Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite month to introduce history to children.  I do my best to present factual information about the pilgrims and Indians 200 years ago or explain when what we are doing is not factual.  For example, we put a teepee up for play but I explain that not Indians at the first Thanksgiving didn't live in tepees.  I explain that we used the word "Indians" 200 years ago, but now we use the term "Native Americans" for their descendents. 

    For the past few years we have had a Mouse Thanksgiving Feast with the older preschool classes.  Every parent brings 24 mouse-sized servings of an item that was served at the first Thanksgiving.  We cook a mouse-size turkey (a Cornish game hen) in a convection oven right in the classroom so we can see and smell the hen cook.

    Here is a list of items the parents can chose from and sign up to bring on our feast day: deer, duck, geese, rabbit, clams, oysters (can of smoked oysters), lobster, fish (can of tuna or sardines), eel, cucumbers, cabbage, turnips, radishes, beets, fruit tarts, pumpkin, beans, nuts, berries, bread and butter, onions, corn, and carrots. I explain that most of the food is not cooked as it was originally.  I encourage parents to bring pearl onions, canned baby corn on the cob, and baby carrots for their small size.   I buy a can of eel from an Asian store. 

    Each child is served a little mouse bite of every item on his plate, even if he doesn’t want to eat it.  If he tastes the eel, he gets a special sticker that says "I ate eel". 

The Pilgrim’s First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern

    I read the chapters over several days. We work on memorizing the facts.  By the time the holiday arrives, the kids know more about the first Thanksgiving then their parents!

• What was the baby’s name that was born on the Mayflower? Oceanus!

• How many dogs and how many cats were on the boat? 2 dogs and 1 cat.

• What was one of the dog’s named?  Friendship.

• How big was the ship? We pace it out 106 1/2 feet in our school so the children can visualize the size. Then we imagine the space filled with all their families.

• What was the name of the Indian who helped the Pilgrims so much?  Squanto.

Molly’s Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen

    This story is for older children.  I don’t read it to preschoolers.  It is on this list because I love it and  I hope parents will read it to their grade school children each year in November.

Sarah Morton's Day by Kate Waters

   Scholastic, Inc. puts out a series of books that describe life in the colonies for a pilgrim girl and boy and an Indian girl and boy.  The photos are staged at the Plimoth Plantation. 

Favorite Website:

www.scholastic.com/thanksgiving 

The Turkey

    The turkey is a funny bird,

    His head goes wobble, wobble, wobble,

    And all he says is just one word,

    Gobble, gobble, gobble.

(The fun part  is learning to put one's hands 

    together to make a turkey with a head that wobbles!)

We Eat Turkey (tune: Frere Jacques)

    We eat turkey, We eat turkey,

    Oh, so good. Oh, so good.

    Always on Thanksgiving, Always on Thanksgiving,

    Yum, yum, yum. Yum, yum, yum.

(Add other verses of food served at your Thanksgiving feast.)

Birch Canoe

    Paddle, paddle in my birch canoe.

    Paddle, paddle down the river blue.

    Looking for the buffalo, looking for the deer,

    Looking for the fishes in the water clear.

    Paddle, paddle in my birch canoe.

    Paddle, paddle down the river blue.

Indian Sculptures                   

    Here is a photo of my sculptures of Charlie, me, Patrick, Nick, and Samantha.  I use them to decorate our Thanksgiving table each year.  First I made cylinders shapes out of clay and had them fired in a kiln.  Then I collected textures that had a Native American feel to them.  The textures included feathers, burlap, leather, fringe, corn husks, beads, twine, corrugated cardboard, toothpicks, wooden sticks, tiny shells, and seeds.  Thinking of each person in turn, I glued textures to the cylinder and created my family.

    I share my sculptures with the kids at preschool.  For art, we  make an Indian sculpture with  brown toilet paper rolls, textures, and lots of tape and glue.  They are delightful.  I encourage the kids  to make more sculptures to contribute to their family gathering.

Indian Headband

   The value of this preschool classic is  "cultural heritage".  I think parents and grandparents alike made these when they were young.  We cut the headbands out of corrugated cardboard.  Children stick feathers into the little holes on the edge to practice their eye-hand coordination.  We use colorful feathers from the craft store.  The only saving grace to this project is that I explain Indian braves earned their feathers by bravery and good deeds, and then I reward good cleaner uppers with a natural chicken feather for their headband!

Indian Necklaces

   Another "cultural heritage" project!  This one also shows me how the children's eye-hand coordination is progressing.  For younger kids, I use Cheerios to  motivate them to try stringing.  For older preschoolers, my favorite beads come from the beaded seat mats people use for comfort in their cars!  They are a cheaper choice than macaroni or cereal.  I explain that beads were money to the Indians.  That motivates some boys who think necklaces are only for girls.

Navajo Fry Bread

3 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 T. baking powder

1/2 c. milk

1 T. salt

3/4 c. water

Mix and knead.  Pinch off walnut-sized balls and knead in your  hands. Roll out as flat as possible and fry in 1/2" bacon fat. Brown on one side, then turn over. At preschool, we flatten the dough by pinching and pulling it.  I fry the bread in a deep fat fryer for safety.  This recipe is especially delicious with chili!

Cranberry Sauce

    For years I tried to find just the right project for kids to make something to contribute to their family feast.  When I discovered cranberry sauce could be made in a skillet with fresh cranberries, I was thrilled.  My mother always bought cranberry sauce in a can!  The recipe on a package of fresh cranberries is easy.  This was called bearberry sauce because the bears loved cranberries.