Thanksgiving Fun + New Literacy Centers

Happy November, friends! I feel like I blinked and October was gone! Today was the first day that it felt even a tiny bit like fall. It has been So. Dang. HOT. Hopefully those cooler temps will stay. I am ready for my boots and cardigans!

I had some requests for some Thanksgiving literacy centers, so here they are! Click on the picture to pick up a copy! Hopefully they will help you get through the next two weeks or so :)

We are having a ton of fun in art! There are certain things I miss about being in the regular classroom, but I honestly have no plans of going back. This is where I was meant to be! 

Something I know I am going to start missing are the holiday activities I used to do with my 2nd graders. But it helps knowing there are other kiddos out there doing some of the things I used to do! Here are some photos from past years of some of our Thanksgiving fun.This is just going to be a big old photo dump with very short descriptions :) Enjoy!

Thankful turkeys. 

How to Cook a Turkey. 

Story Map and Booklet for A Turkey for Thanksgiving. 

Edible Teepees. 

Totem Poles. 

The Coyote and the Butterfly plural nouns craftivity. 

Pueblos. 

Mayflower Suitcases. 

Check out these two packs from my TPT to get you through the next couple of weeks before Thanksgiving! Click on each picture to check them out. 

Thanksgiving Fun!

Hey there, sweet friends! I can't believe it is almost Thanksgiving! I am looking so forward to spending time with my sweet Mia Nicole and to eat lots of delicious food :)

Last week we read A Turkey for Thanksgiving in our basal reader, and worked on retelling the beginning, middle, and end of the story. The kids loved this book! We also made these cute little turkeys and wrote what we were thankful for and why. I don't know who made these turkeys originally, but I have seen them all over Pinterest and Facebook, but ohemgee, are their eyes not the cutest?!

We have been learning about the different Native American regions this week. After each region, we do some kind of craft or edible activity :)

We made Totem poles that represented people or pets that were important to us!

And you just HAVE to make edible teepees!

We made plural noun butterflies after reading The Coyote and the Butterfly.

And yesterday we learned all about the Pilgrims and their voyage on the Mayflower. Instead of a feast, we had a Mayflower snack, which consisted of things similar to what the Pilgrims ate on the Mayflower... cheese, jerky, and crackers! Then we made these little suitcases! {I whipped these up last minute, so not the cutest, but the kids loved them!}

I hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving break with your families!

Native American Activities

Last week, we Amy taught our kids all about different Native American cultures. I say Amy and not "we" because she is very knowledgeable and really did do most, if not all, of the teaching for this unit. It is also a subject that she is very interested in. And she did an amazing job, as always!

Each day we focused on a different region. We had a fact booklet that we read, and we read them different legends from each region, showed pictures, etc. I wanted to show you a couple of the activities we did for some of the regions!

For the Southwest region {which is where Amy is originally from} we made a giant pueblo village! We gave each student a piece of paper. They made their family's pueblo, and wrote one fact they learned at the bottom of the pueblo. Then we put it together on butcher paper!

"The pueblo girls learned to grind corn, bake, and weave."

 

For the Northwest region, we learned all about totem poles, and we had the kids make their own! They had to choose 4 people {or pets} that they wanted their totems to represent. Then they had to write a sentence about why each person {or pet} was important to them. They loved this activity and did a great job! You can get your free template from Enchanted Learning.

 

No unit is complete without a yummy activity, right?! After learning about the Plains region, we made edible tipis/tepees/teepees {our kids have seen every spelling for this word!} Each child needs an ice cream cone, about a teaspoon of icing, a few pretzel sticks and some m&ms! This was a huge hit, of course :)

 

 

This week we are learning about the Wampanoags and the Pilgrims, and instead of a traditional feast, we are going to eat like the Pilgrims did on the Mayflower {crackers, beef jerky, and cheese!} We will also have some turkey fun! If you are in need of some turkey fun, be sure to check out the packs below! Click on either picture :)







Gobble, Gobble! FLASH SALE on 2 new items!

In the past week I posted 2 new items that I am really excited about! And they are 20% off through midnight tonight! I'd love to know what you think of them :)

First is Fun With Turkeys at Thanksgiving! There are 58 pages of printables, activities and craftivities! Click on the first picture to check it out in my TpT store! And look below for a preview of what's included.

 

Next is one of my favorite writing craftivities to do at Christmas time! You may remember me posting about it last year. {Can you tell that I am ready for the holidays?!} I came up with this last year and my kids LOVED it, and we got so many compliments on these cute little elves! This is my Elf for Hire! {Persuasive Writing Craftivity}. Click on the first picture to check it out my little store!

 



 

Pick up your copies while they are on sale! Have a fabulous Sunday!



Monday Made It!

 

I am linking up with Tara again for Monday Made it!

 

First thing I worked on were clipboards for Amy and myself! I love how they turned out! However, I am a little nervous that the tape I got at Target is not going to hold up all year... We will see!

 

I have been trying to work on some other glyphs and craftivities for this upcoming year, and what better time to do that than summer, right?! Here are a few I have worked on in the past couple days. Click on the pictures to check them out on TpT :)

 

 

The last thing I worked on was bundling ALL my glyphs and craftivities! There are 11 of them {$11 value} and it is in my TpT store for only $8.50!

 

 

Since I have posted so many new items, I want to be sure EVERYONE wins!! You must follow my blog and my TpT store. Leave me a comment to let me know which new glyph or craftivity you would like {excluding the bundle}! **Don't forget your email address!!**

 

This will be good until midnight on Tuesday {7/23}, or until I check my blog next :)

 

Feel free to pin away or blog about this :)

Updated  7/24: This giveaway has expired. Thanks to all who entered!