Sunday, December 1, 2013

Gobble Gobble

 The last few weeks of November were spent in preparation for Thanksgiving and our PreK Feast! Every activity we completed related to some aspect of the Thanksgiving tradition.  Whether it be turkeys, pilgrims, Native Americans, or the Mayflower, we incorporated it all!
 
One of the students favorite activities was our  positional word Turkey Hunt.  Each child was asked to find a turkey around the room that was either on top of, underneath, beside, behind, in front of, or inside some place in our room.  Look at all of our fun on the hunt!
 
 
All through the month of November we discussed things we were thankful for.  One day in religion Mrs. Straessle and the students filled out the feathers on Lucy the Turkey with thing they were thankful for.  We then made our own paper plate turkeys which turned out great!
 
 
One concept we reviewed in November was length.  The students made trees from autumn colored paper that started with the longest piece of paper at the base of the tree and the shortest piece of paper at the top.  They did a wonderful job!
 
 
After reading the Great Turkey Race, a story where three turkeys compete to be the Thanksgiving Turkey only to run away after they realize the Prize Turkey will be dinner, we made our craft of the month for the main school building.  Our turkeys offer suggestions of yummier foods to eat for Thanksgiving dinner!  Look at our wonderful handwriting, I am so proud of our penmanship!
 
 
During one of our lessons on Pilgrims and Native Americans we learned that the Native Americans helped the Pilgrims plant vegetables such as corn, potatoes, and beans.  We decided it would be fun to plant our own vegetable in our room so we planted corn!  Look at our corn grow!
 
 
One of the "take homes" from the feast were these turkey bags Mrs. Straessle and I made for the kids to put their candy drum sticks in.  I thought they were just too cute not to share!  :) 
 
 
My favorite Pilgrim craft of the month was our Pilgrim Portrait.  Each child made their own self portrait as a pilgrim child and they couldn't have turned out any cuter! 
 
 
We learned that the Pilgrims came to the United States on a ship called the Mayflower.  The Pilgrims had to stay in the bottom of the ship for a majority of the day eating, sleeping, and playing all in the same tiny space.  They ate a lot of oatmeal, beans, salted pork, and fish.  The Pilgrims were on the ship for 63 days so we decided it wouldn't have been much fun to be on the ship.  Our Mayflower handprint activity turned out great, all of the ocean scenes are very adorable!
 
 
My favorite turkey activity was our whole group guided drawing of a turkey.  They students did an awesome job following directions to draw their turkeys and they turned out fantastic, and quite comical! :)
 
 
Tuesday was our great Thanksgiving Feast!  Thank you so much for donating items to make our lunch a success.  Look at these cute Pilgrims and Native Americans enjoying their meal! 
 
 
PreK B had a special visitor before the Thanksgiving Feast, Fred the Elf!  Fred is our Elf on the Shelf who will report back to Santa on our behavior at school all while pulling off crazy antics in our classroom to give the kids special messages and a good laugh. 
 
 
Tuesday we held a Memorial Tree Dedication Service for our dear friend Mallory before the Thanksgiving Feast.  The tree was planted on a path that we walk numerous times a day, each time we see the tree and it's beautiful pink blossoms we will be reminded of Mallory's kind spirit and the love that she had for us, her Holy Souls PreK family.   After Father Erik blessed the tree we presented Mallory's parents with a pink tree we made with our thumb prints, then we released pink balloons.  I'm sure Mallory was smiling down on us and thought everything was "just so cute."
 
We love and miss you terribly, sweet girl.  We were blessed to know you, if even for a short time, and we are better for it.  Your love and kindness were contagious and your memory will forever be in our hearts.  We know you are dancing and singing in Heaven in some fabulous pink outfit and we can't wait for the day we see you again and join your song!

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