Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Preparing for Thanksgiving

We attended a Thanksgiving party and had so much fun. The kids heard a few books, made lots of crafts, and enjoyed a very festive lunch.

Stories

turkeys, cupcake teepees, indian corn cookies

Lots of outdoor fun on a beautiful fall day

Our  family sunflower. Thank you Amber. The sunflower only has one leaf right now as we will add the baby's foot soon. :) 

Gabe's crafts:



Olivia's Crafts:






Our Cottage School visited Guilford Homes. We sang the folksongs and hymns we have been studying the last two terms and gave out placemats that we made to the residents. It was a blessing to bless others. Unfortunately, my camera didn't end up with me. Gabe is very sweet and outgoing. He held hands and talked to a staff member as we walked into the building. He also went and stood by an elderly gentlemen as we sang. The kids went around and visited with the residents as they were eating their lunches. Olivia and Gabe are both very outgoing and strike up conversations easily.



Each family used their own creativity to make the placemats so we had a fun variety. These were ours except that each placemat had a different scripture having to do with Thanksgiving.

At home we pulled out the Little People mayflower and Thanksgiving sets that we have and read books. Olivia watched a movie about the Mayflower crossing and the Plymoth Colony (again, found on Youtube) and worked on some brainstorming activities about the kids experiences. Gabe worked on the Thanksgiving preschool pack from Carissa at 1+1+1=1. As a family we have spent time each day for the last week listing the things that we are thankful for. It is a very good exercise and will hopefully create a habit of gratitude in our lives. Olivia then made this chain out of our list. Olivia says, "We have so many things to be thankful for!" And I couldn't agree more!