PRE-K4 NOVEMBER CURRICULUM
Themes:
If You Give A Mouse a Cookie (11.9)
If You Give a Pig a Party (11.13)
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake (11.16)
Thank Goodness for Thanksgiving! (11.18-11.23)
If You Give a Moose a Muffin (11.30)
Letters of the Week:
Week of 11.9.09: /Ii/ for If…….
Week of 11.16.09: /Tt/ for Thanksgiving and turkey
Religion: "Giving Thanks for all that God Has Given Us". (Please see Nov. Religion subpage for each day’s specific religion topic)
We must say thank you to God for all of the blessings we have
We are rich because of God’s love and protection
We should be happy with what we have
We should give to others as God has given to us.
Thematic Concepts:
Thanksgiving is a time to thank God for all that we have (our blessings)
Thanksgiving is a celebration of the end of the harvest.
In the fall, some of the fruits and vegetables harvested include pumpkins, apples, and squash.
Families celebrate the end of the harvest with a special Thanksgiving dinner.
The dinner usually includes a roasted turkey and dishes prepared with food harvested in the fall, e.g., pumpkin pie, corn bread, apple crisp, etc…
Hundreds of years ago, a group of people who were new to America, the Pilgrims, had a special dinner with the Native Americans (the people who lived in America first). The Native Americans showed the Pilgrims how to grow and harvest food so the Pilgrims showed their gratitude by sharing a dinner with the Native Americans.
Thanksgiving is a time for both “thanks” and “giving”.
Circle Time Activities and Games:
Opening prayer & daily devotion
Review of busy bugs chart including mathematician’s attendance report, meteorologist’s weather report & Pledge of Allegiance.
“Days of the Week” song
Playing “Pass the Present”
Playing “Pin the Tail” on the Turkey
Acting as turkeys of various sizes
Doing the “Turkey Strut”
Engaging in the “Turkey Dance” ala “Chicken Dance”
Using the flannel boards to tell the story of the first Thanksgiving
Role Playing in Pilgrim and Native American Costumes
Science & Sensory Activities:
Tasting 3 varieties of muffins and selecting favorite muffin
Tasting 3 varieties of cookies and selecting favorite cookies
Measuring, scooping, pouring, and baking at our class “Baking Center”
Predicting what will happen when cookies are soaked in milk
Decorating party hats with stickers and markers
Pounding golf tees into a large pumpkin
Mixing and measuring ingredients to make “stuffing”
Tracing with Thanksgiving stencils
Template rubbings
Creating Thanksgiving creations with play-doh and Thanksgiving cutters
Stamping with Thanksgiving stamps
Preparing “turkey and gravy” using food coloring and kitchen utensils
“Washing” the Thanksgiving dishes
Mathematical Awareness Activities: (focus on concepts of matching, sorting, measuring, estimating and graphing)
Matching cookie cards to cookie cards
Playing “Cookin Cookies” (a matching game)
Sorting cookies based on type
Estimating how many cookies are in a clear cookie jar
Graphing favorite muffins and cookies
Sorting cornucopia contents
Counting out paper turkeys to match the number on a turkey plate
Playing “Thanksgiving Bingo”
Matching Thanksgiving Concentration Cards
Gross-Motor Activities: (gross-motor skills include whole body, large-muscle movements)
Dancing to "Turkey in the Straw"
Doing the "Turkey Pokey"
Doing the “Mouse Cookie” dance
“Doin the Moose” dance
