Thanksgiving.
Families.
Harvest bounty.
We Gather Together to Ask the Lord’s Blessing.
Turkeys and all the favorite trimmings.
Pilgrims and Indians.
Kindness and Hope.
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come!
At Five in a Row we are thankful for all these things. We are so thankful, too, for each of you who is committed to your families and faithfully nurturing your children. May the Lord bless you richly during this season.
As we begin this Thanksgiving week, you might want to think about incorporating your children into more of the preparation and decoration aspect of the upcoming holidays this year. Making plans, deciding on and making decorations, name tags, and cooking together offer wonderful avenues for learning experiences as well as warm family memories. Working on these activities withyour children provides a chance to talk together and to reminisce.
It may take a little extra time to incorporate the help of the children, but it’s worth the effort when you see in their shining faces the pride of their contributions – a gratefulness that they have been encouraged to exercise their creativity and productivity for the benefit of their very own family!
One last idea…for your preschoolers (or any child who still loves pretend play!): You might suggest that they make a Thanksgiving Dinner for their dolls and toys. They can think about what they want to pretend serve, make a paper tablecloth, place cards, “shop” for the food, set the table and serve the food and experience all the fun of hospitality and a special time in their own play area. If there are young men present they might like to make pretend trips to the airport to pick up doll family from far away, home for the holidays, etc. Many children can happily play for an hour or more totally captivated by their highly creative pretend world!
Happy Thanksgiving Week!
The banner in the photo above is created using glue and anything you might find in nature or your kitchen that works! We used beans, sticks, pine needles, berries, and more. Ours is a cross between Thanksgiving and Nature Study. It’s a great way for your little ones to participate! Hang it by punching holes near the corners and stringing a piece of raffia or twine through them. Nice and simple!
I love all your wonderful ideas for little ones. My daughter recently told us she is pregnant; I have started a Five In A Row file and am collecting many of your ideas. Hope to use Five in a Row when the little one arrives. Thank you for all that you do in this sometimes crazy, sometimes child unfriendly world. Much appreciated. Happiness to you.