Let’s hear it for holiday weeks…the theme is a given. We decided to have school the early part of this week, and then take the rest of the week off, just like other kids. A.J. had one book all ready to go–the Magic School Bus Celebrates the First Thanksgiving (someday I will devote and entire post to the Magic School Bus. It will be a post of love). But he has already figured out that school tends to be more interesting and fun if we make it to the public library to get new books to use for school. So we checked out a few more (didn’t want to hog all of them, in case other kids wanted to read about Thanksgiving).
Most of our week was spent either reading about the Pilgrims and the Indians/Native Americans, or making Thanksgiving crafts. The Magic School Bus book was great (because he was able to read it himself), but I think we learned the most from the book called “If You Sailed on the Mayflower…” It was a great overview of why the Pilgrims sailed to America, and what life was like on the Mayflower. Did you know they wore the same clothes for 66 days? That the kids drank beer because the water went bad? There were worms in their bread, but they still had to eat it? There was a baby born aboard the Mayflower, and they named it Oceanus. How have I gone this long without knowing all this?
Earlier this year, I traced our family tree (Ancestry.com) and found out we are related to William Brewster, who was aboard the Mayflower. He was mentioned in the book as well (it was deceptively small, but full of information!). He brought all the books onto the Mayflower, which A.J. and I loved to hear! No wonder we love books so much. Thanks, William Brewster!
We also learned all about Squanto, who was A.J.’s favorite. Whenever a book would simply mention “the Indians” he would indignantly demand that they talk about Squanto, friend to the Pilgrims.
We did our share of traditional Thanksgiving crafts. We made a Native American drum out of an oatmeal container and wax paper on top (held with a rubber band), filled with grains. We made a turkey out of the lid of the oatmeal container and feathers cut out of paint chips (I am obsessed with finding new uses for paint chips. Free! Colorful! So useful!). We also did the obligatory traced hand turkey, and a killer Pilgrim hat (I need to find the picture I snapped of that one!)
A.J. got a lot of mileage out of his Thanksgiving knowledge. He called my parents Thanksgiving morning to tell them all about being on the Mayflower. He also entertained our guests by telling them there was no pumpkin pie at the first Thanksgiving, just boiled pumpkin.
Happy Thanksgiving to All!
The Schoolhouse 