Thanksgiving Books

The Thanksgiving book by Eve Bunting is called A Turkey for Thanksgiving and
it is a great book.  It's one of my absolute favorites, it is for sale in the
November "Fire Fly"  book club from Scholastic.  It is about a moose family
who is looking for a turkey for their Thanksgiving dinner, they end up finding
one and it turns out they just wanted to invite him to dinner.  The
illustrations are absolutly wonderful and the children are always surprised by
the ending!  Can you tell I like it?!?

The Berenstain Bears Count Their Blessings by Berenstain
Clifford's Thanksgiving by Bridwell
Cranberry Thanksgiving by Devlin
Dinosaurs' Thanksgiving by Donnelly
One Tough Turkey by Kroll
Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving by Pilkey
  


  More Thanksgiving Books:
  One, Two, Three Thanksgiving by W. Nikola-Lisa
  Silly Tilly's Thanksgiving Dinner by Lillian Hoban
  The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin by Stan and Jan Berenstain
  A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting
  Daisy's Crazy Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting
  'Twas the Night Before by Dav Pilkey
  Thanksgiving at Our House by Wendy Watson


Thanksgiving Stories

I liked these stories, and want to adapt them to use...One  comment, though,
about the turkey not liking to be BROWN....and not liking the way he/she
looked that way...how about just changing the color of the turkey to WHITE or
another color?sometimes these changes can seem subtle, but worth it...Lindy
  
  [the stories follow for those that just joined the loop....]
  
  A Thanksgiving Story (author unknown)
  You will need:  three squirrels, one brown, one grey, one red, two bunnies,
one lady and one gentleman, a basket, with some nuts and apples
  
  It was the day before Thanksgiving Day. Little grey squirrel was sitting
all
  alone in her house in the hollow oak tree. Grey squirrel could not run about
like the other squirrels. One day when she had been out gathering nuts for the
wintertime, she had
  caught her foot in a trap that some bad boys had set in the woods. She had
pulled and  pulled, and, at last, she had managed to get her foot out of the
trap.  But her foot was broken!  Poor grey squirrel had hopped and jumped on
one foot, and, somehow, she had managed to reach home. That had happened more
than a month ago.  All that time grey
  squirrel could not move outside the door of her house. Before she had hurt
her foot she had gathered a few nuts.  She had eaten only a few each day to
make them last. Now they were all gone and tomorrow was Thanksgiving Day!
Poor little grey squirrel.  She felt very  sad sitting there all alone. "I
wonder how grey squirrel is getting along" said Mrs. red squirrel to herself.
" It's a shame!  I haven't been to see her for days and days.  I know
  what I'll do! I'll fix up a basket of good things and take them down to her
for her Thanksgiving dinner." Mrs. red squirrel took her biggest basket down
from the hook.  From the cupboard in her hollow tree home she filled the
basket with as many chestnuts
  as she thought she could carry. Then she started off for little grey
squirrel's house. Soon she came to Mrs. brown squirrel's house. Mrs. brown
squirrel was out in her garden digging up some of the nuts she had put there
for the winter. "Good Afternoon, Mrs. red squirrel," said Mrs. brown squirrel.
"Where are you going with your basket this lovely day?" "I'm going down to
little grey squirrel's house to take her a Thanksgiving dinner," answered Mrs.
red squirrel. "Oh do let me put some of these hickory nuts into your basket,"
siad Mrs. brown squirrel.  'I have plenty, and I shall feel so happy to think
that I can give some of them to little grey squirrel." Mrs. brown squirrel put
so many hickory nuts into the basket that Mrs. red squirrel had all she could
do to carry it. "Thank you, kindly, Mrs. brown squirrel,"said she, and off she
started again. Soon she came to Mr. Rabbit's bramble house.  Mrs. Rabbit ws
standing at the door. "Good afternoon, Mrs. red squirrel," said she.  "Where
are you going this lovely day?" "I'm going down to little grey squirrel's
house to take her a Thanksgiving basket," answered kind Mrs. red squirrel.
"Oh, just wait a minute!" said Mrs. rabbit.  I have something that I can send,
too.  Some boys were having a picnic the other day, in the woods back of my
house. When they went away I ran around there and found  ever so many good
things they had left.  Wait just a minute and I will get them from my
cupboard." Mrs. Rabbit ran into her house and opened her cupboard in the dry
grass and straw. "Come in, Mrs. red squirrel," she called;"come in with your
basket." And Mrs. red squirrel went into the little bramble house. "Here are
the peanuts I found," said Mrs. rabbit, "I know grey squirrel will like them.
I have plenty of cabbage and carrots stored away, and I really don't need the
peanuts. You may take this red apple too. Perhaps grey squirrel will eat it."
"Thank you," said Mrs. red squirrel.  "You are very, very kind." "Oh , no, not
at all!" said Mrs. rabbit.  "It makes me feel so happy to think that I can
help little grey squirrel." "Thank you all the same," said Mrs. red squirrel.
And once more she started off for little grey squirrel's house. The basket was
very heavy now, and it was all Mrs. red squirrel could do to carry it. "Why,
Mrs. red squirrel!" said a voice, "where are you going with that heavy
basket?"
  Mrs. red squirrel looked about and saw Mr. Rabbit sitting among the brambles
by the roadside. "I am going down to little grey squirrel's house to take her
a Thanksgiving basket," answered Mrs. red squirrel. "Did you stop at our
house?" Mr. Rabbit asked. "I think Mrs. Rabbit may have something for your
basket." "Yes, I stopped at the house on my  way," said Mrs. red squirrel,
"and Mrs. Rabbit gave me some peanuts and a red apple for my basket."
  "I am very glad she thought of them," said Mr. Rabbit. ""Now, you must let
me
  help you carry that heavy basket." "Oh, thank you,,,,,," said Mrs. red
squirrel, "but I think I can manage it the rest of the  way. I'm almost there
now." "Never mind," said Mr. Rabbit.  "I can help you carry it for even a
little way." And he took hold of the other side of the heavy basket. Mrs. Red
squirrel  was very glad to have Mr. Rabbit's help
  for the basket was indeed to much for her to carry alone. They soon reached
the hollow oak tree in which little grey squirrel lived. Mr. Rabbit knocked at
the little door. "Who's there?" called a sad little voice. "How do you do,
little grey squirrel?" answered Mr. Rabbit. "This is Mrs. red squirrel.  She
has brought you a Thanksgiving basket." and they opend the door and went in.
Little Grey squirrel had been crying because she felt so
  lonely and hungry. "Oh, Mrs. red squirrel," said she, "how can I thank you!"
Then Mrs. red squirrel told little grey squirrel about Mrs. Brown squirrel and
Mrs. Rabbit. "And Mr. Rabbit helped me carry the basket," said she.  Little
grey squirrel felt very happy to know that she had so many friends. Tomorrow
would be Thanksgiving indeed! The wonderful Thanksgiving basket lasted little
grey squirrel all winter long and that was all she needed, for, when the warm
springtime came, her foot was quite well and she could run about again.
  
  Tommy Turket
  You will need:  A turkey body in brown
                        Yellow duck with orange beek
                        Green snake
                        Cardinal bird
                        Owl
                        Two feathers each in yellow, orange,green and red
  
  Tommy was all brown and didn't like the way he looked.  He went for a walk
and met a duck  who was yellow and orange. The duck said, "Ha, ha, ha, ho, ho,
hee, you're the funniest turkey I ever did see."  Tommy said,, "I want to be
yellow and orange like you."  So he put on yellow and orange feathers the duck
gave him but he was still unhappy.  Then he met a snake  who said, "Ha, ha,
ha, ho, ho, hee, you're the funniest turkey I ever did see. Tommy said " I
want to green like you."  So he put on green feathers but he was still
unhappy.  Then he met a cardinal who said, "Ha, ha, ha, ho, ho, hee, you're
the funniest turkey I ever did see."  Tommy  said, I want to be red like you.
So he put on red feathers and he was still unhappy. Then he met the wise old
owl.  Tommy said, "I don't like the way I look, Mr. Owl."  Mr. Owl suggested
that the children give him a bath and make all the colors run together.  Well,
he was the happiest and most beautiful turkey in
  the world and this is how the turkey got so many colors.
 

  
Thanksgiving Bulletin Boards


  Mr. Turkey      From: KallieS

  Cut a large circle for a turkey's body and a smaller one for the head from
construction paper.  Also, legs, wings, beak, gobbler, and eyes.  Staple to a
bulletin board. Cut each child's hand out of a piece of fingerpainted paper.
Curl the fingers with a scissors.  Use the finger painted hands for the
turkey's tail.
  
  (I found this in a collection of ideas that was donated to our center, dated
1981, but I think it would be a cute BB.) >>


Turkey Bulletin Board
Make a turkey body and head as above and mount on the wall or bulletin board.
I put mine low on the wall so the children could reach it.  Cut a variety of
different colored feathers from construction paper.  Ask each child to choose
a feather and tell you something they are thankful for.  Do this during free
play so that you can speak to them one at a time.  At circle time have the
children have the children come up one at a time to tell the group what they
are thankful for and then let them mount the feather on the wall around the
turkey.

Turkey Dinner Craft Activity
  Provide a paper plate (colored ones are nice) for each child.  Glue the
following "food" to the plate. Turkey Leg    cut from a brown paper bag or
brown cardboard Mashed Potatoes  White stuffing with a construction paper
square for butter on top Cranberries   Strips of red paper that are curled Get
suggestions ahead of time from the children and add to the above.

Bulletin board idea- Tom the Turkey
  From brown construction paper cut out a large circle for a turkey body & a
small circle for a head.  Glue the small circle in the center of the large
one.  Add a yellow construction paper beal, a red wattle, black eyes, & 2 red
legs.  Trace around each childs hand. Use the tracing to cut hand shapes from
red, yellow, & orange construction paper. Let the children decorate their hand
shapes with crayons. Then have them glue their shapes around the top part of
the turkey body for feathers. Then attach to bulletin board. 


Kindness Mural
   
  Have precut (or you could let the children cut their own pictures from
  magazines--depending on ability levels) pictures of  people being kind to
one another on a table top.  Let the children select the picture they like
best and attach to a large sheet of paper or poster board.   Illicit lots of
language by asking them to take turns describing what they see in the picture.

  Both of these ideas came from Totline, Nov./Dec. 1998
    Dianne, special needs 3-5 ljames1@tampabay.rr.com