Pie

• Read "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie" by Alison Jackson
• Before you read…
  1. Have the kids name foods they eat during Thanksgiving.
  2. Let them draw their favorite Thanksgiving food on a paper plate.
  3. Label the plate with the food's name.
  4. Arrange these on the table to resemble a feast.
  5. Tell the kids to see if the old lady in the book eats any of their foods.
• After you read…
  1. Decorate a small box to resemble the old lady (green hat, grey hair, big nose).
  2. Color & cut out clipart of the foods that she eats (see below).
     • NOTE: (The Mailbox, 2006-2007 Yearbook, Preschool, pg. 125 has great clipart ready to copy & color).
  3. Help the kids use the cards & illustrations from the book to retell the story in the right sequence.
  4. Ask the kids to "feed" your old lady the food cards as they are retold.
  5. End the story by holding the lady up in the air and parading around the room.

              

Turkey Apples

These turkey apples are fun and easy to make on Thanksgiving Day while you’re waiting for the turkey to finish cooking. You’ll need:

• an apple
• toothpicks
• mini marshmallows (the colorful kind would be fun too)

Poke the toothpicks into the apple to make legs, a neck and turkey feathers. Then use the mini marshmallows to fill in the feathers, head and feet. Use them for table decorations or eat as a pre-dinner treat

Floating Cranberries

I had no idea cranberries floated! I guess that is how they harvest them, I just never realized how much fun they would be to play with in the sink!
During Thanksgiving time, the stores always have bags of cranberries on hand. They’re only a couple of dollars too. Grab a bag and fill up the kitchen sink.
Give the kids slotted spoons, tongs, a strainer, a bowl … anything to make it even more fun. My 3-year-old wanted to see what else floated too. Did you know apples, oranges and pineapples float?!

THANKSGIVING

• Turkey Hideaway ... Cut out a clipart turkey and several haystacks. Draw a different shape (circle, triangle, square) on the front of each haystack. Have the kids close their eyes while you hide the turkey under a haystack. Have them point to a haystack, identify the shape, repeat "Turkey, turkey in the hay ... Hiding on Thanksgiving Day!" then see if the turkey is hiding underneath. Continue until you find the turkey!
• Simple Pilgrim Hats ... Trace a basic hat shape on black cardstock paper. Let the kids cut out their own hat, then have them glue a brown band (long rectangle) and yellow buckle (square with a smaller square cut out) on the hat. Staple a black headband to the hat and size to fit each child's head.