Today at preschool we learned all about gratitude and Thanksgiving. We reviewed the story of the Pilgrims and how the first Thanksgiving came to be. They seemed to remember it perfectly!
Then we read the very cute book, Celebrating Thanksgiving: Giving Thanks
, that tied the gratitude of the Pilgrims and the Indians of the first Thanksgiving to the gratitude for our blessings today. It is an excellent book for this age of kids and I highly recommend it for preschool lessons on gratitude and Thanksgiving.
We also read this cute book: What Is Thanksgiving?
Then we went outside and gathered our own bountiful harvest---these carrots from our garden. At first, they were a little hesitant about sticking their hands in the dirt, but once they caught on to what the prize was, they were loving every second of it. I think this activity really helped them to capture what a harvest was really all about.
Then we came inside where they became completely enraptured by these cute Thanksgiving sticker scenes from OTC and spent a good 20-25 minutes laboring over them. I actually ended up having to pry them away so we could get on to our next activity.
Then we made these little gratitude trees (from OTC). In advance, I had written some of the basic things they were grateful for on the leaves (family, toys, friends, etc). Then I gave each child a little "kit" with the tree and a set of the pre-labeled leaves. We went through each leaf one by one as a group and talked about how to show gratitude (saying thank you, praying, not complaining, etc). It turned out to be a good recognition exercise for the kids as they searched for the right leaf and a good discussion time as we talked the entire time. I would give them hints like it's this color, it starts with this sound, then I would go around the room and staple that leaf onto the tree wherever they picked. The kids were so cute and loved talking about what gratitude was and what they were grateful for. I sent everyone home with extra leaves so you can continue the activity at home.
We missed you Matthew!
Then we read the very cute book, Celebrating Thanksgiving: Giving Thanks
, that tied the gratitude of the Pilgrims and the Indians of the first Thanksgiving to the gratitude for our blessings today. It is an excellent book for this age of kids and I highly recommend it for preschool lessons on gratitude and Thanksgiving. 
We also read this cute book: What Is Thanksgiving?
Then we went outside and gathered our own bountiful harvest---these carrots from our garden. At first, they were a little hesitant about sticking their hands in the dirt, but once they caught on to what the prize was, they were loving every second of it. I think this activity really helped them to capture what a harvest was really all about.
oops!
Then we came inside where they became completely enraptured by these cute Thanksgiving sticker scenes from OTC and spent a good 20-25 minutes laboring over them. I actually ended up having to pry them away so we could get on to our next activity.
Then we made this harvest blessing mix where each child contributed their own part and helped to stir. Not suprisingly the kids loved having a yummy snack and loved doing their own part.
Then we made these little gratitude trees (from OTC). In advance, I had written some of the basic things they were grateful for on the leaves (family, toys, friends, etc). Then I gave each child a little "kit" with the tree and a set of the pre-labeled leaves. We went through each leaf one by one as a group and talked about how to show gratitude (saying thank you, praying, not complaining, etc). It turned out to be a good recognition exercise for the kids as they searched for the right leaf and a good discussion time as we talked the entire time. I would give them hints like it's this color, it starts with this sound, then I would go around the room and staple that leaf onto the tree wherever they picked. The kids were so cute and loved talking about what gratitude was and what they were grateful for. I sent everyone home with extra leaves so you can continue the activity at home.
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