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November 14, 2012

Feeling Thankful? Tips for your classroom’s THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION!

“For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today’s post, contributed by Stephanie Fuqua (Preschool Teacher, West Amherst location) shares some tried-and-true suggestions to enhance your classroom’s upcoming Thanksgiving celebration. Enjoy!

Crafts & Keepsakes:

Families love to get gifts from their children around the holidays, especially ones of their hands and feet. To make this handprint turkey below, paint each child’s palm and thumb with brown paint, and each of their fingers a different color. Once the paint is dry, have the children add a wiggly eye and draw a beak and legs (depending on skill level). Lastly, have children pick a feather of their choice for the turkey’s wing and attach with glue. Be sure to add the handy turkey poem. This will make a great keepsake for families!

Photo Credit: http://www.mrsnelsonsclass.com

Below is another art project that can be done with any age group by painting both the child’s hand and foot. To add a special touch to each of these projects, consider adding a photograph of the child with their painted hand while creating their turkey!

Photo Credit: http://www.petersonstories.blogspot.com

I am Thankful For…

By reusing paper towel tube rolls, your children can decorate festive fall tree table centerpieces and send a message of what they are thankful for. To prep the trees, make five slits in both the top and bottom of the paper towel tube. Have each child decorate an 8 1/2 by 11 white piece of paper with materials found around the classroom (bingo dabbers, feathers, tissue paper, crayons, paint, etc). Cut out a variety of leave patterns. Ask the children what they are thankful for and write what they say on each leaf. To assemble, simply glue one end of the paper towel tube onto the decorated white paper, and glue the leaves onto the other end. What a great way to decorate for our Thanksgiving Feast! Families can even use these to decorate their Thanksgiving table at home.

Songs & Poems

Thanksgiving’s a Wonderful Thing!

(tune: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean)

My Uncle is eating a drumstick,

My Auntie is having a wing.

My cousin is nibbling the stuffing;

Thanksgiving’s a wonderful thing!

My daddy loves candied potatoes,

my mother loves the cranberry ring.

My brother is covered in gravy;

Thanksgiving’s a wonderful thing!

My grandfather’s favorite pickles,

That my grandmother preserved in spring.

My sister has two plates of turnips;

Thanksgiving’s a wonderful thing!

And if you should happen to ask me,

What gives me a nip and a zing.

For me it’s a pie made of pumpkin;

Thanksgiving’s a wonderful thing!

Thank You

Thank you for the _____ I see.

Thank for for the ______ for me.

Thank you for the ____ I know.

Thanks for _____. I love (him/her) so!

Thank you, thank you; this I say;

Thanks for all I have today!

Mr. Turkey

Here is Mr. Turkey

With his tail feathers high.

Gobble, Mr. Turkey,

Now fly, fly, fly!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day,

So, Mr. Turkey – Fly Away!

A Turkey Tom and Turkey Mom

(tune; Polly Wolly Doodle)

Oh, a turkey Tom and a turkey mom go

Gobble, gobble, gobble all day long.

When the moon goes down

and the sun comes ’round they go

Gobble, gobble, gobble all day long.

Oh they love to be with their family and go

Gobble, gobble, gobble all day long

And they say hello

To the folks they know with a

Gobble, gobble, gobble all day long

Oh they say “how’s trick?”

to the ducks and tricks with a

Gobble, gobble, gobble all day long.

Oh they greet the frog and mill pond log with a

Gobble, gobble, gobble all day long

Thanksgiving Riddle

(tune; I’m a Little Teapot)

I am not a drumstick.

No, not yet!

I need to eat more

So fat I’ll get.

Corn is what I like and

Lots of gain.

Sometimes I gobble.

Can you guess my name?

If you guessed my name

On your first try,

You know I have a problem.

I don’t have to tell you why!

If you would be so kind,

I have one wish:

Help me out

And eat some fish!

Additional Ideas:

Fine Motor Skills: Exploring with feathers, pipe cleaners, and turkeys will help boost fine motor skills with this activity. Gather some Styrofoam cups, brown paper, pipe cleaners, and feathers. Simply cover each cup with a turkey and then poke holes in the bottom of the cup. You can even add a spin on this activity and incorporate math skills by numbering each turkey and having children ad that many corresponding feathers or pipe cleaners.

Photo Credit: http://www.teachpreschool.org

Letter Recognition: With all the discussions about Thanksgiving and turkeys, consider making a “T” is for “Turkey” project. This would be a great piece to add to the preschool children’s ‘Alphabet Art’ folder or to Pre-K assessment folders. To make this project, cut out a class set of the letter T onto any color paper, and have them decorate the T as they desire. Then, have your students pick out colored feathers and flue to the top of the letter T. Lastly, have each student glue a turkey head and neck to the letter T. As always, be sure to precede the craft with a good book that relates to the intent of the project.

Photo Credit: http://www.mrs.nelsonsclass.com

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