Chapel Hill Snippets: Thanks for Thanksgiving! Great Book! Printable icons to adapt it

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Thanks for Thanksgiving! Great Book! Printable icons to adapt it

I'm thankful---for my job, for my family, for my gluten-free diet (only those on a similar diet would understand), for my kids. Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite meal all year! There's minimal commercialism, and I reflect on how lucky I am that I can purchase food and prepare such a feast.

I like to share such feelings with the students I have, realizing that at age six or seven and with a language impairment, they do not yet have a mature ability to reflect on such things. The kids do surprise me, though, and exceed my expectations! Last year, they all took part in a remarkable video ("The Thankful Classroom") where each child told what they were thankful for. It brought tears to my eyes! This year, we are revisiting being thankful, and the book I am using to start us is Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes.

From Amazon:

Everyone knows that Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks—the question is, where to begin? From the turkey on the table to warm, cozy cuddles, life is full of small things and bigger pleasures. But what is most important is being able to share them with family!
Julie Markes reminds kids and adults alike about the little details that make each day enjoyable, while Doris Barrette's beautiful and striking illustrations bring her thoughtful words to life.

What I did is to create icons using Boardmaker to go with the book---1 or 2 per page. The children can also use these icons to tell what they are thankful for (or what makes them happy). It's nice to see if they can label concepts in the book, or receptively identify such concepts. The pictures are busy, so these icons provide the 'main idea' for the child to access it.