When I was in elementary school, my aunt and uncle lived in Boston. We would travel to Plymouth (because I begged each year) to visit the recreated Plymouth Plantation during the summer. Ever since, I have loved learning about the lives of the early colonists. Now that I am teaching, I enjoy focusing on the Pilgrims and Plymouth Plantation during the month of November. We often read three books off and on over the course of the month: Samuel Eaton’s Day, Tapenum’s Day, & Sarah Morton’s Day. These three books are written from the child’s point of view and are highly engaging because of the real photographs. The children in all three books are based off of a real child who lived in Plymouth long ago. Depending on the grade level you teach, these books can be read from cover to cover (they’re quite long) or by simply focusing on specific parts. When teaching first grade and kindergarten, I pick certain pages to read every few days. When teaching third grade, I would read half of one book during our real aloud. My favorite way to use this book to teach about the way pilgrim children dressed. Samuel Eaton’s Day gives a step-by-step process of how Continue Reading
I absolutely love fall. I don’t get much of it {FL girl, born and raised}, but it is my favorite. I incorporate many thematic units from September-December in order to keep the kids engaged and hit all of the necessary curriculum in a fun way. In October, we spend an entire day looking at pumpkins. We write, read, sequence, create, and experiment with pumpkins. We count, practice math skills, plant, and predict with pumpkins. In November, we spend an entire day acting like the Pilgrims and Indians (Colonial Day). We write, read, sequence, create, and experiment with colonial items. We practice math with corn and design maps of the Atlantic Ocean. Pumpkin Day! But today, I would like to introduce you to the student favorite of both themed days – The Taste Test. DISCLAIMER: Please, please, please check your students for allergies before including this in your classroom. Pumpkin Taste Test The idea is quite simple: Just buy some foods, place them on the table, print the graph, and EAT! Let me tell you, the kids have a fabulous time! It is also quite cute to hear all their Mmmmmmmmm’s and Ewwwww’s. Amidst all this excitement, the students don’t even Continue Reading