Stories for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has come so quickly. I almost feel a bit unprepared, but I'd like to share some things we have been doing to celebrate. There is so much focus around Thanksgiving on the plight of the Pilgrims that we wanted to focus on the beauty and spirit of the Native Americans.

For the past two weeks, we have been learning a new song which can be found in Wynstone Press' Autumn book. It can be found on page 34 and is about Indian children. The chorus is printed in bold and is to be sung after each verse:

Chorus: Dance to the sun, dance to the rain, dance to the earth who gives us grain.

1. In the fields, golden morn, Indian children gather corn.

2. Indian children put feathers in their hair. Indian children string beads to wear.

3. Indian children walk as softly as the deer, to the te-pee with the golden ear.

4. A little fire they will make, bread of golden corn they will bake.

5. Bread of golden corn they'll eat, then Indian children fall fast asleep.

I'd like to also share a recipe for making playdough that can be colored with food coloring and baked in the oven to make fun decorations the children can enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup salt

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Mix ingredients together and kneed, add food coloring to pieces as desired. Squish with hands (the really fun part) and shape as desired. Bake in the oven at a low temperature until hardened.

There are some wonderful stories to be found free online. The story we told today was an old Ojibbeway Legend called, "How Indian Corn Came Into the World". We drew in our Main Lesson Books afterwards.

More stories which can be told for Thanksgiving can be found here. Enjoy & Happy early Thanksgiving! Count your blessings in abundance...