Kindergartners found it so interesting traveling back to the past to study what life was like during the time of the First Thanksgiving. We learned about Pilgrims who left their home in England because they were unhappy with the king. They sailed on the Mayflower for a long, long, LONG time and finally reached a new place that we now know as America. The kiddos had a blast during our STEM project designing and creating their own version of the Mayflower. The challenge was to build a boat that could float and would hold the weight of 5 pennies. The kids had a variety of materials to choose from with which to build their boats- 10 craft sticks, 5 tooth picks, 5 pony beads, 5 sticky notes, aluminum foil, and tape. We learned about American Indians who were already living in the place that the Pilgrims traveled to and we now know as America. Kinders discovered that the American Indians were helpful to the Pilgrims and taught them how to plant crops like corn and hunt for food, like deer and other wild animals. To represent the American Indians from long ago who helped the Pilgrims, our class made "deer skin" vests and headbands to wear to our Thanksgiving feast. The kiddos painted symbols used to communicate by American Indians long ago on their vests. Finally, all of the kindergarten classes got together for a Friendship Feast in celebration and remembrance of the First Thanksgiving shared between the Pilgrims and American Indians in the past. We read a book, combined our snack foods to make our friendship mix, sang songs, and shared in our own little harvest. "Happy Thanksgiving!" from the past.
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September 2017
AuthorHi! I'm Katie Flanary. I've been teaching for seven years and absolutely love it! I'm excited to start my eighth year making this my fourth year in kindergarten. Categories
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