1-2-3 Come Do A Thanksgiving Craftivity With Me

I’m always looking for a few things that are quick, easy & fun for my students to do, during that last day before our Thanksgiving break.

With that in mind, I designed these 2 simple and versatile crafts, which are nice “wind things down” activities, for that sometimes hectic time.

First up is a cute owl card. There are 2 pattern options.
One says, “Guess whooo’s wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving?”, while the other one is generic, for students who may not celebrate this holiday: “Guess whooo is wishing you an awesome autumn?”

Children color & cut out their owl, along with the extra hat.
When that top tab on the hat is folded and glued in place, the hat will flip up to reveal a child’s school photo and the answer to the above question: “Me! That’s whooo.”

You don’t have to, but for some pizzazz & 3D pop, add wiggle eyes attached with glue dots. For that “finishing touch”, an extra beak and pair of wings (which also flip up), adds even more dimension.

If you do add the wings, students can write their greeting underneath.
If you decide to skip this step, I’ve provided a hexagon-shaped writing prompt, which is glued on the back.

There’s a blank hexagon, so you can have children complete a writing prompt, as well as a “Happy Thanksgiving” or “Happy fall”, where little ones trace the greeting, then sign their name.

I chose a hexagon shape because that’s one of our “toughies” to remember, so this provides a teachable moment to review it.

Next up is a "Welcome To My Home" activity. This project can also be used generically for fall, as well as Thanksgiving.

Use it as a card for younger children to make, or as a writing prompt craftivity for older students.

Ive discovered that anytime I toss a bit of craftiness into a writing lesson, my students are excited to get right down to business and more happily engaged.

Completed projects make a sweet bulletin board too.

I’ve included a list of 21 writing prompt options for them to choose from.

Besides the writing prompt choices, there are also several patterns for different “keepsake” cards you can make.

Personally, I designed this activity for Thanksgiving; ( “Welcome to my home for Thanksgiving” ) however, I realize some children don’t celebrate this holiday, so I’ve also included a generic “Welcome To My Home” pattern as well.

Choose which template is appropriate for your kiddos or give them a choice.
Templates come in black & white for students, as well as full color, so that you can quickly and easily make an example to share.

I purposely used the word “home” rather than “house” because home has a connotation of a place where you live, which could be an apartment or igloo, while a house is specific.

I’ve also included extra patterns with a bit of blank space on the door and doorstep, so that children can practice writing their address.

As you can see, both activities are an educational and quick,” little something”, you can plug into that often hectic last day before Thanksgiving break.
Easy-peasy for you; super-fun for your students.

Today's featured FREEBIE is a "Fall Leaves" packet, which will help your students practice their reading skills. The emergent reader booklet covers lots of Common Core and reinforces color words. 

Children read the simple sentences (packed with lots of Dolch and word wall words). 

They correct beginning capitalization, add end punctuation and then trace, write and color the color words with a matching color crayon or marker.

A graphing extension, color word matching worksheet and spinner game are also included. 

We'll that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.

Our church passed out shoe boxes to fill for needy children, so time to brave the chilly weather and go shopping.  

Wishing you a happy-go-jolly kind of day. 

"To get the true value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with." - Mark Twain

1-2-3 Come Do Some Thanksgiving Pilgrim Activities With Me

Do you read ”The Littlest Pilgrim” by Brandi Dougherty? 

I think part of the reason my students enjoy this story so much, is that they truly identify with Mini, the main character, for they too are young and often feel left out.

Mini is too little to chop wood, bake bread, hunt, build a cabin, or fish. (A nice list of things that the Pilgrims did).

However, she’s not too little to pick berries and make a special Native American friend; which in truth is the very essence of why the Pilgrims survived.

Because of my students’ enthusiasm for the story and their empathetic identification with Mini, I designed 3 quick, easy and fun writing prompt activities that I think your students will enjoy.

* The first one: “When I was younger I was too little to . . .” features 4 different “toppers” for them to choose from then color. See the samples on the cover.

* The next one is a comparison-contrast activity, where students complete the prompts: “It’s great being a kid because…” then compare that with “I look forward to being an adult because…”
Students can choose a boy or girl Pilgrim worksheet.

* Finally, a Pilgrim girl bookmark, has children make a list of words (character traits) that describe Mini.

The activities are different enough so that you can do all three, or give children a choice of the top two, then build vocabulary and practice descriptive character traits, as a whole group.

Besides the black & white patterns for students, I’ve also included full color templates, so that you can quickly and easily make a sample to share. My finished examples are also included.

To practice "text to self" we discuss times in our lives that we felt just like Mini.

Completed projects make a sweet bulletin board. 

I’ve included 2 posters for the center of your display. 

Because my storytelling slider craftivities craftivities have been so popular, I decided to design one to go along with "The Littlest Pilgrim" as well. 

This craftivity is a quick, easy and fun way to reinforce the "sequencing and retelling a story" standards, while relaying factual information about the Pilgrims at the same time.

Children color the objects on the “slider strip” then cut and glue it together.

As they pull on the end of the “slider” the various pictures go through the window”, so that children can take turns retelling the story to a partner or reading buddy, then take their Pilgrim home to share with their family, once again practicing these standards.

Storytelling sliders are also an easy & interesting way to assess comprehension.

I’ve included a “sequence the story” worksheet for this, where students color and trim the picture “windows” then glue them in the correct order on the blank worksheet.

So that you can quickly and easily make an example, I’ve included a full-color slider pattern.  There are patterns for both a boy and girl Pilgrim.

I’ve also included a “Here’s What Happened…” writing prompt worksheet, as another way to check comprehension plus practice sequential writing, hopefully using a variety of ordinal numbers or other transitions.

The featured FREEBIE for today are some fun acorn-themed craftivities, which make a nice "sanity saver" for the last day before vacation. 

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for popping over.

The Sandhill Cranes are migrating and make a stop over in a marsh close by.

So time to bundle up to go see this truly awesome sight, as literally 1,000s swoop in honking away. Wishing you an inspiring day.

"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly." - Langston Hughes

1-2-3 Come Do Some Thanksgiving Activities With Me

I think you’ll really like the versatility of the Turkey Feathers number packet, as you can pick and choose what’s appropriate for your students PK-1st.

What’s especially nice about the variety, is that you can easily differentiate the activities to suit various student levels.

Use them as table top worksheets, independent centers, whole group activities, something for early finishers, homework, interventions, or a sub folder.

The packet includes a trace & write counting booklet, a variety of worksheets, games, puzzles, several assessments, odd & even activities, plus a graphing extension.

There's also a turkey slider “craftivity”, with “slider strips” for numbers 0-10, 0-30, counting backwards from 10-0, as well as 20-0, plus skip counting strips for 2s, 3s, 5s & 10s.

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to have a look see: Turkey Feathers. 

While you're there, I'd so appreciate it if you'd follow me, so that you'll know when I post the latest FREEBIE or am throwing a sale.

Speaking of FREEBIES, today's is  my "Tasting Feast" packet.  It's filled with everything you need to throw a Thanksgiving Tasting Feast for your students: signs, ingredients, letters and notes home + tips.

The packet is one of the first Thanksgiving activities I posted years ago, before all of the clip art, fonts, and graphic design programs that I use now, but I think you'll still find it helpful.

A tasting feast is a fun and easy alternative to help celebrate this historical event.  My kiddos absolutely loved it. 

Half of them chose to be Wampanoag Native Americans, the other half were Pilgrims.  They especially enjoyed making hats and headbands, as well as collars and paper bag vests to wear.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by. The carpet cleaners are coming tomorrow to do the whole house. 

Babies, toddlers and a puppy have taken it's toll,  so it will be a busy day getting ready. 

At least I feel energized to get things spruced up for Thanksgiving. Wishing you a carefree day.

"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received.  Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling.  Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse." - Henry Van Dyke

 1-2-3 Come Do Some Creative November Writing Activities With Me

Are you looking for some November-themed writing activities to plug into your Daily 5 or writing block?  Well you've come to the right place.  I've got a variety of interesting and fun options for you. 

After reading several stories about the first Thanksgiving, have a discussion with your students about the kinds of meals that they enjoy for their Thanksgiving feast.  How are they similar? How are they different?  Do most of them have a traditional or non traditional Thanksgiving? 

Afterwards, have students write about this, by coloring their turkey recording paper and jotting down things about their Thanksgiving meal. 

Remind students to use descriptive adjectives, to help explain what their table decorations, as well as food for their feast, consists of. 

For that finishing touch, have them color, trim and glue the table pattern to the bottom of their completed paper.  I've included my sample that you can share, or make one up of your own, as a fun way for your kiddos to learn a bit about their teacher.

 When everyone is done, call on several volunteers to share their work.  Completed projects make lovely hallway wall decorations displayed in a row.

Click on the link to view/download the My Thanksgiving Dinner Writing Prompt Craftivity.The My Thanksgiving Dinner paper plate craftivity, featured last week, would be a nice companion to this writing prompt as well. 

Another form of writing that students are asked to learn, is giving directions for how to do something. 

The "How to Make a Pumpkin Pie" craftivity, provides interesting practice.  I've included a list of transitions, a graphing extension and an adjective worksheet, as well as a Venn diagram activity for more teachable moments. 

Another writing prompt that's very popular at this time of year, is when children write about things that they are thankful for.  For years, I had my students write these items on turkey feathers then I'd staple them to a big fat turkey on our bulletin board. 

If you're tired of doing something like that, I have several different options for you to choose from.  A super-quick one is the Thankful word craftivity. 

Inside the letters, students write as many things as they can think of, that they are thankful for.  Mount their completed work, on a variety of fall-colored construction paper and you have a quick, easy and awesome bulletin board.

The Thankful Wreath, is another option.  Completed projects turn out lovely, especially with a bit of colorful glitter glue to add that finishing touch.  Students write what they are thankful for on the autumn-colored leaves. 

I have a poem, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, that can be included in the center if you want.  Adding a child's class picture, makes this even more special. 

If you still like the idea of using a cute little turkey craft for your "I'm thankful for..." writing prompt, I think you'll like Tyrone. 

I got the idea for his loopy feathers from Melissa, over at her first grade blog.  To make Tyrone, children write what they are thankful for on the paper strip "feathers" then staple them into a loop, and glue them to the back of their turkey. 

I made up six options for Tyrone's tummy circle:  Thanksgiving quotes, short Christian poems, and simply the words Happy Thanksgiving. You can choose one that's appropriate for your kiddos, or give them a choice.  

Finally, making an I'm Thankful" class book, is another creative writing prompt that I think your kiddos will enjoy doing. 

This activity fits in well with any "bucket filling" theme you may have going on, as students pick a Pilgrim hat card, out of a basket. 

The cards have your students' names on them.  Each child writes why they are thankful for that classmate, and then illustrates their page.  Include real class photographs to make this a classroom-library favorite. 

If you didn't see the  Thankful Tree blog article yesterday, scroll down.  It offers yet another "I'm Thankful" alternative, as this writing prompt has students write about what they are thankful for in the four seasons, working on the use of adjectives, to help make students' writing more descriptive.  

Well that's it for today.  I have much to be thankful for, including the fact that I get to spend a good portion of my day coloring, cutting and pasting away, as I design new activities. 

Although I miss being in the classroom, I still enjoy teaching via this website.  It makes being retired super-fun, relaxing and very joy-filled.   Wishing you a blessed day.

"The trouble with life isn't that there is no answer, it's that there are so many answers."  -Ruth Benedict (Anthropologist)

1-2-3 Come Do Some Turkey-rific Shape Activities With Me

Review 2D shapes in fun and interesting ways, with this Thanksgiving "Shape Up!" turkey packet.The packet includes a turkey craft, where the feathers have the various shapes on them. Students write the name of the shape underneath the picture.  Older students can write the attributes of that shape on the back of the feather.

Note the feet of the turkey are pentagons, his beak is a rhombus and the belly of the turkey is a hexagon.  I've provided a shape pattern for the head, but if you want to turn this into a keepsake craft, have students trace their shoe for this part. 

I've included feathers for the standard 2D shapes shown in the picture, as well as feathers with a trapezoid, rhombus, pentagon and octagon on them as well.

For more practice, there's a turkey dice game.  children play in groups of 2-4 and take turns rolling a dice.  Whatever number they roll, is the matching numbered shape that they color.  Encourage children to say the shape words as they play the game. 

There's also a turkey shape slider. Even though this is a shape-themed packet, I've also included "slider" strips for upper and lowercase letters, numbers to 30, counting backwards from 10-1 and 20-1, as well as skip counting sliders for 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's. 

Sliders are a quick, easy and fun way to whole group assess.  Choose a child to call out a shape, children pull their slider 'til that shape is in the "window" and then hold it up.  You can see at a glance who is having difficulty.

Use the 10 turkey shape cards in a pocket chart, for your word wall, or as a flashcard review.

Make extra sets and cut them up for puzzles or Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?" games. 

All of these fun, fall FREEBIES, can be found in the  Turkey Shape Craftivities & Games packet.  I hope you and your kiddos enjoy them.

Thanks for visiting today.  It's time for a break to go crunch through some leaves and take a hike through the park. 

Chloe, my poodle pup, has been waiting patiently.  Wishing you an invigorating day.

 "Each life is like a letter of the alphabet. Alone, it can be meaningless, or it can become part of the whole, to achieve true meaning." -- Unknown 


1-2-3 Come Do A Few More Thanksgiving Craftivities With Me

I have a bunch of empty TP rolls literally rolling around the bottom of my drawer, so I decided to dream up a quickie independent center, recycling TP tubes, that children could transition to, after they completed their morning table-top lessons.

I really enjoy designing simple craftivities that I know children will have fun making, and parents will enjoy keeping.  After I glued my grandson's photo to the template, I knew I had the "Awwww!" factor.

It's a misconception that Pilgrims only wore stark black or gray clothing, with white collars and cuffs.  While the cuffs remained white, Pilgrim clothes were also green, blue, burgundy, violet and red. 

This has been documented through diaries, letters, as well as wills, where Colonials left special clothes, like a velvet violet skirt, or green doublet to a family member.

It would be historically appropriate for you to cut the construction paper rectangles out of these brighter colors and give students a choice of what they want their Pilgrim to wear. 

I cut 2 scallops from a paper doilie and folded it over the top of the TP tube to make the Pilgrim girl's collar.  You could also add a yarn bow for that finishing touch. 

Students have the option to color a Pilgrim head, or print off a child's school photo for them to glue to the face of the Pilgrim.  I added a bit of pizzazz to the hat with gold glitter glue.  Click on the link to view/download the TP Pilgrim craftivity.

Since writing about what you are thankful for is such an interesting and popular writing prompt, I designed yet another craftivity where students can do this.  It's always nice to give children a few options when it comes to writing. 

Run off the THANKFUL word template.  Students cut and glue the pieces together to make the word.  Children can simply write what they are thankful for inside the letters, or challenge older students to think of at least 1 or 2 things that they are thankful for that begin with those letters.  i.e. in the letter F one could write: food, family, fun, friends, freedom etc.  I added some extra pizzazz with glitter glue.

I also made an example with pictures. 

Students can use stickers, clip art, pictures cut from magazines, as well as photographs of things that they are thankful for and add them to their word. 

If you don't have time to do this in class, assign it for homework and enlist parental help.  Click on the link to view/download the THANKFUL writing prompt-word craftivity.

Finally, build students' self-esteem by making a Thankful Class book. 

Print the color or black & white cover and run off the boy and girl writing prompts and Pilgrim hats. 

Write each child's name on a hat and toss them in a container. Students choose a name and write why they are thankful for that friend. 

Encourage children to use at least 3 adjectives and 2 verbs in their writing.  When everyone is done, have students share their page. 

Collect, collate and laminate the pages and keep in your classroom library.  I've also included a thankful note from the teacher.  Print, fill in your students' names and sign.

Click on the link to view/download the Thankful Class book. Thanks for visiting today.  I design and blog daily, so I hope you can stop back tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES. Feel free to PIN anything from my site.  

"Spending time with children is far more important than spending money on them." -Anthony Williams

1-2-3 Come Do Some Awesome Autumn Craftivities With Me!

To help motivate my Y5's to get down to business, stay focused and complete their morning table top lessons, I'd often offer a simple & quick craftivity that they could transition to, when they were done, or if I spied them quietly working.  The textured acorn is perfect for this.

Here's How: 

• Run off on brown construction paper & rough cut.
• Students trim and write their name on the back.
• Individually call them up to the ‘sprinkling” center, to work one-on-one with you or an adult helper.  
• Children brush glue over the top with a large foam brush.
• Children sprinkle mustard seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds or bird seed on the top.  Gently shake off excess, then they brush glue on the bottom. 
• Children sprinkle ground cinnamon &/or ground clove onto the bottom.  Set aside to dry.
• Your room will smell wonderful while making these.
•  
• Another craftivity you can do with the acorn template, is to have children write their name on the bottom; you help them trace the letters with glue and then sprinkle with coppery-orange glitter. You can also add glitter to the top of the acorn and sprinkle with another color.

Use the acorns as a border on your bulletin board that displays student work.  Your caption can be: “We’re simply nuts about...” and then fill in whatever you’re studying. Click on the link to view/download the scent-sational acorn craftivities.

Another sweet-smelling craftivity I call the pumpkin pie pomander. Simply cut a paper plate into 1/8ths.

For a quick and interesting review of fractions, do this in front of your kiddo's to demonstrate how fractions are formed, by first cutting the plate in 1/2 then in 1/4ths and finally into 1/8ths. I've included a set of fraction pies for even more reinforcement.

Punch a hole in the corner and tie a yarn or ribbon loop.  Call quiet students up to the painting center.  They paint their slice of pie with light brown paint.  While the paint is still wet, help them sprinkle on ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.  Shake off excess.  When it dries students can glue the little poem to the back. I've also done this as a whole group activity. 

You can skip painting and simply have children color the edge of their "crust" with a light brown or tan marker or crayon.  Instead of using paint, students brush Elmer's glue onto the bottom portion of the pie using a Q tip. 

Remind students that they just want to make their pie sticky and not sloppy with glue puddles. Have a mixture of  cinnamon-clove powder sprinkled on 8" paper plates  (1 per table). Students carefully place the wet side down onto the powder and press.  Click on the link to view/download the Pumpkin Pie Pomander craftivity.  

Finally, since the Thankful Tree was such a popular download, I thought I'd make another option called the Thankful Wreath. 

I've included a variety of leaf templates + an acorn.  Prior to the activity, brainstorm with children about the things they are thankful for.  Write them on the board so students have help with spelling. 

There are several ways to make the wreath:  Children flip over a paper plate and glue the poem in the middle. 

They select 8 leaves that you have run off on a variety of fall-colored construction paper. Older students can cut their own leaves, but I'd pre-cut for pre-K's to expedite things. If you want them to have some cutting practice, have them trim the elm leaf.

Children write something they are thankful for on each leaf.  Before they glue, have them arrange the leaves in a circle around the poem.  When they are satisfied with the appearance, they glue the leaves to the wreath. In the picture I used two oak leaves to make a "bow" and put an acorn in the middle with a child's photo glued to it.

The other way you can make the wreath is to skip the poem and cut the center of the plate out.  As I was making samples, I liked a thinner circle so that the white didn't show through, but you still had enough "base" to glue things on, so I cut quite a bit of the ribbing off as well.  

After students have written on the leaves, they rub glue all over the wreath and then press their leaves on. 

My Y5's absolutely loved anything with glitter, so I thought that some "sparkles" would help add the "wow" factor they so enjoyed. 

Completed projects make a lovely bulletin board, or hang them back-to-back from the ceiling in the hallway.  Click on the link to view/download the Thankful Wreath patterns.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  I blog and design daily, so I hope you can stop by tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES.

"Without Thy sunshine and Thy rain, we could not have the golden grain.  Without Thy love we'd not be fed.  We thank Thee for our daily bread." -Unknown.