Wordful Wednesday

My daughter has taken to playing with Photo Booth lately...these are some of her recent works of art. Yes, we are thankful for our iMac, it provides endless hours of entertainment and open-ended creativity.

More on Thanksgiving

A THANKSGIVING POEM
-----------------------

Twas the night of Thanksgiving, but I just couldn't sleep
I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep.

The leftovers beckoned-- the dark meat and white,
but I fought the temptation with all of my might.

Tossing and turning with anticipation,
the thought of a snack became infatuation.

So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door
and gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.

I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,
pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.

I felt myself swelling so plump and so round,
till all of a sudden, I rose off the ground.

I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky
With a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie

But, I managed to yell as I soared past the trees.......
happy eating to all---pass the cranberries, please!
~Author Unknown

Check out these great Thanksgiving links:
Heartland
Bethany Roberts
Thanksgiving for Kids
Thanksgiving Jokes and Riddles from Kaboose
Marvelicious

Audio Books Online

Like most homeschoolers, we often listen to books while riding in the car. I usually check them out from the library, but I recently discovered AudibleKids.com where you can download audio books for kids and just like you would download music to your ipod. There are over a thousand titles to choose from and they seem very reasonably priced. There are 122 selections for 99 cents. They offer a great selection too, with many award winning titles, classic fairy tales and fables, and some favorite series like Magic Tree House and Junie B. Jones. And they are easy to browse by age, grade level, length, author, etc. The site has an enhanced Beta version that, for some titles, allows you to see the book's original illustrations as you listen on a computer with itunes or an ipod.
The site even has an online community where you can meet other people with children of a similar age or with similar interests, write reviews, share reading lists and more. And, you can set up and account for your child with an allowance and let them browse and choose books on their own if you wish.

If your kids like audio books, or even if you've never tried them, it's worth a look. You can listen to excepts online before purchasing anything, and signing up for an account is free. When you do sign up you'll get one free download.

P.S. If you haven't already, be sure to check out Tumble Books, it is listed as a link in my side bar because we love it so. While a subscription is quite pricey, many libraries carry one and you can access it for free through one that does.

How to Make an Apple Doll

We came across the book, The Apple Doll, by Elisa Kleven, at the library last week and have enjoyed reading it together. I recall having an apple doll years ago that my grandparents had given my sister and I as a gift. I was always intrigued by the squishy face and the sweet smell. But, it never occurred to me to make my own. After reading the book several times, we decided to make our own apple dolls. It's a great project for young kids, and really quite easy to do.
You can find instructions here. However, if you find the book there are instructions after the story.
Find examples of finished dolls here.

I'll post pictures of our finished dolls when they are done. Right now we're still shrinking heads ;P

Wordful Wednesday

These photos were taken at one of our favorite spots in Colonial Williamsburg. This is the coolest old tree, still living and split right down the middle. The kids were have a great time, obviously, and I couldn't help but wonder about the fascinating history that that old tree must have been witness to.



For more Wordful Wednesday click here. For Wordless Wednesday click here. And whether you are wordy or wordless, have a wonderful Wednesday.

Thanksgiving Fun

Ok, I admit I've been a little preoccupied lately with a couple of projects (fun, but time consuming), work (not so much fun, but thankful to have it) and a couple of snuffly kids (who have passed the sniffles on to me ~ I'll try not to sneeze on you). I apologize for slacking on the posts. I will try to get back on track here, I promise. Seriously, I think Congress should pass a Mom-Sanity-Savings bill that adds an extra hour per day from Halloween through New Year's. I'll get right on that.

In the meantime, we've got to get moving on Thanksgiving! I've got some great crafts, recipes and books to share to keep the kiddos busy. Try them out and let me know what you think.
Tip Junkie has a great post with lots of fun Thanksgiving ideas. I love the pilgrim hat cookies. They certainly aren't health food, but they are very cute. The fruit gobbler is a healthier option, and a cute idea for your holiday table. If you have company coming, this could be fun for the kids to make while the grown ups prepare the feast and watch football.
Family Fun has directions for everything from place cards, to chair covers and pinatas. Lots of great ideas here. In particular, I found Spuds McTurkey a hoot. We may try the chair covers using pillow cases.

Here's an online Turkey Match game. And a Thanksgiving Story for young ones. And some print and play turkey mazes. Thanksgiving coloring pages. Make a thankful wreath (also can be make by tracing and cutting child's hand prints and writing something they are thankful for on each hand). Make a wild turkey.
Funschool has some cool online games and activity pages.

Find Thanksgiving poems here. And more poems and songs here.

Macy's Day Parade info and history. Scholastic's First Thanksgiving page.

Thanksgiving related lesson plans can be found here. Why leaves change color. Plus, Thanksgiving history from The History Channel.

Some of our favorite books on the subject are:
In November, by Cynthia Rylant
Over the River and Through the Woods
The Night Before Thanksgiving, by Natasha Wing
Thanksgiving on Thursday, by Mary Pope Osbourne
Thanksgiving Is, by Gail Gibbons
And, since you are reading...why not make a bookmark or two?