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Log Cabins- Submitted by Cheryl
Decorate for Thanksgiving If you have Lincoln Logs make a log cabin.
If you don't have Lincoln Logs use a cardboard box and decorate with markers
or crayons to look like a log cabin.
Add to your display: Use twigs for trees. Stick them in a small amount
of clay to stand up. Make Indian Tee Pees out of construction paper. Draw
Indian symbols with crayons on the construction paper and fold into a cone.
Make campfires using small stones with small bits of red paper for the
flames.
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Food Pantry- Submitted by Cheryl Collect food for the local food pantry. The kids LOVE to bring food from home (cans and boxed food).
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If You Were a Pilgrim Child- Submitted by Cheryl
In 1621, just surviving was the most important thing. Food clothing
and shelter were what life was all about.
Schooling - You would not go to school, if your parents could read
they might use the Bible to teach you how to read.
Bathing - In warm weather you might take a bath outside in a brook.
In cold weather you might bathe inside in a tub. You would only bathe a few
times a year. You wouldn't smell very good, but then neither would anyone
else!
Behaving - You would be taught to obey your parents and never
question anything they told you to do. Children were never to misbehave. If
you did misbehave, your parents might put you into stocks. Your wrists and
ankles would be locked into holes in a wooden board and everyone would see
you. How embarrassing!
Sleeping - Your bed might be a straw mattress on the dirt floor. All
your brothers and sisters might share the same bed with you. Nobody had
much privacy.
Working - You would start working at a very young age. You would work
from sunup to sundown along side your parents. Boys might protect the
fields, where seeds were just planted, by throwing rocks at birds all day to
keep them away. Girls might sew and do all the chores as their mothers
did.
Eating - You would eat your big meal in the middle of the day. You
would probably have a knife and maybe a spoon, but no fork. It was OK to
eat with your fingers. If you were a Pilgrim child you would probably eat
standing up. Your parents would sit in the only chairs.
Clothes - While very young, both boys and girls would wear dresses.
At about 6, you would start dressing like your mom or dad.
Playing - You would be very busy doing chores, but you would still
find time to play some. Several of the games we play today were enjoyed by the Pilgrim children, like hide- and-seek, marbles, blindman's bluff and jump rope.
Worshiping - You would go to church all day on Sun. You would sit
very quietly on a hard bench and listen. You might find this a relief from
your daily hard work.
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Turkey Texture Bulletin Board- Submitted by Cheryl
Make a large turkey on a bulletin board from a variety of textures.
For example, make the body out of corduroy, the head out of velvet and the
feathers could be real, fake fur and felt. Add button eyes and pipe
cleaner legs. Have the children take turns feeling the turkey and describing
how the different textures feel.
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Terrific Holiday Tables- Submitted by Sherry
Entertaining this holiday season is easy with table settings that are fun and thrifty.
Pumpkin Giveaway
Many gardening centers give their leftover pumpkins away for free after Halloween. Snag a couple to make a seasonal centerpiece. Arrange with other gourds or fall leaves.
Thankful Notes
Make your holiday table special. For Thanksgiving dinner, write a Bible verse about giving thanks on a small piece of paper. Roll it into a scroll and tie with ribbon or string. Each person reads a verse to the group and describes what it means to them and what they are thankful for. Or write a short personal note about why you are thankful for each person. Write their names on the envelope and use them as a place cards.
Pineapple Turkey
For a clever and edible Thanksgiving centerpiece, take a whole pineapple and place it on its side. The pineapple leaves will act as the turkey’s tail feathers. Attach a homemade paper or cloth turkey head in the other end.
Tip Top Table Table coverings turn an ordinary table into a party presentation. Interesting tablecloths can be found at garage sales or thrift stores. Or use a colorful scarf as a table runner and sheets as tablecloths. Sheets clean easily and most don’t need ironing. Tie the sheet at the corners with ribbons for a decorative touch.
Table Cloth Memories
Cover your table with large sheets of white paper and secure with tape. Have the kids draw a holiday picture on it. To involve everyone, put a pen next to each place setting and have the guests jot down a special thought or memory. For a keepsake tablecloth, use a solid light color sheet and give everyone fabric pens or permanent markers. Put a protective layer between the sheet and the table. Use this tablecloth each year and have your guests add a new sentiment. Be sure to sign and date each note.
Under It All
Cover your table with holiday wrapping paper. Then top with a sheet of clear vinyl. You can reuse the wrapping paper and keep the vinyl for other gatherings. Clear vinyl can be purchased in fabric departments at discount stores.
Party Themes
When decorating for a party, pick a theme based on what you already have. Red and green are obvious choices for Christmas but if you already have lots of blue plates and napkins left over from July 4th, make your party a blue and silver winter wonderland. Throw in some hand cut snowflakes and you’re set.
A Bright Idea
Candles make your party more elegant. A collection of votives or candlesticks make a beautiful and frugal centerpiece or buffet table decoration. If you’re short of candleholders, hollow out apples, oranges or mini pumpkins and place taper or votive candles inside.
Cheaper Centerpieces
Create a simple centerpiece with a bowl of red apples or clove-studded oranges. Loaves of home baked bread and wheat stalks make a beautiful edible centerpiece or save money by using decorations from nature In the fall, make an arrangement of autumn leaves, twigs, wild berries or acorns. At Christmas time, use pine boughs or a bowl of pinecones.
Nicer Napkins
Cloth napkins dress up any occasion and they’re economical. Unlike paper, they can be used again and again. Fabric napkins can be made from almost any material like the Christmas blouse you stained last year. Get a book from the library about napkin folding to make them more interesting. Create your own napkin rings with cookie cutters.
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Thanksgiving Activity- Submitted by Patrisha
Thanksgiving book, boardmaker pictures, velcro, binder and clear inserts. Also laminating supplies.
Find a cute Thanksgiving book that you don't mind tearing out the pages. Buy a binder (any size) and a package of clear insert pages. On the top of the inserts, put a strip of velcro. Tear out the pages of the book and put them in the inserts. Using key words, laminate pictures and velcro them to the top of the corresponding page.
As you read the story, have the kids take the pictures off the page and put them on a flannel board. After the story is over, you can retell the story using only the pictures. Use the pictures as vocabulary work, make them into a memory game, or go-fish. Let children try to sequence the pictures to make the story. Make them into a Bingo board. By the end of the unit, they should have lots of new Thanksgiving vocabulary words.
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Thankful Turkey Bulletin Board- Submitted by Patrisha
Red, green, yellow, blue, and brown construction paper. Scissors and a black SHARPIE marker.
Cut out a turkey body (facing you) out of brown Bulletin board paper. Then cut feathers out of the different color construction paper. Have each child tell you what they are thankful for and write their word for word responses on the feather of their choice. Arrange feathers behind the turkey body. I titled my bulletin board, "I am Thankful for..."
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