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2013: Thanksgiving Printable Activities

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http://www.giftofcuriosity.com/thanksgiving-printable-pack/

Photograph Credit: Gift of Curiosity

Wow, the world of printable packs has burst wide open with so many bloggers offering FREE Thanksgiving printable activities.

Since the list was getting quite long, I chose to dedicate an entire post to highlight these FREE printable activities.

I focused on the truly FREE printable packs. There were many options, but some required signing up for a newsletter, mailing list, or membership.

Of the printable packs chosen, most are designed for ages 2-7. But I found some of them quite interesting, and I am a tad bit out of the 2-7 age range. 😉 Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Printable Activities

1. The Pilgrims at Plymouth

The Pilgrims at Plymouth pack by Lauren Hill at Mama’s Learning Corner is one of my favorites as Miss 6 just finished this unit study in 1st grade. This pack is 18 pages and designed for 1st-3rd graders.

2. Notebook Pages and Activities

The Thanksgiving Notebook Pages and Activities pack by Betsy at Notebooking Nook offers a variety of handwriting practice. The Thanksgiving poetry included is great for beginning writers to copy the poems on the lined pages.

3. Mini Books

The Thanksgiving pack by Crystal Brothers at Serving Joyfully includes two mini books. The first is pre-printed for reading, and the second gives the writer space to write for what he or she is thankful.

This printable pack is FREE, but requires a “like” on Facebook in order to download. I used my junk Facebook account to get the FREE download.

4. Gratitude Journal

The gratitude journal by Stacie Nelson at Motherhood on a Dime offers a place to record your thankfulness highlighting one nugget each day for 30 days. The printable sheets can be cut and bound or stapled for a keepsake.

5. Hymn Study Unit

Sarah at Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies created a wonderful Thanksgiving hymn study unit. This resource includes 12 hymns, the history of each writer, and printable sheet music.

6. History of the First Thanksgiving

The History of the First Thanksgiving pack is another resource by Lauren Hill at Mama’s Learning Corner. This unit study includes a list of children’s Thanksgiving books. In encouraging children to read, parents have a starting point for discovering a different perspective from what we celebrate today.

7. Various Activities

The Thanksgiving pack created by Erin at Royal, Baloo, and Logi-Bear Too provides addition and subtraction practice along with lots of other activities for students ages Kindergarten to 2nd grade.

8. Multi-sensory Activities and Links to many more Thanksgiving Printable Packs

Not only has Katie at Gift of Curiosity created a wonderful Thanksgiving pack for ages 2-7, but she has also posted a roundup of FREE Thanksgiving printable activities.

I am very grateful for Katie contacting me when she releases a new printable pack, so I can share her hard work with you. These packages are well done and provide lots of practice for little ones.

In approaching Thanksgiving, these wonderful resources provide practice, fun, and learning opportunities focused on why we celebrate this holiday. From math, reading, writing, and history, these printable packs offer hours of opportunity.

With my children out of school during Thanksgiving week, these printable activities should keep my crafty Miss 6 occupied for a little while. 😉 Reinforcing her study of the Pilgrims, I hope she will enjoy the games, printing practice, and reading focused on Thanksgiving while using time wisely. Happy learning!

Question: What types of resources do you find interesting around the holidays?

2013: Patriotic Crafts, Printables, and Recipes

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2013: Patriotic Crafts, Printables, and Recipes

Photograph Credit: Fotolia

Celebrating the red, white, and blue with a family cookout comprises our July 4th festivities.

From hamburgers and hot dogs to bubbles and sparklers, our activities are small and quiet.

We watch the fireworks from our home windows and the televised displays which are always bigger than those around our town.

With so many creative patriotic crafts, printables, and recipes for painting your celebration red, white, and blue, I have gathered my favorites to share with you. Enjoy!

Patriotic Crafts

Printable Patriotic Packs

  • 4th of July Pack based on the book America the Beautiful: Together We Stand by 3 Dinosaurs

Patriotic Recipes

Happy 4th of July, America!

Gratitude in Action

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Gratitude in Action

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Coordinators of Vacation Bible School programs hold a special place in my heart. Having coordinated a Fine Arts Camp with a similar feel to a VBS, I understand the investment of energy and time poured into making the week special for the attendees.

Receiving Gratitude in Action

Being a previous coordinator, I remember the early mornings and late nights prior to and during the week of camp. The highlight of my week was when a lady in our church showed up on Thursday with a meal for my family. She simply said, “I could not help with the week, so I decided to do what I could for you.”

I cannot begin to tell you what her gift meant to me. At the time of camp, I was 8 months pregnant with my second child, my feet were swollen, my son sought constant attention when I arrived home, and dinner was the last thing on my mind. Seeing this lady’s gratitude in action for my investment of time, met my family’s physical need and gave me a time of rest with my feet up.

Knowing the huge blessing of receiving a meal during a week of service, I enjoy sharing that same gratitude with others. The Lord gave me this blessing years ago to teach me how to better serve others, who are actively giving of themselves.

Planning Gratitude in Action

As my children attended a wonderful VBS last week, I was honored to put my gratitude in action by bringing a meal to the coordinator. Now, I had planned to do this, so we entertained on Tuesday evening.

I made a large pan of lasagna to serve that evening. Then I packaged up the leftovers for the coordinator’s family, made a loaf of bread, added a side, and included the remaining 6 brownies from our dessert.

With a little advanced planning, our meal blessed our family, our guests on Tuesday evening, and a VBS coordinator and her husband. Having been the recipient of a blessing, I was honored to pass along my gratitude in action.

If you have a child attending a VBS and/or camp or if your church is hosting a VBS, consider putting your gratitude in action by making a meal for a coordinator who is investing time and energy for others. If you choose to do so, plan a double batch of a weeknight meal or make a large meal to entertain guests with enough to share.

In using time wisely, you must make the best choices that fit with your schedule. I’m only sharing this option as it was such a blessing to me, and I know it is a blessing to those who serve.  Happy meting out gratitude in action!

Question: What acts of gratitude have you received or granted to others? 

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party – Part 3 of 3

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Mickey Mouse Birthday PartyAll the planning was complete and ready for the party to begin. Learning from past birthday parties, I did not make a big deal of the day.

We planned and talked about the games and presents and goody bags; however, I did not press her to follow the planned itinerary.

Before jumping to the results of my daughter’s 3-year-old Mickey Mouse birthday party, a few items were set into motion to make the day special.

Part 3: Executing the Plan

Thankfully, all the invited guests arrived. We had delayed this birthday party until all the guests could attend. Everything else could have fallen apart, and my daughter would have had a great time with her friend in attendance.

The Friday night came, and here is how the events played out:

Greeting

When the doorbell rang initially, all three of my children went running for the door. The birthday girl waited in the hallway for her grandparents to enter and dote on her.

As they began to play, my older daughter heard the doorbell the second time it rang and let in the rest of the guests. All were warmly greeted when they entered the party space. Upon seeing her friend, the birthday girl’s face lit up, and giggles ensued.

Activity

Using the Mini Murph pizza kits from Papa Murphy’s, each of the children made their own pizzas.

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

While the pizzas baked, the boys played a game on the 3DS consoles, the older girls watched their brothers play, and the younger girls pulled out many toys.

Dinner

Sitting at the birthday table, the girls enjoyed their pizza. The boys and adults enjoyed pizza at our dining room table. For the adults, I baked a Chicago-style stuffed pizza from Papa Murphy’s. Yum!

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

Games

As usual, the children finished eating first. After a little play, we began the games. Asking the birthday girl to choose the order, she decided on Finding Pluto’s Bones for the first game.

Finding Pluto’s Bones

With some of the bones hidden just for the boys, they raced each other. They were fast, and my son ended up with rug burns on his knees.

The girls enjoyed tripping over one another and helping each other find the bones. The game finished when all the bones were found, and my daughter asked to give out the Mickey Mouse ears headbands which she did.

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

Pin the Ribbon on Daisy

All geared up, the older children wanted to play Pin the Ribbon on Daisy. Since the birthday girl was starting to act shy, I informed all the children that the birthday girl would choose the next game. If they had a preference, then they needed to ask the birthday girl. Well, my daughter loved having all the big kids ask her, so she chose Pin the Ribbon on Daisy.

Though she did not want to play alone, we let the other children play first. Then Daddy picked up the birthday girl, and they played together which she absolutely loved. Getting a bit tired, the birthday girl allowed me to distribute the Mickey Mouse blowouts as prizes for pinning the ribbons on Daisy.

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

Mickey Mouse Bingo

Needing a bit of rest, we completed the games section with a few rounds of Mickey Mouse Bingo. With eating marshmallows and laughing at the pictures, all the children enjoyed matching the pictures revealed with the pictures on their bingo card.

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

This game was so popular that we played 2 or 3 times. The children took turns pulling cards from the pile which kept them excited about their next pull. For participating, the birthday girl distributed the flying discs which we quickly put away since we were ready for cake.

Cake

With the 3 candles lit, we sang as the birthday girl blew out her candles. Then we cut the cake and ate it.

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

Presents

All sugared up, we moved back into the party space to open gifts. As our daughter missed her friend’s birthday party, we started by allowing our birthday girl to give her friend the gift she picked out.

Taking the attention off of herself, she relaxed and enjoyed the giggles and thrills from her friend. Then the birthday girl opened her gifts without shyness or embarrassment. (For some reason, this part of the party seems to be difficult for my children. But with the change in giving a gift first, my daughter did just fine.)

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

Goody Bags

After opening her gifts, my daughter was grinning from ear to ear as she thanked each of her friends and gave them handpicked goody bags which they each adored. In fact, each of the children began to play with their items and show each other. The birthday girl spontaneously gave Daddy and Mommy hugs which was a touching moment.

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

Play

The remainder of the time together was spent playing, laughing, and picking up. As their friends left, my older daughter asked if we can have this party again next week to which all the children agreed. This answer confirmed that they all had a great time.

Having an itinerary and all the supplies gathered, we adjusted those plans as needed. Though we had other outfits for my children to wear to the party, none of them wanted to change. So, they wore their school uniforms and the birthday girl wore her reading shirt. The outfits were a minor detail that paled in comparison to the memories they made having a great time celebrating my daughter’s third birthday.

As you plan and host parties, try to focus on the guest of honor. By doing so at this party, all the participants had a great time and wanted a repeat. Wishing you success with your next event as you adjust your plans to accommodate the guest of honor. Happy planning!

Question: What have you let go from the ideal plan that had a great result?

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party – Part 2 of 3

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Mickey Mouse Birthday PartyM-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E! Replacing the Mouseketeers with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, magical moments are still alive in the world of Disney.

With numerous toys, multiple television episodes, books, and a video game, my children play and keep Mickey Mouse and friends popular in our house.

To celebrate turning 3, my daughter chose a Mickey Mouse birthday party. Last week, I shared the process we took choosing the theme.

As each child is different, I talk through party elements to see how interested my child gets with helping. Just thrilled with the theme and wanting her friends to come to eat cake, I decided to plan the itinerary for her this year.

Part 2: Planning the Itinerary

Knowing how important it was to my daughter for her best friend to attend, we arranged our schedule to accommodate her friend’s family. Hosting the Mickey Mouse birthday party weeks after her actual birthday, we kept the guest list to grandparents, my daughter’s best friend’s family, and our family.

Rather than working around Saturday soccer games, we opted for a Friday evening party. With a dinner included, I chose the following tentative itinerary for my daughter’s 3-year-old Mickey Mouse birthday party:

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party Itinerary

Greeting

Welcome each guest and allow the children to play.

Activity

Allow each child to create his or her personal pizza from Papa Murphy’s and bake them.

Let the children continue to play while the pizzas bake.

Dinner

Eat pizza and salad.

Games
    • Pin the Ribbon on Daisy: Repeating this game from prior Mickey Mouse birthday parties we have hosted, I brought out the supplies. Based on the classic Pin the Tail on the Donkey game, I had printed a coloring page of Daisy. After coloring the picture, I laminated it and place it on the wall. Using purple ribbon, I write the names of the invitees and hang them on the wall with sticky tack. I then use a bandanna for the blindfold.
    • Finding Pluto’s Bones: Another repeat game for which I had the supplies was a game of hide-and-seek. I printed a sheet with bones titled with Pluto’s name, cut them out, and laminated them. Using sticky tack, we “hid” the bones around the room close to the floor. A dog dish is placed in the center of the room with participants crawling around, finding the bones, and placing them in the dog dish.
    • Mickey Mouse birthday partyMickey Mouse Bingo: My hubby spent lots of time creating this game for our son’s Mickey Mouse birthday party. Paul used clip art to make multiple Bingo cards with the larger pictures for the Bingo drawing. (We cut out the cards and pictures and laminated them before use.) We then place marshmallows into cups for each participant to mark their cards.

The prizes for all who participate in the games consist of the following:

    • Mickey Mouse ears headband
    • Mickey Mouse blowout
    • Flying discs toy
Cake

Sing, blow out the candles, and eat the cake.

Presents

Open gifts.

Goody Bags

Thank guests and give goody bags. Since we have children different ages attending, we have three different types of goody bags:

Girls – Age 3
      • Minnie and Daisy notebook
      • Mickey Mouse figurine
Girls – Age 5
      • Minnie Mouse notebook
      • Mickey Mouse coloring roll with crayons
Boys – Age 8
      • Mickey Mouse notebook
      • Mickey Mouse word search book
Play

Allow the children to play and explore until they go home.

Having hosted this birthday party three times prior to this one, I only needed to tweak and adjust the plan to fit my daughter’s personality and the flow of the party. Next week, I will post details of our executed itinerary in the third part of this series. Happy planning your next party!

Question: How do you decide how many items to include in your goody bags?