Mayflower Compact copywork while Balsam Fir started his Draw Write Now turkey.

I read Cranberry Thanksgiving, a sweet story about a man with a beard, a special family recipe and forgiving and sharing with others.

We couldn't resist making the "Grandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread" recipe on the back of this book for snack. Much better than beef jerky! LOL

And we watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving". Again.


Day 3
We enjoyed A Child's Story of Thanksgiving and Amelia Bedelia Talks Turkey. Have you read any Amelia Bedelia stories? They're a riot! LOL

The kids went to Scholastic again, but this time clicked on "Daily Life" and listened to the information on the different links. (Did you see the timeline at the bottom? More information!)

And continued on with their copywork.

Soon we'll be starting our paper doll play!

Too Much THANKSGIVING Fun for TWO Blog Posts coming up...