The story of Thanksgiving was told via puppet show and turned out to be a big hit in our class. One side of the backdrop displayed England which had homes and stores. In the story children learned that in England the people there were comfortable, they could get food from the store and had warm homes to live in but they couldn't do all the things that made them happy so they set out to find a new place to live. These people were called Pilgrims and they packed up some things, got on a big boat called the Mayflower and sailed on water for a long time.
Finally, they found some land and came off the Mayflower but this new place was nothing like England. To show the contrast and help children understand the hardships the Pilgrims endured in the new land, the other side of the backdrop displayed America with only some trees and teepees. The Pilgrims had no homes to live in and there were no stores for them to buy food. They were very cold and hungry.
Morah: "How do you thing the Pilgrims felt to have no homes and no food?"
Children: "Sad." "Scared." "They cry."
Morah: "That's right, they were sad and scared and maybe even cried. But they met some friends in the new land. These new friends were called Native Americans and they helped and shared with the Pilgrims. They helped Pilgrims build homes and learn how to plant yummy pumpkins, corn and cranberries in their gardens and how to have turkeys on a farm. How do you think the Pilgrims felt when the Native Americans helped and shared with them?
Children: "Happy."
Morah: "That's right, the Pilgrims were so happy they made a big "Thank You" feast and invited the Native Americans to join them. They ate turkey and corn and cranberries and it was all so yummy. Everyone was happy to be together and happy to help and share with each other. To remember this story and how the Native Americans helped and shared with the Pilgrims every year we have a Thanksgiving feast. We eat lots of turkey, cranberry sauce, corn, pumpkin pie and other yummy foods. We also spend time with family and friends and say Thank You for all that we have.
After hearing the story of Thanksgiving a few times the children began using the backdrops and puppets to retell the story themselves. They acted out the Native Americans helping and sharing with the Pilgrims and added homes, turkeys and gardens to the backdrop.
When the children learned that there would be a big Thanksgiving party to which our friends and family would come to celebrate with us they were very excited. During circle time we discussed invitations and made one of our own to tell our families about the upcoming Thanksgiving Feast. We also talked about what the invitation should say and what is the best place for us to put it so that all the moms and dads can see it.
The next thing we had to do as a class is prepare some delicious food to share with our friends and family at the Thanksgiving feast. The children were so excited when they found out that we would be making pumpkin pies. First we had to learn more about pumpkin pies.
Did you ever see a pumpkin pie?
Children: "Yes, my daddy make a pumpkin pie for me." "My mommy buy a pumpkin pie in the store." "Pumpkin pie is round like a circle."
What do you think a pumpkin pie is made of?
Children: "Pumpkin!"
How do you think a pumpkin pie tastes?
Children: "Yummy!" "Good." "Sweet." "Like a pumpkin."
After making the pumpkin pies came a lesson on sharing the pumpkin pies.
Morah: “I have this pie, it looks so good. What kind of pie do you think it is? What shape is the pie? What colors to you see on the pie? This pie is going to be so delicious; I just can’t wait to eat it. Do you have a pumpkin pie?
Children: “No, I don’t have one.” “I want pumpkin pie.” “Please can I have pie?”
Morah: “You don’t have a pie? I want you to have some pie too but I only have one pie. What can we do?
Children: “We can share!” “I have a piece and Lexi have a piece and everybody have a piece.”
Morah: “Wait, how do we know we have enough pie for everyone. What should we do to make sure that we have enough for everyone?”
Children: “We can count!”
Morah: “Great idea, first let’s count how many friends we have in class today. Now let’s count how many pieces of pie we have. Do we have enough to share with all our friends in class today?”
Children: “Yes!”
The children were so happy to have a piece of pie and it was so much fun pretending to eat it together.
Morah: “Wow, look at the back of your pie. What do you see there?”
Children: “I see a letter and dots.” “I see 2, one, two dots.” “Can I see your pie, what do you have on your pie?”
Morah: “I have a number on my piece too, it’s number 4 and there are four dots under the number 4.”
Morah: “Can you count the dots on the back of your piece of pie? How many dots do you have?”
Children: “I have 5.” “I have 7.” “I have 2.”…
Morah: “Look there are numbers and dots here on the plate.”
Children: “I see my number, can I put it?” “I want to match my number too.” “I have 1 dot and I see 1 dot here.”
Morah: “Do you like this game? Would you like to make your own sharing pie game?”
Children: “Yes!”
The “Sharing Pie” craft was fun and provided a great opportunity for children to use glue and follow multi-step instructions. I will also be a fun game for children to play with their families and feel the joy of sharing.
