Thanksgiving in Kindergarten

So... I love Thanksgiving in kindergarten. We do it BIG in our classroom [read some of my posts from last year here, here, here, here, & here].

Well, this year we kept it pretty much the same, but with some great additions. Here are some of the highlights:

Our Thankful Tree

Always one of my favorite things. The kids "take to" learning about thankfulness so easily. It's one of the things we lose as we grow-up... the ability to just simply admire the simple things in life.

Disguise the Turkey!

One of my great teammates came up with the idea of "disguising" the turkeys! They are, after all, trying to keep away from the hunters! So, each of the kinders "disguised" their turkeys at home and brought them back to school to share. The kids LOVED seeing them, and I loved getting families involved! Here were some of the really good ones:

Christmas tree disguise

Present disguise

Another Christmas tree disguise

Peacock disguise

Fairy princess disguise

Garden disguise

Football player disguise

Bat disguise

And of course... Our Kinder Thanksgiving Feast

A wonderful way to teach and celebrate a simple version of the First Thanksgiving. I love the community aspect of the meal, and seeing the kinders try new foods!

Happy Thanksgiving from our class to you!

How DO you cook a turkey?

This is one of my favorite things I do with the kinders each year. We do a big Thanksgiving unit in our classroom, so we have been learning all about the first Thanksgiving, current Thanksgiving traditions, turkeys, etc. We also have an amazingly adorable kindergarten feast the week of Thanksgiving! [Check it out HERE.]

This week, I pulled each one of my little ones and tell them this: "Let's pretend YOU are supposed to  bring the turkey to our Thanksgiving feast. I want you to tell me everything you would do." Then, I write down their words word-for-word. 

In a word, they are PRICELESS.

I thought I'd share them here -- I've bolded my favorites. [I mixed in a few of the cute pictures, too!]

• Go to Baker's. Get a turkey. Go home and cook it. Eat it with your family -- that means sharing!
• Catch it with a net. Pick up the net. Put a top on it so the turkey doesn't get out. Take it home. Cook it. Eat it.
• Cook it with the stove. Check the time. Take it out. Cut it into 20 pieces and eat it.
• Buy a turkey. Bring it home. Cut it with scissors. Put stuffing on it. Turn the oven to 60 degrees. Cook it for 4 hours. Eat it.

• Kill it with a gun so it dies -- so that you can eat it. Take it home. Put peppers and tomatoes under it. Put cheese on top. Then, eat it.
• Buy it at the store. Bring it to your house. Cut it a little bit. Put salt and pepper on it. Put it in the oven for 30 minutes. Take it out and let it cool. Then, eat it.

• Go buy a turkey from the store. It should be around $5. Put it in a pan and put it in the oven. Cook it for 7 minutes. Eat it.
• Find it in the woods. You know -- go in the bushes and use your eyes to find a turkey. Then, find it. Then, eat it.
• Get a turkey out of the freezer and put it in your truck. Bring it home and cut it into 13 pieces. Take out the bones. Put all the pieces on a plate. Then, everyone eats it!
• Look for a turkey outside. Take it home. Cook it. Eat it.

• Buy a turkey at Wal-Mart. Put some vitamins on the turkey so it doesn't get sick. Bake it for 10 minutes. Carry it to the party, open it, and everyone will have a great feast.
• Get a turkey at the store. Smooth it. Put it in a pot. Cook it in the microwave for 15 minutes. Take it out and let it cool for a little bit. Then, eat it!

• Hunt for it. Cook it in the oven for 13 minutes. Cool it down. Add some pepper and eat it.
• Go to the pumpkin patch. Pick a red turkey. Pet it. Put it in a pan. Put sprinkles on it. Put it in a 40 degree oven. Cook it for 100 days. Eat it.
• Go get it from the store. Put it in a pan. Put it in the oven. Then, eat it.

• You are supposed to add some like vinegar or something. You add stuffing on the bottom. You get the cold turkey at a store. You put it in the oven -- it has to be pretty hot. Don't forget to use that squeezer thing.
• Mommy and daddy do it. 

• Try to catch a turkey. Shoot it with a fun. Put it in the oven. Cook it until it beeps. Get it out and cool it. Put it in a bowl and eat it.
• Buy it, put it in the oven. Take it out. Put the dressing on it.

The last one needs an explanation. We sent home paper turkeys last Friday and challenged the kinders and their families to "disguise" the turkeys to save them from becoming Thanksgiving dinner! The kids then brought them back to school to share. For example, this little girl disguised her turkey as a Christmas tree:

I think this last little guy got these things a little mixed up... I just laughed! :)

• Put it in the oven for 5 minutes. Take it out and put clothes on it and color it with crayons so it looks like you. Then, bring it to school.

On the days when this job is really hard... and please don't be fooled by my love for my career, there are days when it is really hard... well, on those days, I need to read these and just remember to smile.

Kindergarten Thanksgiving -- Part 2

MORE Thanksgiving goodness...

We make these bracelets to tell the story of The First Thanksgiving. Each color represents a part of the story (white for the Mayflower's sails, blue for the ocean, green for the new land, black for the hard winter, brown for the turkey, red for the cranberries, yellow for the corn, and orange for the pumpkins).

The kids LOVE it, and I love how it helps them remember the story. You can find the poem to go along HERE on Dr. Jean's website. 

After our feast, we wrote a list of the foods we ate, drew our plates, and labeled them. They turned out awesome -- and their parents loved seeing what they tried!

 

Lastly, we compared foods the Pilgrims and Indians ate at their feast and the foods we ate at our feast. The kids loved hearing about the foods they ate at the first Thanksgiving (picture on the left). But, we had a lot in common (middle picture)!

11 more months until next year. :)

Kindergarten Thanksgiving

I absolutely love Thanksgiving in kindergarten. I'm kind of obsessed with it -- and it has turned into a huge two-week unit every year. It is quite a production, and it's one of my favorite times of the year.

Here's a re-cap of some of my favorite parts:

We started the week by discussing what it means to be thankful. After reading books, the kids each decorated a leaf with something they're thankful for. We all loved our Thankful Tree!

Later in the week... the kids could use the tree for ideas when we were writing...

 ... like when we did these adorable thankful turkeys.

 

With my Team Time (older students), we made these Thanksgiving plates with a "recipe for caring." We drew our favorite Thanksgiving foods and labeled them with acts of caring.

And then, of course, it was time to learn about and celebrate The First Thanksgiving. (This is my favorite day of the year!!!)

There is something so sweet about a long table of 30 kindergartners. It's nostalgic and heart-warming. Their little manners and wide eyes simply melt my heart.

Each kid made a cute patterned placemat...

...and of course, dressed up as Pilgrims and Indians!

We filled up each kid's plate with all the traditional foods... turkey, potatoes, rolls, corn, green beans, stuffing, pumpkin pie... we had it all!

Thanksgiving in kindergarten never fails. The kids try new foods, use their best manners, and absolutely love the feast. And, I get to gawk at how stinkin' cute they are. :)

How to cook a turkey

For your reading pleasure... a step-by-step "recipe" from my kindergarten class.

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This is how you cook a turkey… 

By: Mrs. Anderson’s Kindergarten Class 2012 

1. Get a turkey (shoot one with a bow and arrow, buy it at the store, or get one from a farm) 

 2. Get the turkey ready (pull the feathers off, take the legs off, take the arms off, take the beak off, cut it in half) 

3. Make it taste good (salt, broth, green stuff, brown sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, and pepper) 

4. Put it on a tray 

5. Put it in the oven (12 degrees for 2-91 minutes… until the oven goes BEEP!) 

6. Take it out of the oven 

7. Cut the turkey (using a sharp knife or a sword, cut in on it’s back down the middle, cut 2-14 pieces for everybody or 45 pieces if it’s really big) 

8. Squeeze the turkey (and spray it with chicken juice) 

9. Set the table (with silverware, plates, napkins, chicken nuggets, corn, the turkey, mashed potatoes, and drinks) 

10. Eat it (with a fork or your hands!) 

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The First Thanksgiving (pt. 3 of many)

A few memorable quotes from this morning...

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Mrs. A (while reading a pilgrim book): "Boys and girls, what do you think he is hunting for?"

Student 1: "Turkey?"

Student 2: "Deer?"

Student 3: "Dinosaurs?"  (after all... if was as long time ago!)

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Student 1: "Did you know Friday is Black Friday?"

Student 2: "Yeah, everybody wears black."

Student 3: "And they have an extra Thanksgiving!"

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The First Thanksgiving (pt. 2 of many)

Student 1: "Mrs. Anderson, if the Pilgrims came on the Mayflower... how did the Indians get here?"

Mrs. A: "Well, the Indians already lived here in America."

Student 1: "Yeah, but where did they come from?"

Student 2: "Did they come on a boat, too?"

Mrs. A: "No. They lived in America for a very long time before the Pilgrims came."

Student 2: "Oh, so maybe they came on a boat a long time ago."

Student 1: "Or, maybe they walked."

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[Very inquisitive... very intelligent questions! And so difficult to explain! Just the way I like our discussions to be - challenging, student-directed, and natural.]
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The First Thanksgiving (pt. 1 of many)

The discussions have just begun...

Student: "Mrs. Anderson, did you know that the Indians only ate mashed potatoes? That's it!"

I have no idea where that came from... but it made me laugh out loud.