Thanksgiving Thoughts....

Today began with feathers in the Touch and Feel.  The kids all knew that birds had feathers, but they had a little more difficulty naming different types of birds. Ducks, blue birds, and eagles came with some prompting.....but, I'm not sure they believed me when I told them a turkey was  bird!

There are SO many wonderful books about Thanksgiving that we decided to read one during our morning circle.  Time is flying by and we don't have that many days until the holiday is actually here!  Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes is a story about all the little things we have to be thankful for during this time of year.  We are thankful for families, and school, and leaves, and food....so many things it's hard to even make a list!



Ms. Michelle was back today with some great activities.  The kids REALLY miss her when we miss a week of OT!  She had some really cool pillows to jump on that make a squeaking sound.  The kids jumped from pillow to pillow and then walked across a balance beam.  The last station was throwing and catching.  It didn't get anyone's full attention because they were all so excited to get back in line and hear the pillow noise again.  We ended our OT with coloring pictures of turkeys and gluing on feathers.  The tricky part was that Ms. Michelle wanted us to work on our tummies the whole time.  We are trying to make our arms stronger and build up our core muscles.  You wouldn't believe that they children who spend all day trying to lay down, had difficulty doing it when it was the direction!!  The irony was not lost on me. 

The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing is a story that follows  a traditional American Family Thanksgiving celebration including all the activities and preparation that goes into this great holiday. Actually its not so much about the night before, as it is the day of, all the things that families do on Thanksgiving. The kids loved talking about how their family traditions compared to the family in the story.



Our transition activity was making a list of all our FAVORITE Thanksgiving foods!  I'm not sure if the list was accurate, if it is, you guys have a very nontraditional holiday feast.  Our list included turkey, cheese, apples, popsicles, pizza, macaroni, and broccoli.  With some adult direction, we got back on track and added some more vegetables, but it was definitely in protest!

I can't tell you about our art activity.  It's a surprise for our upcoming Family Feast.  Here's a hint....the children are working on table decorations and special outfits to make the lunch extra special.  If you ask them, they will probably tell you.....I'm not sure how well they will be able to keep a secret....they were SUPER excited!!