Counting Our Blessings

Our Blessing Turkeys

Do you know why we celebrate Thanksgiving?

Toys: Rose Petal Cottage, play food, kitchen, Mr. Potato Head, and Lincoln Logs.

Snack: cheese crackers, carrots, dried apple slices, and craisins.

What is a blessing? (Students may say prayer.) A blessing is a favor or gift given to us by God.  We are blessed by protection, safety, food to eat, families, etc.

We read The Most Thankful Thing by Lisa McCourt.  What is your “most thankful thing?”  I think for your parents—it’s YOU!  What things are you thankful for?

Next Thursday we celebrate a holiday.  Do you know what it is? We learned the story of the first Thanksgiving and did actions along with it.

The First Thanksgiving—

At this cold time of year, we remember the Pilgrims.  The Pilgrims were people who wanted to worship God in their own Church and not be forced by the King to go to His Church of England.  They boarded a ship, the Mayflower, and sailed across the sea to a “new world” where they would make their home and be free from the laws and rules of the King.

On board ship, the people ate hard bread, crackers, dried meat (beef jerky?), and hard cheese.  The people were on board ship for around two months!  When they spotted land, it was November and cold in America! 

They needed to explore the new land which did not have houses, buildings, and streets already built like in England!  They found a place (Plymouth) which had plenty of fish and remains of an old Indian Village and they decided to build a Common House where they could all live together and be warm and get the ground ready to plant seeds and grow food.

By the time the Common House was ready, it was December and freezing!  They had little food left from their ship. This winter was cold with more snow than they had in England.  Many became sick and died.  By Spring, less than half of the Pilgrims were alive.

An Indian (Samoset) and another from a different tribe, Squanto, came to help the Pilgrims to find food in America.  The Indians taught the Pilgrims how to stamp eels out of the mud and gather clams.  They taught the children to gather nuts, berried, herbs, and roots from the forest.  They also taught the Pilgrims about new vegetables like corn, squash, and pumpkins.  The Pilgrims worked hard and by the Fall, they had built more houses and harvested food for the coming Winter.  They met with the Indians for a three day Feast and said many prayers of Thanksgiving.   They ate popcorn, deer meat, vegetables, berries, and sea food and also wild turkeys and birds.  We celebrate the Pilgrims and Native American Indians for being so courageous and brave in a new country.  We gather together, eat food, and thank Heavenly Father for the many blessings that we have!

See On The Mayflower, Samuel Eaton’s Day, Sarah Morton’s Day, and the Story of the Pilgrims.

Our Blessing Turkeys:  See the things we are thankful for written on the turkey feathers, including legos, Elsa, family, turkeys, pumpkins, and the Magic School bus! 

“I” the Itchy Insect Activity:  We cut out and pasted our “I”s today and reviewed Insects. (3 things make an insect: 1) antennae, 2) 3 body sections, 3) 6 legs) and we talked about our favorite things from our Bean Museum Field Trip.

Show N’ Teach: only our boys remembered today!

Ben: Ninjago coloring page
Maelo: picture of "I Love Her" (his Grandma?)
Zakai: candy cane
Lukas: a penny
Tanner: ninja turtle costume
Harris: Bluey


Don’t forget your Feast item for next class!

 Our "Blessings" Game:
We found ourselves with a few extra minutes this morning and so we passed around a glittery turkey

Turkey and Thanksgiving Books:
The Most Thankful Thing by Lisa McCourt, Ill. by Cyd Moore (Scholastic)
The First Thanksgiving Feast by Joan Anderson, Photos by George Anacona
Thanksgiving Day by Anne Rockwell, Ill. by Lizzy Rockwell
I Am The Turkey (I Can Read! 2) by Michelle Sobel Sprin, Ill. by Joy Allen
10 Fat Turkey's by Tony Johnston, Ill. by Rich Deas

The Story of the Pilgrims by Katherine Ross, Ill. by Carolyn Croll