Mrs. West's Class: Thanksgiving: First Grade Concrete Style (Prepare to be Overwhelmed)

Wow! For such a short week (2 days) we sure did pack it ALL in. We still had LOTS that I couldn't fit into our already jam packed schedule. I have so much "FUN" to share with you, so I am sorry, but prepare to be overwhelmed. I will start off by sharing some things we've done the past two days. We started off yesterday with "Pick a turkey" Math. Each child was given a paper with turkeys that they had to color differently. They cut the turkeys out and put them in a brown bag. Each time they pulled a turkey out of the bag, they put a tally mark next to that turkey on their paper. Each time, they returned the turkey to the bag so it was added back into the probability of being chosen again. After continuing this step 9 more times, they counted the tallies of each turkey and circled the turkey that was picked most. Out of 8 turkeys, 1 was colored brown, 3 were red, and 4 were green ... meaning it was predicted that the green would be chosen most.... some turned out this way and some turned out not how we predicted. :)

For writing (the first day), we wrote what we were thankful for on a pilgrim that we created. They were so cute making their pilgrims. Thanks to Mrs. Sonen, they didn't have to cut the parts of the pilgrim, they were already done. They just had to write what they were thankful for and design their hair and of course, put it together. They turned out GREAT. Each pilgrim's hair looked so unique and creative...I was IMPRESSED. Check them out!

While working super hard on Monday, the 2nd graders came by to present their "floats" parade-style. It was so cute and our kids REALLY enjoyed it. Check out their parade and floats!!!!

We also made our Thanksgiving Bracelets on Monday, but somehow I forgot to get a picture....probably because Mrs. Thomas and myself were too busy running around helping our friends put their beads on. They were so cute and if you ask your child, they should be able to tell you the story about the first thanksgiving using the beads on their bracelet. :)

Now, on to Tuesday. We started off the morning creating Indian bag puppets and Indian headbands. Each child creating their own "Indian Name" by using a verb+noun to make the name, for example, Singing (verb) + Dove (noun)= singing dove. They really enjoyed their names. After creating their name, they added Indian Symbols and feathers.

Later on, we worked on our thankful turkeys which had five feathers (each with one thing they were thankful for) attached to a painted toilet paper tube, with googly eyes, and a beak. As they created their turkeys, I passed out their yummy Indian tepee cupcakes! They may not look pretty, but I didn't hear complaints about the taste!!! :) Check them out below!

This picture is awesome because Destiny is raising her "tepee" by saying, "3 cheers for Mrs. West." :)

Towards the end of the day, we talked about Squanto and how he helped the pilgrims learn how to plant crops, and hunt for food. We discussed that he taught the pilgrims to place dead fish over the ground 2 weeks prior to planting their crops to help fertilize the soil and ensure that the crops would grow. We made a Helpful Squanto Snack by crushing oreos in a baggy, pouring them in a cup, "planting" candy corn, and placing "dead fish" (swedish fish) over the "dirt" (oreos). They really enjoyed this snack/activity too! :)

Last but not least... I changed up the stations a little bit. We worked on Thanksgiving themed stations to go with the holiday. Here are some pictures of their fun stations!