Kids in the Kitchen: Thanksgiving Snacks

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Assemble Paper Jewel's mini peanut butter pumpkins or fall snack mix cornucopia's with yoru little turkeys.



Play a turkey themed game with a few snacks from your kitchen.


Cheesy Mini Pumpkins would be an appropriate appetizer for your Thanksgiving meal and entertaining for the kids to help you assemble.

Feeling extra ambitious this season? Put together this beautiful bread dough cornucopia with the tutorial from Chica and Joe.

Check out these seriously sweet turkey treats from Gourment Mom on the Go.

Kitchen Blessings put together a sweet twist on the traditional cornucopia.

Sweet or Salty? How do you like your turkey sandwich? Let your kid's decide when they help you in the kitchen this Thanksgiving. Homespun Emily has put together adorable pb& j and cheese sandwich turkeys.

Make an ordinary snack extraordinary this Thanksgiving with this cute idea we saw on 4 Crazy Kings.

Work with your children to put together this 4 ingredient treat reminescent of the Pilgrims.

Author Challenge: Laura Numeroff

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This month's Author Challenge was to share an activity or lesson based on one of Laura Numeroff's books. The If You Give...series were by far the favorites of our readers. Thank you to everyone who participated! Before we share their contributions, here are some online sources we want to share with you.

Visit Laura Numeroff's website, be sure to check out the links she provides at the bottom of the teacher's page.

To see a list of all of the books currently available from Numeroff, click here.

Decorate your own cupcake with Cat.

Mouse Cookie Books, is a great tie in website. Each book in the series has a page where you can meet the main character. Click on activities for each one to see links for games, printables, etc. You can also play a counting game with Mouse, a beginning letter game with pig, or a complete the picture shape game with Moose.

Starr at examiner.com sent us lots of activities to go with Numeroff's holiday book featuring Mouse! Besides suggesting you trace and make a template for a Mouse ornament,

you can also: "Cut a tree and ornaments from construction paper. Write out numbers on the tree and on the ornaments. Kids can match the numbers and glue on the ornaments to decorate the tree."

"Write out key story events in a circle on poster board or construction paper. Use drawings, cutouts and magazine clippings to go along with each event. Kids paste the cutouts in the correct location according to the diagram."

"If kids are too young to string popcorn with a real needle, string packing peanuts on pipe cleaners or yarn." This is a good way to work on prewriting fine motor skills. "

You could also create "popcorn" numbers and have your child string them in number order.

Make your own fun alliteration book: If you give a Moose a ___________ and think of as many M words as you can to give the Moose. Write the sentence at the bottom of the page and have your child fill in the blanks with "kid writing" (their own phonetic spelling) and illustrate the picture. Staple to create a silly book you can read over and over.

Silly Eagel Books made this delightful Moose sock puppet, based on the illustrations in the book and her daughter has really enjoyed playing with him and the Mouse sock puppet she also made.

A fun way to start the day would be to make letter pancakes and spell out PIG.

Vanessa from Silly Eagle Books and her daughter had a fun time reenacting part of the book, the picture/letter writing segment of the book which comes right after a tap dancing session.

"Then she'll want you to take her picture. So you'll have to get your camera. When she sees the picture, she'll ask you to take more. Then she'll want to send one to each of her friends. You'll have to give her some envelopes and stamps and take her to the mailbox."

They went out and took pictures of their stuffed pig and then really sent their pictures off in the mail, how fun!

Cindy at Izzie, Mac & Me created two math games for her daughter based on If You Give a Pig a Pancake. Check out these fun learning experiences she created for her!

"I made 20 pancakes (Microsoft Word), 10 pancakes with numbers 1-10 and then 10 pancakes with different amount of dots (1-10). The concept is to match the pancakes (number with the correct amount of dots). For more drama, I put the pancakes on a baking sheet and gave Izzie a spatula to use."

"I wanted to create a game that would reinforce taking turns. I made 2 large pancakes and game cards (Microsoft Word) that included the following toppings, 1 chocolate, 2 strawberries, and 3 blueberries. For the game pieces, I used the velcro chocolates, strawberries, and blueberries from Izzie's Just Like Home Cake Decorator Set. We took turns picking game cards and then attaching the correct topping to our pancake. It's a simple game, but it really encouraged Izzie to practice taking turns."

Reader Spotlight: Confessions of a Homeschooler

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Since this month's Author Challenge post featuring Laura Numeroff is tomorrow, we decided to showcase one of last month's Author Challenge contributors today. Erica's submission was chosen at random, and if you'd like to be next month's featured participant make sure you get your links into us by tonight!

So without further ado we'd like to introduce you to one of our fabulous readers and contributors!


Erica is a Christian mom, with a wonderful husband of 9 years, and 4 precious kiddos! She currently has a 2nd grader, kindergartner, preschooler, and teeny tiny tot. This year marks their 4th year of homeschooling, although Erica explains that before she began she was adamantly opposed to the idea. She says, "I started with my oldest in preschool and I can’t believe we’ve made it through 4 years already! I love that we have the option to have our kids around all day, and can be the primary influence in their lives!"

Confessions of a Homeschooler is a relatively new blog. She just began her site in August of 2009 with the start of a new school year. "It started off as a way for my husband to ‘see what we do all day’. And it really helps him interact with the kids when he came home about what they’d learned that day." As you will see Erica's blog has morphed into a home for sharing ideas with other homeschoolers!

Similar to many moms, Erica faces the self-inflicted frustration of self doubt.
“Am I doing enough? What am I missing? Am I a good teacher? Should they be in school?”

Yet, the frustration is outweighed by the tremendous joys of seeing her family grow closer together and watching as the kids begin to catch on. "I think homeschooling is one of those slow payoffs, but each day I can see little things that inspire me to keep going! The Lord has really confirmed our decision to homeschool this year and truly brought us joy through our obedience!"
Erica explains that in the past several months she has found great inspiration for her teaching from fellow homeschoolers. "Joining the blogging community has been a HUGE help, and frankly I’m not sure how I ever did school before! There are so many talented and creative moms out there, and I love that everyone is willing to share their ideas and inspiration so freely! It’s truly been a blessing to us this year!"

When they aren't busy in the classroom, Erica's family enjoys learning on the go with walks and park trips. They spend their Friday nights together having some family fun. A typical family fun night includes a special food, movie, or a game at home. "The kids love it, and plan all week for our family fun night!" Her children also really enjoy crafts and have had lots of fun creating together. Sometimes they even save their crafty sessions for when Dad comes home so he doesn't miss out.

Dinosaur week at Confessions of a Homeschooler proved to be popular with her family and her blog readers. She has put together so many quality materials for this unit on the letter D and many of them are available as downloads.

You will also want to check out the dinosaur fossils and other D crafts she has assembled.


Like what you've seen? Take a minute to visit Confessions of a Homeschooler to look around for yourself. Also, take some time to vote in the 2009 Homeschool Awards where her blog was nominated in 3 different catergories: Best Homeschooling Methods ,Best NEW Blog ,and Best Crafts, Plans, Projects!

Thanks to Confessions of a Homeschooler for the opportunity to spotlight all they are busy learning and doing!

Life Skill: Gratitude

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November is about gratitude, being thankful for what we have instead of thinking about what we don’t have.

Here is a great article with a list of suggestions for teaching children to be grateful. The suggest that your children experiment with going without, offer their service to others, and role play situations.



Find some inspiration for creating a Tradition of Gratitude from A List Maker's Life.

MaryAnne from Mama Smiles has shared two simple Gratitude themed crafts that require only tape, a pen, colored paper, and scissors:

Gratitude Chain

Thankful Hands


Thanks to Valery from Our Journey at Hillside Manor for submitted her suggestion for creating a tree of gratitude. Every memeber of their family will write something they are thankful for on a leaf and then we stick it to the wall. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around they will have a beautiful fall tree full of leaves.

Search these suggestions for sharing your grateful heart with your family at the HappyHome Club: Grateful Rolls, Letters of Thanks, Thanksgiving Gazette, and Leaves of Thanks.

Put together a Gratitude Garden.
A gratitude garden is a fun craft project for kids. Make a list of things you are thankful for. Next, cut some flower shapes from colorful construction paper and write each of your items of gratitude on a flower. Arrange and paste the flowers to a green poster board.

Make Stuff Together: Future Craft Collective has featured a lovely hand made Gratitude Banner.

Start a family traidtion by creating a Tree of Gratitude centerpiece for your Thanksgiving table.

Start a family Gratitude Journal.

List all the things your family is thankful for on a Gratitude Garland or a Gratitude Wreath.

The HappyHome Club's monthly downloadable activities include Conversation Starters about Gratitude, Family Fun Night Turkey Placemats, the Leaves of Thanks tradition of the month, creating a Family Legacy of Gratitude and the Gift of Gratitude card. Download and print these activities for the month of November.

Try the Attitude of Gratitude Building Exercise suggested by Family Cares.

Prepare for the Christmas season by putting together a Giving & Gratitude Countdown. Thanks to Elise for sharing this neat submission.

Part of teaching children about money is teaching them to be grateful for what they have and to be willing to give to those who do not have all they need. Thanks to Amy for sharing her Money post.

Now, it's your turn! We are sure that the rest of our readers have many wonderful activities and suggestions for teaching our children to be grateful during this Thanksgiving season. Please link up and share all of your great ideas!

Musical Monday: Veggie Tales

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Thank you to Angela, from Confessions of a Non-Domestic Housewife, for writing today's Musical Monday guest post. Angela is the homeschooling mother of three children. Hailey(6), Christopher(3), Sammy(7months). She claims she is"not your typical Housewife but I do my best and find great humor in my attempts at being domestic. Maybe one day I will get it!"

Veggie Tales is one of my kids favorite cartoons. They beg to watch the movies over and over again. It's needless to say that they LOVE to listen to the music. They have both Silly and more serious songs. Mine love Silly Songs with Larry. Larry is a talking cucumber who is always messing things up and being silly. Here is a sample.

You can find a list of all the cd's HERE they can also be found at your local book store. If you haven't already go and get your copy today and let the silliness begin!

Veggie Tales is produced by Big Idea. Their mission is to enhance the moral and spiritual fabric of society through creative media. VeggieTales was created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki, who also provide many of the voices.

Alphabet: The Letter O

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For the most part Letter O had our readers thinking of the Ocean and Octopus!


The Harris Family had all sorts of Octopus and Ocean fun with letter O! They did letter O art and turned their letter into an Octopus, watercolored an ocean scene with an octopus in it, ate ocean in cup, made a cute paperbag octopus - this one I'd never seen before, and more!

Brandy at Adventures of a Flake has done several Letter O activities, but we especially like how they made oobleck, a fictional green precipitation invented by Dr. Seuss and featured in his book Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

Green Eggs and Olives worked on O is for Opposites, with this activity she made.

Confessions of a Homeschooler has done it again, and provided many downloadable O is for Octopus activities like this puzzle. She's also got How Many? cards, Size Sort Game, Color Matching, Number Clip Cards. Visit her post for the links to her downloads.

We love the tissue paper legs on Our Crafts N' Thing's O is for Octopus.

Our Journey at Hillside Manor got really creative with their O snack and oatmeal O's.

The Fifth Street Academy spent an entire day at the ocean, during their O week and also did letter O search. The stamped owl activity is also a good way to combine alphabet and math practice in one activity.

Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations has posted several Letter O activities, but our favorite is this ocean in a bottle, how fun! She also provides a Letter O collage sheet you can download.

Let's Talk Turkeys

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Has November flown by at your house? Seems like we just finished trick-or-treating and it's already time for planning the big turkey dinner for Thanksgiving!

Katie from Katie's Nesting Spot shared three of the turkey themed centers she used to use when teaching kindergarten: Turkey Letters, Turkey Feather Numbers, and Turkey Numbers

Teaching Two had a great way to practice your name and can be done over and over. Be sure to see their cute coffee filter turkeys in the same post.

Michelle at Green Olives and Ham shows off her matching file folder game, that she suggests can also be played as a Memory Match up type game.

We love this cute felt ABC turkey sent in by Starr at http://www.examiner.com/! Click through the slideshow and see how the feathers can be used to spell out words such as Thursday and Thanks.

Our Journey at Hillside Manor reviewed the alphabet with this turkey activity, done during their letter T week. The template she used is link to in her post, so you can try it out too!

Amy at Preschooling at Home made their turkey handprint craft using foam, and the artist is shown proudly showing off her work.

At My Family My Forever, they made their turkey with a butternut squash print. What fun and it is the perfect shape for a turkey body!

They also made this adorable play-doh turkey, using handmade glitter play-doh. Susana shares the recipe and two favorite Thanksgiving books in the same post.

Silly Eagle Books shared these handprint turkeys, done after they read Setting the Turkeys Free

Isn't this a cute hand and foot turkey, sent to us by The Fifth Street Academy?

The Adventures of Bear sent us this magnetic turkey, that can be used to pratice patterns.

We thought we'd end on really fun note, and get you all thinking about how to devise your own Turkey Trap!

Bobbi at Casa Camacho and her family made this turkey trap, and then caught their family's "poor, defenseless" Guinea Pig in it!