It’s hard to believe that it’s November, and Thanksgiving is just a few
weeks away. It's time for our Thanksgiving I Teach K-2 blogger link up. We're sharing ideas, resources, and freebies, along with a GIVEAWAY that you'll want to enter.
I thought I'd share what our first grade team
does for our Thanksgiving celebration each year. It’s not an original idea. One
of our teachers told us about it. It’s how her own child’s teacher celebrated the
holiday in her classroom. We used the idea and have changed and adapted it over
the years to highlight and appreciate the diversity and uniqueness of our
students’ families. It's one of our favorite activities we do during the year.
We have a special program called, “CELEBRATION OF FAMILY.” This event
includes poems and songs performed by the students and a museum featuring
special items brought in by students. Families (including moms, dads, siblings, grandparents, aunts,
uncles, etc.) are invited to attend.
The Celebration of Family museum includes a collection of items that are special to the family of each student. These items do not have to be antiques and could be everyday objects brought out for family “rituals.” Some examples include the popcorn bowl the family dives into when watching movies together, a favorite plate used for celebrations, or maybe it’s a momento from the last trip to visit extended family. Other ideas are a family collection or an item handed down from a grandparent that's important to the family. The children might also photograph something and display the pictures. It’s an item that symbolizes something interesting or special about each family.
The parents discuss the importance of the
object with his/her child, how long it has been in the family, and any other
important information. The students share this information with parents as they
tour the museum.
The children begin by chanting a poem about the
first Thanksgiving. They sing and dance to songs and poems.The families are then excused to go outside for
refreshments.
The children quickly go back into the room and
get their placemats, placards, and artifacts ready on their desks.
I print the information that each child brings to class. This is an example of the placard that sits in front of each child's desk. The students share this information with parents as they tour the museum. Parents ask the students questions about their objects. It becomes an hour of storytelling.
The last speaker invites the families to come back into the room to
tour the “museum.”
It’s heart-warming to see and listen to the
children proudly talk to the parents about their family traditions. The parents
thoroughly enjoy asking question of the students as they tour our museum. Each year parents comment that they love getting to meet and talk with their children's classmates. What I love most is getting to know more about my students' families. I always find out new things about my students thru the activity.
The graphics on the speaker cards are by Krista Wallden. Check out her graphics at Creative Clips here.
Grab these after Thanksgiving freebies and then enter below for our giveaway!
Click here for a free download.
The graphics on the speaker cards are by Krista Wallden. Check out her graphics at Creative Clips here.
Click here for a free download.
Wonderful post and ideas!
ReplyDeleteCute ideas. Thanks, Mona.
ReplyDeleteI love that you are doing celebration of families. It sounds like it would be wonderful!
ReplyDeleteLOVE the hats!
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful post! The first graders at my school do something similar, but include a Thanksgiving meal. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe Celebration of Family sounds like such a lovely tradition! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLinda at Primary Inspiration
What a sweet idea! I rarely here of family connections like this in first grade. I LOVE this! Thanks so much for sharing:)
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! What a great way to celebrate your families and get parents in to visit too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! Thank you for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteBrinca Into Bilingual!
Love your family Thanksgiving ideas!
ReplyDeleteCute and fun! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMona, This is adorable!! Thank you for sharing, Fern xoxo
ReplyDeleteFern Smith's Classroom Ideas