Clifford's Thanksgiving Visit - aka - What's Important at Thanksgiving?

Clifford's Thanksgiving Visit
by Norman Bridwell (Scholastic Inc., 1993)

Clifford, the beloved giant red dog, loves his family. Emily Elizabeth is especially close to his heart. But what about Thanksgiving when Emily Elizabeth flies to visit her grandparents and Clifford cannot go? Imagine Clifford in a plane!

Clifford embraces the season and fights the normal adventure of travel on the Thanksgiving weekend to visit his mother in the big city. Traffic jams, parades, football games, turkey dinner - all are a part of his Thanksgiving travel. But what is most important to Clifford?

Emily Elizabeth. And his family.

Yes, Clifford is a picture book character, and I hear has his own cartoon on television - though I have yet to see it. But Clifford knows what is valuable.

Let's concentrate on that this Thanksgiving. Family and friends.

Tell someone you love them.
Greet the neighbors.
Shake hands.
Smile at people you see walking down the street and in the stores.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Turkey for Thanksgiving - Picture Book + Activity

A Turkey for Thanksgiving
By Eve Bunting (Scholastic Inc., 1991)

I love this picture book!

Mr. and Mrs. Moose are hosting friends for Thanksgiving Dinner. Mrs. Moose has always wanted a real, live turkey for dinner. Aided by his friends, Mr. Moose heads off to hunt for the real, live turkey that lives near the river.

Of course, he is successful. Mr. Moose herds Turkey home for dinner. And then what the reader understands to be true changes dramatically.

With adorable illustrations (Diane de Groat) and clever word plays, Eve Bunting delivers a holiday classic. My kinder students were able to understand the play on words that make up this story. They delighted in hearing about the Moose family Thanksgiving in A Turkey for Thanksgiving.

I'm sure you will enjoy it as well.

Celebrate like Mr. and Mrs. Moose

Decorate your table. Look through the book for ideas. Make and display one or more of the following:

~ make paper tube pilgrims with markers, glue, and construction paper

~ make a stand-up turkey (tape to a wooden block to make it stand)

~ display nuts, corn, and fall nature items arranged on a wooden tray

~ hang dried flowers, grasses, acorns, and pinecones around the room

~ paint wooden candle holders with fall colors; add candles (Adults only should light candles.)

~ help arrange chairs for table seating

~ make name cards with cardstock and skinny markers

Decorate and enjoy a festive Thanksgiving, just like Mr. and Mrs. Moose.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is For Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is For Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland
(Scholastic Inc., 2000)

Thanksgiving is for giving thanks! This book perfectly gives examples that young children can identify with and understand. I am all for books that help preschoolers and young readers learn about some of the things we do as adults and families.

Like Thanksgiving. Why do we have Thanksgiving? Why should we be thankful? What is thankful?

I totally agree with the need for preschoolers to begin on that lifelong journey of getting outside of themselves and thinking about other people. The idea of saying Thank you! is an excellent skill and I believe, a necessary component of good manners.

We enjoy reading Thanksgiving is For Giving Thanks and talking about things for which we are thankful. It's the right time of the year for giving thanks.

(Though, like Christmas, we should act like it is Thanksgiving all the year round.)

Thanks, Margaret Sutherland, for this simple, delightful book.

Being Thankful Thanksgiving Activity

How about a countdown to Thanksgiving activity? Let's stretch out the thinking-about-being-thankful fun.

1. Check the calendar to see how many days there are in November until Thanksgiving Day. Or you could just use the total number of days in November - 30.

2. Make a construction or scrapping paper chain with your chosen number of links, one per day.

3. Attach the chain to a turkey picture or family photo or something that is important to your family. Set an empty glass jar beside the chain and picture.

4. Each day, tear off one chain link. Ask your child to share one thing for which he or she is thankful. Print what is said on the link. You can let each child list something and add them all to the same link. Put the link in the glass jar.

5. Continue through your number of chain links, taking time to be thankful each day. At the end of the days, look at the filled jar. Discuss all of the things for which you and your family are thankful.

6. Pray and give thanks for all good things.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.
~ Psalm 92:1

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day - Book + Activities

Thanksgiving Day by Anne Rockwell (Scholastic Inc., 1999)
Illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell

Thanksgiving may be one of my most favorite holidays. The season has usually changed to winter, though winter does not officially start until December. We sometimes have snow. The food is delicious and abundant. We have friends and family visiting with us. We get to decorate for Christmas right after dinner. And watch our first Christmas DVD of the year.

And there are so many good, fun books about Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Day is an adorable story about a classroom of children retelling the story of Thanksgiving - by putting on a play for family and friends. I love how the children act out the different parts for the drama. Thanksgiving Day is an easy to share recount of Thanksgiving, perfect for younger listeners and readers. Details, but not too many details.

Want to know what first captured my attention to this book?
The cover! I love it.

Here are a few Thanksgiving activities I like to do with my students (or my grands). Happy Thanksgiving!

~ Make a turkey. Let your child paint a paper plate brown. While it dries, trace big feather shapes on patterned scrapbook paper. Help your child cut them out. Trace basic shapes for the head and neck, eyes, beak, wattle, and feet on colored scrap paper. Help glue the feathers and body parts to the paper plate. Sometimes I have had to use a stapler to make them not fall off in transit. Hang your turkey where everyone can enjoy it.

~ Use thankful feathers to voice thankful thoughts. Let your child decorate a paper lunch sack. Fill it with several feathers. Take turns pulling out a feather and telling about one thing for which you are thankful. Give hints (grandma, your home, the garden, the car, snow, and so on) and expect some silly answers. But if your child says he/she is thankful for something very interesting, he/she probably really means it and gets great joy from that interesting thing. Pray and say thank you to God for all He has done and given.

~ Act like a turkey. Wear brown or gray clothes. Gather up all of your scarves - winter and dressy. Stick them in your child's collar and pretend they are feathers. Put on a long tube sock and make a beak with your hands. Walk around (with your child, of course) squawking like a turkey. Make your hand do the talking and wiggle your bottom and head to make the feathers dance. Be silly! It's Thanksgiving, after all!

Gobble, gobble.

The turkey is a funny bird.
His head goes wobble, wobble.
All he says is just one word -
Gobble, gobble, gobble.

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf
by Lois Ehlert (Scholastic Inc., 1991)

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf is one of my all-time favorite seasonal books to read to and with children.

Why? The number one reason is the totally engaging illustrations. A combination of photography, still life, paper cut-outs, painting, and I don't know what else creates a captivating collage that tells the story.

What story? Ehlert masterfully tells the story of a sugar maple tree (hence the maple leaves on the front cover). This maple tree comes from a seed tossed by the winds in the woods.

Who tells the story? The narrator, a young child, loves her tree. (Or his tree - gender neutral.) She wants to tell the reader all about her tree.

What about science? The sugar maple life cycle is a part of the story. The other part of the story is how the tree arrives in the yard of the little girl. Helpful hints on planting live trees and ideas for documenting facts about live trees are included as a part of the story.

What else? Not only is the life cycle of a tree covered, but Ehlert shares the story of how a tree in the woods is processed, purchased, and transplanted to a yard.

Every time I read this book, I want a sugar maple tree. Each fall, I walk my neighborhood, enjoying the colorful leaves and helicopter seeds. Every spring I wonder how I can make a soon-to-be-giant sugar maple tree fit into my tiny yard.

I make due with reading Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf. And I walk the neighborhood.


Three favorite leaf activities (For the kids. Of course.):

1. Sugar maple leaf art. Cut large maple leaves from white construction paper. Working on a washable surface, pour small amounts of light corn syrup on a leaf shape. Help drop a few drops of red and yellow food coloring on the syrup. Using fingers, spread and mix the syrup and food coloring until the leaf is covered. Let dry. You will have shiny colorful fall leaves.
P.S. Aprons and wet washcloths are helpful for this tasty activity.

2. Real leaf decorations. Go on a leaf walk. Gather beautiful specimens of brightly colored leaves. Take home. Layer between newspaper. Stack heavy books on top. Let dry until completely dry. Check every few days or so. Pull out the leaves. Decorate the house, table tops, windows, and everywhere else you want to display fall beauty.

3. Make a leaf mountain. Rake your own or the neighbor's leaves. Make a leaf mountain. Jump into it. Have a leaf battle. Hide each other. Burrow beneath the leaves. Rake into a pile and repeat.
Tip: I have been known to approach neighbors who have plenty of leaves and ask if I can take some of their leaves. They are delighted to share.

Baby Beluga - Books You Can Sing

Baby Beluga
Song by Raffi
Illustrated by Ashley Wolff
(Crown Publishers, Inc., 1980)

We can listen to the song "Baby Beluga" approximately 5 times from my front door to the school where I pick up my grandson.

The boss (aka, Khloe, three-year-old backseat driver and order-er of music) sits in her carseat, happily singing along and chattering about Baby Beluga as we listen. Again. For the 900th time.

Seriously. I woke up two times last night with the lyrics and melody running through my head.

If you do not like to repeat songs, do not listen to and/or read Baby Beluga. But if you don't mind a little repeating, go ahead! It's a great song. Fabulous in fact.

After doing a little research, I found out that the beluga whale who inspired Raffi to pen this favorite children's song just recently passed away in Vancouver, B.C. Too sad! But this song and board book will keep Baby Beluga alive in the hearts and minds of preschoolers for years to come.

And in the subconscious of their parents, teachers, and grandparents.

What's next?

A few ideas for fun extension activities after reading and singing Baby Beluga:

~ Dig out the plastic dishtub. Fill it with water and give your child plastic fish. Hopefully, whales will be in your fish collection. I've seen ocean animal sets at Michaels and toy stores. Beware. The song may have to be playing in the background.

~ Help your child use crayons to outline a whale on construction paper. Color the whale white with crayons. Add seaweed, other fish, and so on. Paint over the whole picture with blue watercolor paints to make a crayon resist picture of Baby Beluga. Put on the fridge.

~ Visit an aquarium. Look for beluga whales. If your aquarium does not have a beluga whale (they do need a very cold climate, after all) look for other types of ocean life. Take lots of pictures and explore educational aquarium programs. The bookstore may have a book on whales. Get it. Read. Sing. Repeat.


Maybe, just maybe, your child will let you introduce a new song and book. Perhaps one about going to the Zoo or a few naughty monkeys jumping on a bed.

But until then, enjoy the read-sing-repeat ride. Your child will only be in this stage for a short time. Before you know it, you will be reading and singing to your grandchildren!

Like me.



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Apples ~ 10 Fun Activities to Do in the Fall

Apples Grow on Trees, Discovering My World Series by Melvin and Gilda Berger (Scholastic Inc., 2009)
Apples, Welcome Fall Series by Marilyn Easton (Scholastic Inc., 2011)
apples by Samantha Berger and Betsey Chessen (Scholastic Inc., 1998)

Apples, apples, apples. Fall and apples go together. Apple season is one of my favorite times of the year.

Scholastic Inc. has published several user friendly apple books. I love reading them with my grands and my students. The illustrations are mostly photos and works of art and truly add to the beauty and readability of the books.

Apples Grow on Trees is a photo journey through an apple orchard. From the tree to the store to the kitchen to the tummy is the path the apples take. Simple sentences in text boxes help beginning readers as they locate the words and text features.

Apples (Welcome to Fall Series) shows wonderful photographs of the life cycle of an apple. Bold vocabulary words and photo captions are perfect for readers wanting to learn more about apples. This book fits both in the literacy and science category.

apples takes a different approach. Photographs of apple art (by real artists) are used as illustrations. This book is an apple counting book. The reader admires the artwork of artists and then counts how many apples can be found on each page. Simple numbers are included. Information about each work of art, the artist, and questions for discussion are included at the end of the book.

Apples are a great theme for literacy, math, science, and even social studies.

A few fun activities to do with apples:

1. Who's got the apple?
Play this game (similar to Duck, Duck, Goose). Sit in a circle. Have IT walk around with an apple. As IT walks, she says, "Tree, tree, tree, apple!"
When IT says "apple," she puts the apple behind the chosen child and runs around the circle. The child with the apple grabs the apple and chases IT. Of course, the first child sits in the empty spot.

2. Bob for apples. Use small apples for this activity. If you are worried about germs, hang individual apples from a tree branch with string. Let each child try to eat an apple without using his or her hands.

3. Make caramel apples.

4. Apple slingshot. Visit an apple orchard and gather the thinned apples that have fallen to the orchard floor. (Ask permission first!) Make a slingshot by attaching stretchy rubber tubing to two solid fence posts. Add a piece of old sock for the apple holder in the center of the tubing.
To slingshot an apple, hold it in the sock, walk backwards to stretch out the tubing, and release! You may need to adjust the tubing or sling.
Set up targets or boxes and aim for them.
Be a good steward. Collect used apples (or their pieces). Feed to cows, horses, or chickens.

5. Make apple cider or juice. Many family farms, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes have areas where families can make juice. It's messy, fun, and tasty.

6. Tour an apple orchard. Again, this time of year has ample opportunities to discover a farm center that gives hayrides or walking tours through fruit orchards. If you live south of apple country, search for online videos about apple orchards.

7. Decorate with apples. Wash, polish, and display apples in your home (after you have visited a farmer's market or store to select some delectable apples). Use fun fabric, bowls, candles, and so on. The best part? You can eat your decorations.

8. Make an apple pinata. Inflate a big balloon. Cut strips of newspaper. Drag the strips through runny glue made with water and flour. This is a messy job! Cover the balloon (several layers) and let it dry. Cut a small hole in the top. Pop and remove the balloon. Cover the apple with your color choice of tissue paper squares (yellow, red, green). Add a construction paper stem and leaf. Fill with candy or treats. Hang with thin rope.
Use the pinata at a fall party or celebration.

9. Paint some apples. Dig out the watercolor paints. Use a pencil to draw some apples, trees, pumpkins, and whatever else you want. Explore color mixing as you use watercolors to paint the picture. Search online for apple images for ideas on how artists use watercolor paints. Dry and display.
It's lots of fun to use real watercolor paints. Add several dabs of tubed paints to a palette. Mix, swirl, and add to wet or dry watercolor paper drawings of apples. Kids love to explore the differences between wet painting (on wet paper) and dry painting (on dry paper).

10. Make apple tarts. Use refrigerated biscuit dough for the base. After washing hands, let children flatten biscuits on pieces of parchment paper. Peel, core, and slice some apples. Give kiddos a butter knife and let them chop the slices. Put the pieces on top of the biscuits. Add a dab of butter and cinnamon to the top of each. Bake as directed on biscuit container.
Cool slightly and enjoy! This is one of my favorite fall treats to make with children. It smells and tastes so good.


I hope you enjoy fall and apples as much as I do. Here's to apple fun.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

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