Cooking a Turkey

Is anyone else blown away by how fast this year is going by?  I know I probably say that every.single.year. But it's true! I can not believe that Thanksgiving is already this week. 

Speaking of this week…anybody else have to work Monday and Tuesday?  I'm not sure what I really think of these super short weeks.  In one way I love them because it's only 2 days, which means I don't have to write lesson plans {well, technically I do, but ssshhh}. In another way I don't like short weeks because it's too short to really getting anything new started. Also, short weeks more-than-not always feel like they take forever to end!!!  

I have a field trip tomorrow so I'm hoping that it goes smooth and quick! :)  

Then, we have 100% chance of sever thunderstorms predicted for Tuesday, which I'm hoping means that I will have very few kiddos.  A quiet day would be nice! Ha!

Like I said already, this year is going by in the blink of an eye, which also means I have forgotten to do half the things I had planned for Thanksgiving.  One item on my 'to-do' list was to create a "How to Cook a Turkey" class book to send home with each kiddo for Thanksgiving.  Of course, I forgot.  Now there are two days left and one of those days I will be on a field trip.  

Well, I'm going to get them done I tell ya!  Tomorrow.  I'm going to make it happen. 

Click the picture to snag your freebie! 

Here's a sneak peek at what I'm currently working on!  The packet will be filled with math, word work, reading, and writing activities!  I have a special group of kiddos I'm creating it for, so it will be specific to the needs of my extremely academically diverse group of kindergartners! Hoping to have it up by Black Friday.  Fingers, toes, and eyes are crossed.

Love this time of year! 

Thanksgiving Books

Fall is definitely my favorite time of year!  I just love doing all things holiday-themed.  If I'm able to find a craftivity to do to coincide with a book we're ready...I do it.  Here are some of my favorite books. 

(photo credit: Cara from The First Grade Parade)

After seeing this reader's response writing and craft from Cara, I immediately bought the book The Littlest Pilgrim.  It is a cute story about a little pilgrim girl who is too little to do anything on the farm but in the end has the best job. The story provides great opportunity for character analysis. 

I just snagged an amazing shared reading freebie from Michelle based on this story.  The Littlest Pilgrim has become a Thanksgiving staple in my classroom.

(Click book to check it out)

I love scarecrows!  When I think of fall, I think of scarecrows, pumpkins, and turkeys! The Scarecrow Boy is a book I have been reading every Thanksgiving since my internship.  It's a cute story about a little scarecrow boy who wants to be like his Dad.  He struggles throughout the book but learns a sweet lesson at the end of the story.  It's just cute!

(Click picture to check it out)

Of course, I must do a little craftivity with it!  I like to do a directed project with my kinders.  We make "shape scarecrows."  I love it because it's an easy assessment on who knows their basic shapes.  Plus they're just cute!

(I apologize for making you have to tilt your head to look at it!)

I talked about this activity a little more HERE.

This year I'm really excited to read this book:

(Click image to check it out)

I'm sure I'll do some sort of reader's response with it.  Stay tuned.  I'll take pictures! :)

After reading some other blog posts, I have added many new books to my growing pile of adorable Thanksgiving-themed books to read!  

Check out some more at the Teacher's Cauldron!

Save a Turkey!

One of my favorite Holidays to celebrate is Thanksgiving.  I think my favorite part is getting to all kinds of fun crafts with turkeys.  I love studying the Mayflower voyage and learning about the meaning of Thanksgiving and all that with the kiddos, however, making turkey crafts is so much fun! :)

I start off my turkey fun with by talking about what most people eat on Thanksgiving...turkey!  We talk about the turkey being a symbol for this holiday and what others foods we like to eat!  Then we read the story Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving.  

This story is so cute and funny.  The kids always get a giggle out of this story!

 

After reading the story we make these cute little turkeys:

I originally saw this cute little turkey design on Sarah Cooley's blog First Grader at Last.  Then I came across an idea for a picket sign and BAM here we have  our picketing turkey!!! I just think they are the cutest little guys!