November Activities

Before our vacation to Michigan we were able to do some fun Thanksgiving/Fall activities at home. Here are some of the highlights. I usually post something I'm grateful for every day of November, but seeing that I don't always get to my blog every day or even once a week I opted for something new and different. A gratitude window. I bought some window markers and every day after dinner we drew a picture of something we were grateful for. This was what our window looked like at the end of the month.....




This was a simple activity but kept Xavier busy for a really long time. I pulled out our pumpkin play dough and some popcorn kernels. Then I told Xavier to make designs in the play dough. He loved it!

We made some potato print turkeys and added feathers and googly eyes. We also made pilgrim hats. Xavier loved acting the role of a pilgrim and "hunting" for turkeys. He even asked if we could make buckles for his shoes. So, I obliged and added some paper buckles to complete his look.

One day when the weather was absolutely perfect we went for a nature walk, gathered some natural leaves, grass, bark, etc. from our walk and made a collage.

For a yummy treat we made apple turkeys. We used apricots, raisins, dried cranberries, cheerios, and marshmallows for the feathers, head, and legs.

Xavier showing off his turkey.

We also made some tee pees and talked about how the Indians helped the Pilgrims when they came to America.

Xavier learned some fun turkey songs and finger plays along with these crafts. Most importantly we were reminded that we have a lot to be grateful for this year including our health, Tim's job, our home, our family, our friends, our faith, times of laughter, times of trial to make us stronger and to learn to help each other, times of transition to learn new things about ourselves, times of forgiveness to remind us that we all make mistakes and need encouragement, times of learning to grow and develop new talents, and the chance to reflect on all our blessings that make life a time to cherish.