What are you thankful for Linky Party

I'm Linking up!  Are you?

Rachelle at What a Teacher Wants has started a Thanksgiving Linky!  Head over there now and take the time out of your busy bloggy life and reflect on what is special in your life.  

What are you thankful for in the classroom?

A group of 19 wonderful seven and eight year olds.  Although there are some issues here and there, there are no major behavior problems in our classroom this year.  All of my students are motivated and enthusiastic to learn! 

What person are you most thankful for?

Uh, impossible to answer.  In no particular order… my husband, three amazing and beautiful children, and my mom.

What 3 blogs are thankful for?

Confessions of a Homeschooler- the first blog I was hooked on while on maternity leave.  Awesome homeschool mom with everything from preschool to about fourth grade.  I've used many of her hands on ideas with my boys at home.

Ashleigh's Education Journal- I just like her teaching style.  She makes valuable materials cute.  Check her out if you haven't yet!

Me and My Gang-  Who wouldn't love a blog that links other awesome blogs you already read?  Talk about saving time and energy! 

I am also thankful for my health and happiness and the health and happiness of my family.  I take neither for granted and thank God every day for the little bits of magic that happen in my life everyday.  I am very blessed. 

The First Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I am not only making pilgrims and writing about what we are thankful for, but also teaching the history behind the holiday. 

Scholastic's First Thanksgiving Virual Field Trip

  Scholastic has put together a fantastic virtual field trip to the Plymouth Plantation.  Students can explore a pilgrim village, native american village, and learn about the events leading up to the first Thanksgiving.  It is probably geared more towards third grade, but my second graders are understanding most of it since we have been learning about this topic for the last week.  Another interesting book to read aloud to students in small snippets is Eating the Plates by Lucille Recht Penner.                      

  Penner makes the pilgrims and their struggles come alive as she vividly yet simply describes daily life on the Mayflower and in the Plymouth Plantation.  It is a must read to get the kids "hooked" on the interesting small facts so what they can imagine what it would have been like to be a stranger in the New World so long ago. 
{Did you know that while on the Mayflower the Pligrims often ate in the pitch dark so that they could not see the bugs crawling on their food? }