Thanksgiving Homeschool Plans

History is one of those subjects that can completely envelope your child’s interest if introduced in a dynamic way. As Thanksgiving approaches each year, I am often asked how to teach this topic in a hands-on way (hands-on is kind of our jam). My answer of course varies by age, but here are our plans for this year, including some photos and a field trip from year’s past. Spending time in picture books, working with our hands to create artistic crafts or delicious recipes of the time, and taking virtual field trips are practical ways you can bring history alive in your home. And for the Thanksgiving holiday, there’s no better time to slow down the rest of your lessons to travel back into time to learn about our native people and the Europeans who came seeking religious freedom. I encourage your family to take the time to study both groups of people who lived during this turning point in history, considering the hardships and unknown each group faced.

Early American History Curriculum

All Early American History programs will cover the time period of early colonization, but my family veers toward curriculum that is literature based. This year, we are utilizing a history program by Beautiful Feet Books, which incorporates picture books and literature with notebooking. We are presently right in the middle of our Plymouth study with BFB’s Early American History K-3, which offers just under 20 lessons studying the Pilgrims and Squanto. We read a portion of text each day, discussing key points through both oral and written narration. The curriculum provides some question prompts in the parent guide, notebook directions, and additional resources to visit for further learning, too. Overall, we have enjoyed this study (especially our Viking and Plymouth units), and it has given my nearly 8-year-old especially a deeper understanding of the events that took place leading up to the Pilgrims’ voyage to America. We will study Squanto more in depth next. This is the spine of our Thanksgiving unit study that we began in October this year.

If you are interested in this curriculum or any other from Beautiful Feet Books (including individual picture books), code SMITTYFAM23 will remove shipping costs from your order.

The Thanksgiving Guide by Brighter Day Press

This will be the third year that my family utilizes the Thanksgiving Guide by Brighter Day Press. We have a lot of fun with it! It is an open and go, family style unit that would be a wonderful learning offering for elementary age children, as well as young children in preschool. Offered in both a printed book and digital download, you can cycle back to this Thanksgiving unit year after year. Your family will study history about both Pilgrims and Native Americans and create Biblical connections to The First Thanksgiving. We use this study during the week of Thanksgiving while we take a break from other homeschool plans, and it is the perfect place to begin teaching about Thanksgiving.

The Thanksgiving Guide stretches over four days, though you could certainly deep dive into topics and additional suggested readings. Optional preschool activities are included, too, if you have younger children learning alongside. The guide comes with a simple grid to see a week at a glance with lessons from Monday to Thursday, with no prep needed. Each day you will study a new topic, reading from Scripture and picture books, journal with provided prompts, and complete relevant crafts and/or a recipe. This study is easy to fit into your morning time if you homeschool, or it can be completed as a family in the early evening (even if you do not homeschool). I typically host on Thanksgiving and have found it to be just the break we need from preparations for the week’s festivities without causing interference to my time preparing my home and meals. Each year my son has enjoyed making butter, even trying different variations of herbs and flavors, as well as the beautiful Native American-inspired handcrafts (pictured below). This year I am hopeful he will share the sweet Psalm included during Thanksgiving dinner. 

Note, you will need to borrow or purchase four picture books for this study: This is the Feast, Three Young Pilgrims, Squanto, and Sharing the Bread. There is also an additional reading list if you wish to expand upon either Native American or Pilgrim knowledge that you can bring to your library or use to search for videos on Youtube. I will link some of the selections my family has enjoyed here.

You can save 10% off any purchase from Brighter Day Press using code SMITTYFAM.

Additional enrichment

The history of Thanksgiving is so intriguing and there are so many deep dives you can take! Last year, my children enjoyed these Evan Moor guides, which taught us more in depth about the Pilgrims and Native Americans, each wonderful options for Grades K-3. The Native American History Pocket provides an introduction to Native Americans and has project-based activities for a handful of tribes across the country. The Life in Plymouth Colony History Pocket offers a hands-on study of the history of Pilgrims, their voyage and village, family life, and even their school experience! My children loved creating these projects and learning how children lived specifically during this time in history.

Note, the links I shared above are both parent guides, and you can photocopy pages from the book for your children to color and create. I suggest copying the cut-out pages on cardstock to preserve their work. You might also choose to laminate their projects when they are finished to preserve them as sweet keepsakes of their learning.

Visiting Plymouth Massachusetts

If you live in New England or plan to visit in the future, The Plimouth Patuxet Museums located in Plymouth Massachusetts are incredible stops. They are located just 30 miles from Boston. There is so much rich, history to discover here, and they have wonderful online resources to explore, too. There are many areas of the museums that you can visit around the town of Plymouth, many offering living history with actors immersed in the daily tasks you would have seen done in the 1700s. Here, there is a self-guided 17th Century English Village recreated with impeccable detail. While it is a few miles from the original site, you will feel just as though you’ve traveled back in time. Children visiting are often asked to help complete tasks, such as gardening or fixing a broken bench. There is livestock, decorated homes, a church in the center of the town, and games to play, too. You can also visit the Patuxet Homesite to explore the wetu (homes) and mishoon (canoes). There will also be individuals to teach you about the surrounding crops being grown, tasks the Patuxet natives did on their day to day, and how children would have spent their time. There is also Grist Mill, Craft Center, and the Mayflower II ship to make it a full day of learning! You can see how the area honors and celebrates Thanksgiving here. The website hosts a slue of wonderful resources and photographs that you and your children can research together. Enjoy this virtual field trip where you can find recipes, riddles, and learn how to talk like a Pilgrim!

Here are some photos from our visit to the Plimouth Patuxet Museums and Mayflower II from a trip we took in August of 2022.

Notebooking in Our Homeschool

Last year when my son was in second grade, we were introduced to the concept of Notebooking. We used the Playful Pioneers curriculum by Peaceful Press and various seasonal nature studies and holiday guides by Treehouse Schoolhouse. These courses would encourage students to copy prose, sentences from their readings, or their own thoughts in a narration-style notebook. Sometimes he would add his own art, and sometimes we would glue and color pictures relating to the topic. I found that my son really enjoyed having a place to leaf through his previous work, and a feeling of pride over his notebook began to grow. The artwork and writing combined with his thoughts and intrigues created an atmosphere of learning that was well-rounded and well-enjoyed.

We have spent the past few years practicing the skill of oral narration in our homeschool. I am firm believer that a child’s ability to write should not interfere with the rest of their learning, so this practice has slowly and naturally grown to include his own writing. While we continue to practice writing skills in meaningful ways, my son has been eager to put words to his thoughts. Sometimes I will write what he speaks. Sometimes we will slow down even more and construct sentences together with his own ideas. Sometimes those sentences turn into paragraphs, and beautifully so! The writing process constantly evolves as our children grow in confidence and ability, but the pressure isn’t there to perform, or write perfectly. The purpose begins with them sharing what they have learned, or what stuck out to them.

Being that I am one who veers from formal assessments in our homeschool, I found that “notebooking” could show me so much of what my son has learned than any fill-in-the-blank or memorization -style curriculum… but it also provides him a sense of daily accomplishment in his schoolwork, too. I was interested this year specifically to further explore notebooking with my son, as I noticed how natural it felt for him. We selected various curriculum to support this for his third grade year: Both Early American History and US Geography by Beautiful Feet books, as well as another year with Treehouse Nature Study by Treehouse Schoolhouse. My son creates a different notebook for each of those subjects, and what a beautiful keepsake they will become at the end of the year. Some of his notebooks are styled on watercolor paper, some in primary notebooks. I will detail our personal approach in sections below.

So, what is notebooking?

Notebooking is simply a written narration by your child. It could cover a span of subjects, and ultimately, they decide what they will write. It’s their thoughts in words, what stuck out to them, an answer to a question they had about a topic including research, or it could be a poem or verse from the text read. They can use art to elaborate and draw from their imagination, diagram, or even use art tutorials to pair with their writing. Your child can transcribe in a lined notebook or use loose leaf art paper. Ultimately, it becomes a collage in book form of what they have learned in whichever subject they are covering.

Why notebook?
Notebooking is a wonderful way for children to express themselves no matter their age or the subject. It makes their work meaningful to them. It also can serve as a beautiful keepsake and yearbook so to speak of their learning. Notebooking gives your child a bit of control over their education, and instead of memorizing facts for a test, they are able to express and expand upon what they’ve learned. It’s simple to integrate into your their day at any point in the year, and is easily adaptable for various ages at once. They can notebook for multiple subjects including history, geography, science and nature study. You can also include art tutorials and research projects in with their notebook. It strengthens their writing and allows them the opportunity to work through their thoughts. There is so much research out there sharing the power that writing has in relation to retention. We have recently pushed our workbook-style Language Arts curriculum to the side because I have noticed to many organic opportunities to fine tune grammar and writing for my son, too. I will include examples of our notebooks and notebooks by other homeschooled children toward the end of this blog post. You will see how notebooking can grow with your child through many grades, how easy it is to integrate in family style learning, and the range of subjects notebooking can be used for.

How do I adapt per age?
For younger students, you can include pictures to cut, color and paste for the subject they are learning about. They may tell you orally what they’ve learned, and you can transcribe. They can even trace over your words. You’ll be surprised as you go how much detail they begin to add week by week. They could also copy a line from the text they liked the best, or from their poetry (if included). They may choose to write relevant words as titles or labels on their page.

As writing skills are formed, you children can continue to dictate to you. You may wish to write on a blank sheet of paper or a dry erase board before they copy it in their notebook. This gives you the opportunity to focus on some grammar/writing skills. They can copy the final draft on their notebook page and adorn with their own drawings or clipart. You can ask them what they’d like to draw a picture and include an art tutorial from YouTube or a book, or they can trace, draw from a picture example, or draw freely.

As your child gets older, they will begin to write on their own. You can encourage the use of pencil to correct errors together, then they can trace in a pen or fine-point marker. Their drawings may become more sophisticated, and they may wish to include multiple pictures on one page.

What supplies are needed?
Depending on your preference, or the subject, notebooks can be kept a number of ways. We personally keep separate notebooks for differing topics. For instance, my son is currently creating narration notebooks for Geography, Nature Study (both on loose leaf watercolor paper that we will later bind), and History (I’ll link our History notebook here). We love to use this watercolor paper, watercolors, colored, pencils, crayons, markers. You may also need glue, and either a fine point pen or thin marker. Essentially, paper, something to write with, and art supplies of your choosing are needed to accompany and text being read or curriculum you are studying. If using loose leaf paper over a pre-bound artbook, your child can create their own cover and you can take the completed notebook to Staple’s or any print shop to get spiral bound.

Our Homeschool Notebooking Examples

examples from other homeschool families

I have been so inspired by many homeschool families over the years, and have loved getting to know the following families, in particular. These moms teach me so much on many levels, and I hope seeing how their children use notebooking for homeschool offers more insight to your research, too. Thank you Lyndsey, Bobbi, Jada, Lindsay, and Trish for sharing your experience with me and giving permission to share your photos!

@treehouseschoolhouse

Lyndsey is the creator of our beloved Nature Study and Holiday curricula. The examples she share are created by her children when they were ages 6-8.

You can find Lyndsey on Instagram. Be sure to visit check our her beautiful curriculum, too!

@bobbyewest_

I love how Bobbye uses notebooking for various subjects, even math! Pictured is her daughter’s Addition and Subtraction Table created for her math notebook.

You can find Bobbye on Instagram. Scroll through her page to see many more notebook snippets across multiple subjects. Her daughter’s notebook pages are outstanding and detailed!

@littleschoolofsmiths

Lindsay is a great account to follow if you have children of multiple ages. She also write hands-on, family style curriculum that incorporates notebooking. Pictured is from her new Adventures to the New World history curriculum.

You can find Lindsay on Instagram, and she also has a blog.

@jada_dannielle

I always look forward to seeing how Jada teaches her children history, They are also a BFB (Beautiful Feet Books) fam and have been learning about World History.

You can find Jada on Instagram. Her highlights are super helpful, and I refer to them often!

@juiceboxhomeschool

Trish gives great insight to homeschool in the upper elementary grades, middle, and highschool. Her children continue to use notebooking as they get older, even for Chemistry!

You can find Trish on Instagram. Her blog is a good one to bookmark to read more about notebooking, too!

Our Mud Kitchen Makeover

CLEANING UP our mess of a mud kitchen - with an easy DIY, and purposeful play with fun accessories

We have all seen the Pinterest-worthy play spanning Instagram donning beautiful outdoor kitchens for kids. I was over-the-top excited when a company reached out last summer to collaborate with their brand of mud kitchens! I just pictured darling, child-led play and a piece of wooden furniture that was going to last us years. What I was not prepared for was the poor quality of many brands and the quick wear that is possible. Disclaimer: I am going to be very honest with my thoughts in this post without sharing the mud kitchen company’s name out of respect for them. Despite an adorable design, our mud kitchen was a doozy. You can follow the steps provided in sections below for most wooden mud kitchens to offer a refresh seasonally, or as needed. Storing your mud kitchen after its makeover on a covered porch or in a garage will prolong its life. Covering with something along the lines of a fabric grill cover is a great idea during times of inclement weather, as well.

What happened with our mud kitchen? Not only did the prefabricated item arrive missing important parts of the prefabrication process (ie. drill holes for the back support and instructions)… the back was very rough and I had to be cautious myself not to get splinters. I also quickly noticed that the material was not treated or protected; it was virgin pine which is prone to fast wear. For the advertised cost, I was already disappointed and hesitated to promote the product. After a few months being stored on our covered porch with limited use, I noticed water rot and splitting of the counter. I did not want my children playing with it at this point, but decided I would wait until Springtime to possibly sand down. Once spring came, I couldn’t keep my two-year-old daughter away from it despite its poor condition. I knew I had two options: throw it away or fix it up quick.

Well, this weekend sported some less-than humid weather and warm sunshine, so it was the perfect opportunity to jazz it up if I was ever going to do so. My husband ran to the hardware store to grab something for my oldest son’s toy, and I gave him a call hoping to catch him before he left, “Can you grab us a hand sander….?” I am sure ideas were running wild in his head…what was I up to now? He came back with a sander, and while he planted some more bushes in our garden beds, I was blasting away the top layer of splintered wood and water rot. At this point, I still wasn’t fully committed to saving it, nor had I any idea of next steps. But once that first layer of gross and ouch was gone, I realized this was going to be the day’s hyper-fixation and sleep wasn’t going to come until I was through.

I browsed Pinterest for .02 seconds, screenshotted the two most visually appealing (to me) mud kitchen renos I saw, and decided we needed to run to Home Depot for an expert’s opinion on paint/stain/sealant. I was going for a stain and paint combo look. I wish I had spent more time thanking the gentleman who helped us; he was a gem and educated me on the products that would work best and last the longest. We were recommended three products: a quick-drying water-based stain (we opted with a poly blend to help protect the surface from water), an outdoor paint with primer (a semi-gloss to allow painted surfaces to be wiped down), and a mold and mildew resilient exterior sealant (we went with a satin finish to reduce shine).

As soon as we returned home, I placed our mud kitchen in the black mulch of our side yard and began the process, which I will outline more thoroughly in a section below. Using a rag, I stained the top surface of our mud kitchen with the honey-colored stain. I used a rag to get in on smoothly without drips. Next, I carefully painted the legs, and back splash board with black exterior paint. This surprisingly offered excellent coverage and didn’t seep into the pine as I had expected. A thick coat did the trick, with a few laps over the wood creases. At this point, my sweet neighbor had come out to chat and offered to hold our baby while my husband supervised our older children. We chatted while I painted, which made the time seem faster. I highly suggest using quick dry options if you are anything like me, pretty impatient- ha!

I am really happy with the results aesthetically and functionally! What do you think?!

DIY Shopping List:

You may click on the images below for direct links, or search your hardware store for similar. You should only need the stain and paint in Quart sizes.

DIY MAKEOVER INSTRUCTIONS

After removing any hardware, fixtures, or shelves from your mud kitchen, you can follow these instructions below. I recommend following these steps outdoors in an open area away from children and pets. This process is going to vary depending upon the brand and variety of products used. I opted for quick dry options for the sake of time.

STEP ONE - SAND: Give your mud kitchen a good wipe with a dry or wet cloth to remove any loose debris. You’ll then want to sand down your mud kitchen using a hand sander. I’m not expert on the grit of the sandpaper, we just used the pads that came in a mouse sander. A mouse sander has a point on one end which may help get into the nooks and crannies, but any electric hand sander should work fine. Sanding the surface does three things. One, smoothness. Sanding will remove any splintering edges, too. Two, sanding will remove water marks and mildew as best as possible. You might want to use some elbow grease in areas stained darker. It will not remove everything in its entirety, but it did a pretty good job for us. Three, sanding prepares the area to best hold stain. Wearing protective goggles and a mask isn’t a bad idea during this step.

STEP TWO - STAIN: Choosing a stain color will take longer than it does to actually stain. You’ll want to wear gloves for this step. Using a clean rag versus a paint brush will lessen your chances of dripping stain and offer better control, too. If you are not staining the entire mud kitchen, taping off areas that you will later paint (particularly if you are using a light color paint) will be beneficial. Do not stain areas you will want to paint. To stain, simply fold a clean rag into a bundle and dip into the stain. Rub over the surface of your mud kitchen evenly, avoiding piling into creases. Any “puddles” will result in darker, uneven staining or odd bumps when the stain dries. After an even coat, you can wipe and smooth with a clean cloth. Determine if the color meets your expectation; you may repeat this process a time or two depending on your preference. Note: Using a stain product with a poly blend will allow for quicker drying. Otherwise, your surface may remain tacky for a bit and will need to dry thoroughly before any next steps. Humidity levels will affect drying time.

STEP THREE - PAINT: Any brand exterior paint should do the trick here. A paint/primer combo may result in less coats needed, and a semi-gloss finish will allow you to wipe your mud kitchen clean more easily. Using a paint brush, slather paint on any surfaces you would like cover (we chose black) and allow to dry. If you are not using a drop cloth or tarp, leaving the bottom 1-2 inches free of paint will offer less mess. You can lay your mud kitchen down once already painted areas are fully dry to focus on that area next. If you are wanting to avoid further moisture damage, I also suggest painting the back of the mud kitchen. Covering as much of the surface with paint or protectant spray will add to the longevity of your mud kitchen.

STEP FOUR - SEAL: A spray sealant will offer faster dry times, but a paintable option will offer the fullest coverage. This choice is up to you. You will want to use an exterior oil-based polyurethane that is made specifically for sealing out water, mold and mildew. There are various finish options, such as high gloss, semi, and satin. A satin will offer the least sheen. If using a spray like us, give your mud kitchen a thorough, even coat. You may wish to add additional coats for further protection, especially if your mud kitchen will see a lot of water play. Sealant will remain tacky until fully dry regardless if you use a liquid or spray. I sprayed two coats of Spar Urethane on the surface of the stained areas and allowed it to dry overnight.

Accessory shopping list

Mud kitchens can offer many opportunities for imaginative play, role playing, fine motor development, stem activities, and more. It is a wonderful chance to provide self-directed play with purposeful items nearby to promote these skills in a practical format. Many of these items can be found throughout your home, or you can upcycle through thrifting- even finding inexpensively in a dollar store. I have provided a few online links, as well. You’ll want to avoid breakable items, such as glass, and have a container handy to store things when not in use.

Seasonal Ideas:

In the Spring - pluck flowers or create flora infused playdough

In the Summer - wash and sort seashells, add sand and sifters

In the Fall - dissect apples and pumpkins or sink + float experiments

In the Winter - experiment with snow, evergreen and pinecones

In Any Season - freeze nature findings or small figurines in ice cube trays and spray with warm water to watch them melt

I really love to make things beautiful to add extra marvel and wonder, so I displayed these mud kitchen printables created by my talented friend Christina from Mornings Together. These are a free resource; all you have to do is sign up for her email list via the link to receive. Mornings Together offers a huge online catalog of nature-themed early learning activities and files that we have loved using in our homeschool. Laminating products will keep them safe from stains and mess if using outdoors. You can use my code SMITTYFAM10 sitewide at Mornings Together.