Thanksgiving Activities 2009
We are, of course, preparing for Thanksgiving by implementing it into our homeschool activities. Below are the things we did to study Thanksgiving this year. (For more Thanksgiving ideas visit my blog from last year titled "Thanksgiving.")
Workbook:
Gess learned about the founding of America in our Christian Light Education Social Studies Unit. In these lessons Gess learned all about the Pilgrims, why they came to America on the Mayflower and how the Indians helped them to learn how to plant corn among many other things.
Books:
To build on that we added additional activities. First we checked out books at the library. I really liked the books we checked out last year so we checked out the same ones again this year. We also got a Thanksgiving craft book that has several crafts that are fairly simple. It is called 175 Easy-To-Do Thanksgiving Crafts.
Crafts: Pumpkin Pie Game
The craft we chose from the book 175 Easy-To-Do Thanksgiving Crafts was the Pumpkin Pie Game. I thought this would be a great way to not only do a craft but to practice her calculator work for math.
To make the Pumpkin Pie Game you will need: a paper plate, orange and brown paint, scissors and a marker.
First you paint the center of the plate orange (we used a mixture of orange and red).
Then you paint the edge brown to make the crust.
After your pie dries you cut it into six slices and use a marker to number each slice 1-6. Now your game is ready to play!
To play the Pumpkin Pie Game you need: pumpkin pie made above and one die
To play the game you have each player roll the die two times (the book called for three but I wanted to simplify it for Gess). After each throw the player removes the numbered piece of pie that matches the number on the die. Add the numbers of the pieces removed and write the total on a score sheet. If the player rolls a duplicate number their turn is over and they get no points that round. After each player's turn put the pie back together. The player with the highest score after four rounds is the winner.
It's that simple. This is a fun way to practice simple math. Gess is learning to use a calculator so I let her use it to add the numbers and write the total down on the score sheet. We will play it as a game taking turns, but we also plan to use it as a simple math activity without keeping score or taking turns. Gess will simply roll the die two times, add the pieces on the calculator, find the answer and repeat several times.
The pie game will be in season throughout the entire holiday season but the game will keep as long as the pie stays in shape. You can always make other pies too. Regardless of the time of year, this is a fun way to work on basic math skills with a game you created yourself!
Crafts: Thankful Wreath of Leaves
Another craft we chose was from Enchanted Learning where we got our craft for Thanksgiving last year too. This time, instead of the turkey we chose the Thankful Wreath of Leaves. With this craft she got some cutting work in as she cut out the simpler shaped leaves. (I cut out the more detailed ones.)
Then Gess wrote down things she was thankful for on them. Next we cut a half circle out of the center and wrote "I am thankful for..." in the remaining center piece. Finally she glued the leaves around the outside to make the wreath.
Bible:
We used this along with our study through the week of things we are thankful for. One day in school I wrote on the chalkboard "Thank you God for..." and had her name things she was thankful for. Some of these I had to help remind her of by saying things like "what do we thank God for at meal time?" which of course reminded her of food. Some she came up with on her own. She also looked around for clues and read John 3:16 which we have posted on the wall. That is what made her think of things like eternal life, Jesus and love. We prayed and thanked God for many of these things. We referred back to this list when it was time to write on the leaves in our craft. Here is what Gess was thankful for this year.
Gess and I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Workbook:
Gess learned about the founding of America in our Christian Light Education Social Studies Unit. In these lessons Gess learned all about the Pilgrims, why they came to America on the Mayflower and how the Indians helped them to learn how to plant corn among many other things.
Books:
To build on that we added additional activities. First we checked out books at the library. I really liked the books we checked out last year so we checked out the same ones again this year. We also got a Thanksgiving craft book that has several crafts that are fairly simple. It is called 175 Easy-To-Do Thanksgiving Crafts.
Crafts: Pumpkin Pie Game
The craft we chose from the book 175 Easy-To-Do Thanksgiving Crafts was the Pumpkin Pie Game. I thought this would be a great way to not only do a craft but to practice her calculator work for math.
To make the Pumpkin Pie Game you will need: a paper plate, orange and brown paint, scissors and a marker.
First you paint the center of the plate orange (we used a mixture of orange and red).
Then you paint the edge brown to make the crust.
After your pie dries you cut it into six slices and use a marker to number each slice 1-6. Now your game is ready to play!
To play the Pumpkin Pie Game you need: pumpkin pie made above and one die
To play the game you have each player roll the die two times (the book called for three but I wanted to simplify it for Gess). After each throw the player removes the numbered piece of pie that matches the number on the die. Add the numbers of the pieces removed and write the total on a score sheet. If the player rolls a duplicate number their turn is over and they get no points that round. After each player's turn put the pie back together. The player with the highest score after four rounds is the winner.
It's that simple. This is a fun way to practice simple math. Gess is learning to use a calculator so I let her use it to add the numbers and write the total down on the score sheet. We will play it as a game taking turns, but we also plan to use it as a simple math activity without keeping score or taking turns. Gess will simply roll the die two times, add the pieces on the calculator, find the answer and repeat several times.
The pie game will be in season throughout the entire holiday season but the game will keep as long as the pie stays in shape. You can always make other pies too. Regardless of the time of year, this is a fun way to work on basic math skills with a game you created yourself!
Crafts: Thankful Wreath of Leaves
Another craft we chose was from Enchanted Learning where we got our craft for Thanksgiving last year too. This time, instead of the turkey we chose the Thankful Wreath of Leaves. With this craft she got some cutting work in as she cut out the simpler shaped leaves. (I cut out the more detailed ones.)
Then Gess wrote down things she was thankful for on them. Next we cut a half circle out of the center and wrote "I am thankful for..." in the remaining center piece. Finally she glued the leaves around the outside to make the wreath.
Bible:
We used this along with our study through the week of things we are thankful for. One day in school I wrote on the chalkboard "Thank you God for..." and had her name things she was thankful for. Some of these I had to help remind her of by saying things like "what do we thank God for at meal time?" which of course reminded her of food. Some she came up with on her own. She also looked around for clues and read John 3:16 which we have posted on the wall. That is what made her think of things like eternal life, Jesus and love. We prayed and thanked God for many of these things. We referred back to this list when it was time to write on the leaves in our craft. Here is what Gess was thankful for this year.
Gess and I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Comments
Thanks for your sweet comment, I had missed reading your comments, and it looks like your little girl is having loads of fun... Keep up the awesome teaching..
Hugs