Thanksgiving Day is Still Thanksgiving

 No matter how we celebrate Thanksgiving Day this year, teaching children to give thanks and be grateful is a critical part of developing a good, kind, and loving person. Thanksgiving is a perfect time for families to spend more discussion time together that builds knowledge, vocabulary and binds the family together. Creating a Thanksgiving book together is a gift in itself. You’ll need several sheets of paper or large paper plates, pencils, crayons, and stapler. Optional are paper punch and yarn. 

Conversation and Creating

   Start by having a conversation with your children about things that both of you are thankful for. Keep it simple! After a few suggestions, sit together and begin to print an “I Am Thankful For… book. Depending on the age of the children, the book can either be dictated or printed by the children. Children just beginning to print can tell you the words. You can carefully print them on paper, and they can copy the proper spelling and letter formation.   Keeping with the Thanksgiving theme, help your child trace their handprint to make a turkey outline on a few sheets of paper or plates. The thumb curves away from the fingers to make a head. This is a good time to talk about the makeup of turkeys with very young children. Turkeys have two wings and legs. They have a flap of skin on their necks called a wattle. Since they have feathers, they are birds. Young children can print one word on each turkey that represents something to be thankful for. Some children will attempt sounds they know; others can write the whole word or short sentence while younger ones need to dictate the words to you. Then children can illustrate their book. After completing several pages, add a cover and assemble the book.  Print the title, author, and illustrator’s name on the cover. Now you are ready to cuddle and share this book your children can read. Encourage other families to make their own books.  Then on Thanksgiving Day find a way to share your love and gratitude. Americans are an inventive creative people.  We always find a way or way around.

Thanksgiving Skills

  How does this help your children? Writing involves creative thinking. Forming letters correctly, tracing and coloring all help develop fine motor skills. This also models the idea that writing has a purpose and showing gratitude is a wonderful social skill. A good book for a read aloud is “I’m Thankful Each Day” by P.K. Hallinan. Use this idea to write books throughout the year about the changing seasons, holidays, science learning, our great country, and our love for each other. They also make precious gifts for grandparents who are far away.

More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest

Photos, Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

Children Love Comfort Foods

Make Bread and Butter with Little House!

Making bread and butter with children brings us back to the times of the Little House chapter books of Laura Ingalls Wilder.   

 Making Butter 

Pour one pint of room temperature whipping cream into a large glass Mason canning jar with a tight lid. Fill only one half of the jar to leave enough room for shaking.

  Place the lid on tightly and take turns shaking for about 15 minutes. In the first few minutes the shaking sound will stop because whipped cream is formed. 

Laura Ingalls Wilder's Tells Her Life

Continue shaking until there is a ball of butter. Pour over a thin meshed strainer and catch the butter milk in a bowl.

  The butterball will remain fresh for 3-5 days if kneaded, rinsed off thoroughly with cold water, lightly salted, and wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator. There are no preservatives.

 Bread in a Bag

Here is an easy bread recipe: 2 cups white flour (a little extra for kneading), 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup hot water, 1 package rapid rise yeast, 3 T (tablespoons)sugar, 3 T nonfat dry milk 1T salt, 3 T vegetable oil, 1 gallon size resealable heavy plastic storage bag, 1bowl, spoon, small greased loaf pan, plastic wrap. 

Wilder's 8-book Series Captures Prairie Life 

  Mix 1 cup white flour, packet of yeast, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1 cup hot water in the plastic bag. Let most of the air out of the bag, close it, and press down on the bag to mix ingredients.  After about 10 minutes, the mixture will start to bubble as the yeast makes carbon dioxide for a bread with fluffy texture.

  The bag will also expand slightly. Let the mixture bubble.  In a separate bowl, mix 3 T nonfat dry milk, 1 cup whole wheat, 1 T salt (or less), and 3 T oil. Open the bag and add these ingredients.

  Release most of the air out of the bag, seal it closed, and press the bag again to mix everything until smooth. Open the bag and add the other cup of white flour.  Reseal the bag and smoosh the bag with your hand until dough is smooth, about two minutes.

  Take the dough out of the bag, put some flour on your hands, and knead it for another minute on a floured surface. Kneading makes the dough stretchy and creates a nice chewy texture. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mmmmmmm....many ways to bake breads!

  When the dough looks smooth, stretchy, and doesn’t stick to your hands, put it into a greased loaf pan and cover it loosely with plastic wrap.  Let it rise for about 30 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and place it in the preheated oven. Bake for about 35 minutes until golden brown and allow to cool before cutting. For more information on Laura Ingalls Wilder see her online Bio: http://shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/w/wilder/  and her “Little House” book series: http://shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/w/wilder/#section5

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

For more go to -  grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons live Tuesdays at 4:30pm and Saturdays at 8:30 am and pod casts archived on the site.

Helping Children at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving: teaching children about holidays, seasons, caring

Sometimes young children feel  lost in all the preparations, activity, and loudness of family gatherings.  With a little planning, families can set up a simple way to include children and keep them busy during meal preparation. They can learn about the seasons, holidays, how everyone needs to help, develop thoughtfulness and appreciation.  

Before Thanksgiving gather colored leaves pressed in a book, gourds, or small pumpkins, pinecones, dried corncobs, and fall flower blossoms. Gather materials and place all the things in a basket.  On the day of the dinner, children will pass out items and a name card to each person. 

Family members will have a chance to say something they are thankful for and place a decoration from nature on a tray for a family cornucopia. This will take practice with young children, but the result will make a great family movie

Teaching Thankfulness

  When there are many cousins around, a quiet break helps the day go smoothly. .

 Before dinner some of the older family members can take the younger ones in another room and play a few board games while they chat together and answer some questions. Why do we have a national holiday called Thanksgiving? What are we supposed to do on Thanksgiving besides eat? How did people help you this year? How did you help others? Are there things we could do better? What are we thankful for and what will we say when it is our turn to share our gratitude around the Thanksgiving table? What would a recently deceased family member say?

Talk about growing seasons and history and ...

Changes are Coming

  Also, talk about the seasons, especially the fall and how the things that have been growing all summer are ready to eat. How is nature getting ready for winter? 

Explain how leaves turn colors.  What are animals like squirrels and chipmunks doing to prepare? Do they notice the family pet growing a thicker coat? If older children do not know the answers to these questions they can use a search engine like Google to find the answers in advance. Give children a chance to think, discuss, and practice what they plan to share while giving thanks. 

Give thanks while passing foods

Remember to thank all the helpers!

  Once the family is seated, take a minute or two for each person to mention something they are thankful for and place their decorations in the family centerpiece. This activity can be used for family gatherings any time during the year to 

What are your special family dishes

remind us the meaning of family.

  Children can draw fall pictures for place cards or simple napkin holders Children can also count the number of people and set the table with napkins and silverware.

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

For more go to -  grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com and wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons live Tuesdays at 4:30pm and Saturdays at 8:30 am and pod casts archived on the site.