November is a great time to teach children about being thankful and grateful for all they have. Children create these Thankful Turkeys and, depending on their writing level, they can add more or less information on each feather. Other ideas can include writing a thank you letter to someone in their community who helps them (police officer, firefighter,teacher, babysitter, etc.) or you can show them how you donate your time/food/clothing to those in need.
Another all time favorite activity is Disguise A Turkey. I have families work on the activity together and they love it.
It also allows the family to work together to create somethig great. This year, I wrote an emergent reader that is a great transition into the project for the Disguise a Turkey activity. It includes everything you need for the Thankful Turkey above, many math printables, Tickle the Turkey emergent reader, sight word cards, a parent letter, turkey patterns, awards, and more. You can grab it here! Also, there's a FREEBIE to grab as well!
A fun idea is to use a popsicle stick and glue a feather to it to read the words and to tickle the turkey as well!
Here are some cute creations from this year:
Another great activity is to write what you are thankful for. A great twist on this old favorite was this great idea from Sunny in Second Grade. The kids enjoyed it a lot! Feel free to grab the FREE turkey peekover from my store!
Popsicle sticks are also great to use as "Mr. Spacers." Kids can decorate them and use them to remember spacing between words. You could also stick a holiday sticker at the end of the popsicle stick and change it out seasonally!
Here's a freebie.. Happy Turkey Day!
For Veterans Day:
You can create a flag with the children's handprints and cut a star shape out of a sponge to create the stars.
Another idea is to make some cards for the Veterans. We usually send them to a local organization, but this year I found this below in the Scholastic magazine.
This is from the Scholastic News Lesson:
Operation Gratitude
This organization collects and sends letters, cards, artwork, and care packages to troops and veterans around the country. Their guidelines include:
• Bundle letters to deployed troops separately from those to veterans, and label accordingly.
No envelopes are needed for individual letters.
• Start with a salutation such as “Dear Hero.” Do not use “Sailor” or “Soldier,” as the letter might go to a member of another branch.
• In addition to giving thanks, have students tell about themselves! (First names ONLY, please.)
• Include your school’s contact information (address or e-mail). Troops love to write back if time allows!
• Art projects are welcomed—but avoid glitter.
• Put all letters/art into an envelope or a box.
Ship to:
Operation Gratitude
17330 Victory Boulevard
Van Nuys, CA 91406
A big thank you to Fern Smith for her fabulous coloring pages and to Michelle Harper for the Veterans Day Timeline Activity.
They go great together!
My students highlighted the dates as we read the history of Veterans Day. Then, we went back to the text when completing the timeline.
(I did add Veterans Day on top of the coloring page since we already had our name on the project)
Huge thanks to:
Fern Smith's Coloring Pages... so many to choose from!
Michelle Harper's Veterans Timeline!
Other fun ideas: Have a sharing feast with your children where each child brings in a small amount of food and you share as a class. Another idea is to have your own Thanksgiving Feast in your class. Sliced deli turkey works as an quick and easy substitute for the real thing.
We created some easy Native American hats to wear during our feast. All you do is color in a feather outline, cut them out, and glue them to a sentence strip.
The kids drew pictures to represent words.
Create Indian Corn:
Give children thin strips of colored paper and have them rip it into small pieces to use as kernels and glue them onto paper. Add the husk on top and you're done!
This is a great activity to practice fine motor skills.
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