Saturday, November 7, 2009

Thanks Giving


Each month my Mother-in-Law writes a seasonal poem or story for my children. They love receiving these and we keep each one in a special binder. The latest story is about Thanksgiving. My children absolutely loved it, so I thought I would share it with you. Feel free to change the names in the story and use it with your kiddos.

A Thanks Giving Story

Thanksgiving’s in a few weeks; the last leaves begin to fall,
It’s getting colder; there may be sno
w upon the wall.
That leads down the driveway and ends at the sidewalk.
Inside it’s cozy, and Mom is in the kitchen looking at menus for th
e feast.
“I want pumpkin pie,” says Sam, the dessert fan.
“Well, I want macaro
ni and cheese!” from Gracen, the cheese eater.
“And I want pizza!” cries Weslyn, who isn’t sure what Thanksgiving is, but knows he loves pizza with pepperoni and cheese.
“We must ask Dad, turkey or ham,” muses Mom, paging through Betty Crocker.
“Turkey! Ham!” shout the three r
ascals, dancing up and down and banging their hands on the counter tops.
“Mashed potatoes! Butter beans! Sweet potatoes!
"Yeah!”

“There’s more to Thanksgiving than lots of food,” reminds Mom.
“Thanks Giving. That’s what we need t
o remember. We should be glad that we have so much to be grateful for.”
“Let’s make a Thanks Giving list of wha
t we are happy about.”
“Well,”
says Dad, coming through the front door, “I’m just happy to be home.”
“You can help with the list.” Mom hands out paper and pencils.
“Give me a min. to rest, then I will.” Dad sits down in his favo
rite chair.
“Guess what? When I look around,
I see something to be glad for—Darla!” says Sam.
“I’m glad for my birthday presents,” smiles Gracie.
“And
I’m glad for pizza!” yells Wes.

What else will the three rascals put on their lists?

Here are the children's responses:

Samantha
















Gracen
















Gracen is thankful for flowers and art.


Wes













This is the book we read to go along with this activity:

Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks
Sure, Thanksgiving is about pilgrims and history-and turkey, of course!-but most importantly, it's a holiday all about everything that we are thankful for. Cheerful, colorful illustrations accompany the simple text in this celebration of family, friends, and the holiday that brings them all together.

Wes watched an episode of Sid the Science Kid about pulleys. Later that afternoon, we found him doing this...

You can't tell in the picture, but he tied an empty milk jug to the end of a rope, pretended to make a pulley, and hoisted it up to the top bunk. Too cute!


Sam taught Darla to "Shake".



For more What My Child is Reading visit Mouse Grows Mouse Learns.
For more Learning Through Love visit My Family My Forever.

7 comments:

Susana said...

This is so special for your mom to do this each year.

This is a fun story she wrote for them this year. I love each of their pictures too.

I haven't been able to find this book at the library, do you consider it good enough to buy?

Thank you for linking up!

I truly hope your family's Thanksgiving is filled with happiness and good health and special memories!

Katy said...

I just ordered that Thanksgiving book earlier this week! :)

Z-Kids said...

Beautiful artwork!

Natalie PlanetSmarty said...

What an awesome artwork and a heartfelt list. Your MIL is a great storyteller. I am going to look for this Thanksgiving book you recommend, it really reflects my thoughts on the holiday.

Debbie said...

Thank you for sharing the story by your mom.

I loved the lists the kids made about what they are thankful for, those are great!

Virginia Lee said...

I love his pulley. Sid The Science Kid is a wonderful resource for really getting the kiddos to apply the ideas.

How lucky you are to have a mother in law that does that for your kids each year. Sounds like she is a wonderful grandma.

Nadia said...

I Love that you scanned their lists in.. what a great memory keeper.. papers somehow always get lost and honestly if we were to keep everything we'd have books as big as the yellow book...