I usually celebrate Thanksgiving with the children singing a few songs for their families, followed by a Thanksgiving pot luck feast. This year I am trying something totally different. Most of the children's siblings will be out of school so I've created a family fun event. I will have four colored teams. The children in my class will be pulling a colored paper out of a bowl on Monday to indicate which team their family is on (familiy members are encouraged to be on the team and participate in the games). These are my plans so far:
Family Fun Event
9:00 to 9:30:
Craft
9:30-9:45:
Greeting and explanation of day's activities
9:45 to ???
Implementation of games
·
Game one:
Dressing for Thanksgiving
Each team chooses one person to "dress" for the big
day. Each team will be given a roll of toilet paper to dress their person with.
The team that uses the entire roll of paper first and then puts a hat on their
person is the winner.
·
Game Two:
Going to Grandma’s House
The entire team participates in this event. Using
the play equipment on the big
playground each team takes a turn running the
timed course. The team with the
lowest time is the winner.
·
Game Three:
Errands for Grandma
Grandma needs some items from the store. Each team
will choose 6 players in this
relay. Players will ride the bike to one end of
the basketball court to shop for the items
that grandma needs. Only one item
can be picked up at a time (Box of stuffing, Can
of Cranberries, a potato, a
roll, a carrot, a can of gravy, and a gallon of milk).
·
Game Four:
Help Grandma stuff the turkey
Each team will choose a turkey to stuff. Using an
extra-large t-shirt, teams will
stuff their turkey with as many balloons as
they can in one minute. Team with the
most balloons stuffed is the winner.
·
Game Five:
Help Grandma Deliver the food to the table
Each person on the team will take turns holding a
plastic plate with one hand. The
other hand may help to hold the plate, but not
the food. Food dropped may be picked
up and placed back on the plate. Be the
first team to deliver all your food from one
bin to the other and you are the
winner.
·
Game six: Make
a pie for Grandma
Using the recipe card supplied, each team will
gather the correct ingredients and
make a pie for Grandma. The first team to
make the pie correctly will be the winner.
Following the games
we will enjoy a feast together. Winner of the games will be able to eat first. Second
will go second and so one.
All of the games and the feast will take place outside. I am lucky enough to have my classroom located within a beautiful park. I will update the blog with pictures of the day and let you know how this event went later in the week.
Teachers put a great deal of time, money and planning into holiday celebrations. How ever you chose to celebrate Thanksgiving with your class, I hope you have a snag free day, and can enjoy the children and the festivities.
Kristin
When the kiddos and their parents enter the classroom each morning the children find their name on their octopus and move it to this area to "check in". This helps them to recognize their name in print, as does their name on their cubby. It usually doesn't take long for the children to be able to recognize their name. Within a few weeks they all have it down, and many can recognize/read their friends names as well. 
As part of our curriculum we focus on one letter each week. I wrote each person's name on a word card (the teachers, the fish and the hamster too). On Monday mornings when I introduce the new letter I hold up each person's written name. I ask the children who's name it is and if the name contains the letter of the week. If it does then it is displayed for the week. We count the number of names and then transfer the data to a graph showing letter frequency. I ask the children to predict how many friends they think will have the new letter in their name before we begin. Then we compare the number of names with that of the previous week.