Homeschooling: Kindergarten and Preschool Study of Thanksgiving

The boys (and I ) are studying the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Native Americans and how they both lived. First we did a study of how the settlers came, from England to the Americas.

There is so much to learn about these people from our past, this is a great adventure journey for the boys! But I wanted to find accurate portrayals of these people groups. The pendulum has strayed both back and forth on this topic but I wanted to give the boys an image that is as in the center of the truth as possible.

Did you know that really historians have no idea if turkey was even served at the First Thanksgiving, and they are certain that popcorn and cranberries and mashed potatoes were not even invented yet!? Yeah, how does that change things for you? The meat most likely served was duck and venison (or deer). Bust out your deer jerky (oh, that stuff is so good)! I wish I had some venison in my fridge that I could cook up to celebrate this Thanksgiving in real style. Oh well.

I have found some really neat sites that I want to share:

You Be The Historian- this is my favourite site filled with good info, activities and many read-out-loud clickable buttons so even the littlest ones can enjoy hearing the story read to them.

The First Thanksgiving- This one is great for checking out the different topics so you can focus on one aspect a day. It has three main topics with tons of subtopics in each) of The Voyage of the Mayflower, Daily Life, The Thanksgiving Feast. Enjoy!

Plymouth Plantation, study topics: The 'Pilgrims' as People, Understanding the Colony this provides the information about he Colonists, their reasons for leaving, religious beliefs, cultural beliefs, all in all click there and you'll get to know the pilgrims! Much of this stuff is way too much for kindergartners, but it is great for you as a parent teacher to read through and then give your kids a kindergarten level lesson of what you have learned.  Here are some other great topics on the Plymouth Plantation website: Plymouth Colony Timeline, The Mayflower Compact, Building a Wampanoag Home in the 17th Century,

Seriously now, there was No Popcorn at Thanksgiving!? Yeah.

Example of how to teach little ones about the Wampanoag and the Settlers:

Our Weeks Worth of Lessons on How the First Thanksgiving Took Place:

For Each of the following lessons, go to the above recommended sites and learn all you can on the topics before teaching your children. There is so much to learn, but you probably want to start out slow and just let them soak it will all be really new to them. ENJOY!

Reasons the Pilgrims Left England and The Mayflower's Journey : Show the kids pictures of the ship, do some interacting on sites with the Mayflower. Have kids write or name a list of things they would bring if they had to leave their home behind. How many people were on the ship? How many made it? Have kids draw or colour a picture of the Mayflower.

The First Year and Learning to be Prepared: What did they learn? Talk about the seasons. What if they would have arrived in the early spring? Have kids list things they would plant for survival. Show kids what their houses looked like. Have children draw their garden and the house they would build. Remind them to stick with the time period, and that everything was done by hand. Build a house with blocks or Lincoln logs.

Wampanoag Culture: Who are they? Tell the children the story of the Wampanoag helping the Settlers. Look online at crafts made by the Wampanoag. Have them draw their favourite, or colour a picture of it. The Wampanoag made many clay pots, alow each child to make his own clay pot from some craft store clay or homemade play dough. Use a sharpened pencil to carve small designes in the outside of it. Include Hunting and Fishing, Weapons/Hunting Utensils if you want a longer lesson.

Wetu Homes of the Wampanoag Inside and Out. Show the children pictures of how these were built. Look at many different pictures of Wetus and then have your children draw their own. Spend the rest of the time building a fort out of things that are in your house or if you are hardcore in your backyard, explain to the children that out of the items the Wampanoag had their homes were completely practical for what they needed.

Reasons to Celebrate: Why the First Thanksgiving Took Place. What food was there for sure? Ask the kids to list what they would have at a feast if they could pick their favorite foods? Explain how when you are trying to survive you can only eat what you have. Go to the library and check out some Thanksgiving books to read. Talk about how the sharing of what each culture had made this feast what it was. With your kids make a banner, a string with pieces of paper folded over that hang on it (see below) either write out the word 'thankful'  with a letter on each paper or you could as your kids to write what they are thankful for on each sheet, or draw a picture.

Do you have suggestions? Questions? Advice? Please share.

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