I think we’ve all had these robot-mode moments (or days or years) where we simply go through the motions, not even realizing that we are missing everything, missing life. All it takes is one scary experience to bring us back to the present and start to realize that life is finite, and we should enjoy even the smallest things. While I definitely picked some fun and light-hearted Thanksgiving books for our preschoolers, I also tried to incorporate books that show the importance of gratitude. These book are even a good reminder for us adults to zap out of that robot-mode to see and feel and experience the present, so we don’t end up missing everything.
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Thanksgiving Lesson plans
Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving
by Kimberly & James Dean
The first Thanksgiving book we read this week was Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving by Kimberly and James Dean.
I had the hardest time finding Mayflower books for preschoolers, but this book shows a glimpse of life on the Mayflower as Pete the Cat puts on his school play for Thanksgiving. Plus, the flaps are so fun!
Questions:
- How was Pete feeling about his play?
- Who remembers the name of the ship?
- If you were on a ship for 2 months, can you show me your happy dance when you would get off?
- What did Squanto and the other Native Americans teach the Pilgrims?
- What does it mean to be thankful?
A Little Thankful Spot
by Diane Alber
A Little Thankful Spot is the story of a little spot who shows us the things that he is thankful for, which turns out to be quite a long list.
His list includes tangible items such as the playground, ice cream, and cozy slippers, but also includes things from nature like the weather and snowmen. But my favorite part is that he is thankful for his emotions, even the negative emotions, which just goes to show that we can’t have rainbows without rain.
The fact that this little spot doesn’t just give the generic, “I’m thankful for food, family, friends,” and really zeroes in on smaller moments and items is amazing. Part of living a happy life is finding joy in the smallest day-to-day things.
Questions:
- What are you thankful for?
- Can you think of something not mentioned in the book? We will be making a thankful chain to show our gratitude, which means we will write down everything we are thankful for this November.
'Twas the night Before Thanksgiving
by Dav Pilkey
This next one is near and dear to my heart: ‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey. This is the story of a bus full of kids who find out what is going to happen to the turkeys come Thanksgiving Day and come up with a clever way to help them escape their destiny.
I actually remember reading this in elementary school and writing an alternate ending to the book!
Questions:
- Where did the children go on their field trip?
- The farmer named all of his turkeys. Does this remind you of another story?
- What did the girl find?
- How did the children feel?
- The children took the turkeys home. How does this make you feel?
Bear Says Thanks
Thanksgiving Books for Preschoolers
The next Thanksgiving book for kids we read was Bear Says Thanks. We’ve read a couple of the books in this series, and this one is a great addition to our library, too!
Bear wants to say thank you to all of his forest friends, and so he invites them over to dinner. Everyone brings a dish to share, but Bear realizes he has nothing in his cupboard to share.
So what is it that Bear can share with his friends?
Questions:
- How was bear feeling? What was he missing?
- What was bear sad about?
- How did the story end?
Turkey trouble
By Wendy Silvano
To finish off our week, we read Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano. The turkey in the story finds out that he is about to become the main course for Thanksgiving dinner and tries to disguise himself as the different animals of the farm to hide from the farmer. Great book with a great ending!
Questions:
- Why was Turkey trying to look like other animals?
- Which animals did turkey try to disguise himself as?
- What was Turkey's final disguise?
- Was his final disguise a good or bad idea? Why?
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MORE Thanksgiving Activities for Preschoolers
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