Sneak In A Little Education This Thanksgiving

Dear Dr. Linda,

We have three kids. One’s in second grade, one’s in fifth and our oldest is in ninth.

Every time we find fun activities to do at home that are educational, we jump right in. Can you suggest any activities that we can do for Thanksgiving that would be fun and also educational?

-Teacher Wannabes

Dear Teacher Wannabes,

There are loads of fun and educational opportunities for kids for Thanksgiving. To begin with, if you’re going to roast a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, the kids help you do the “math.”  

Suppose you roast your turkey for 15 minutes per pound. Have your kids figure out how long the turkey will have to be in the oven. Let’s say you’re going to have dinner at 5 p.m. Ask the kids what time you need to put the turkey in the oven based on their calculations.

And what about the stuffing? How many cups of stuffing will you need for your turkey? If you buy pre-packaged stuffing mix, how many bags will you need? They’ll need to read the fine print on the bags of stuffing when you go to the store. If you need a bag and a half, how much water and how much butter or margarine will you need? If you’re following Grandma’s recipe, will you need to double it? Cut it in half?

Of course they can help measure the ingredients, mix them all together and stuff the turkey. Your second-grader can help with all of this. If you end up with more cups of stuffing than the package says because you add so many extra ingredients, ask them why you have more cups of stuffing. It’s a brain teaser for your second-grader.

Kids are practicing math skills, reading directions and store labels, and cooking all at the same time. They’re having fun being involved during the holiday, and they’re practicing useful skills at the same time.

And don’t forget to talk about why we celebrate Thanksgiving. The two older kids can use the internet to find out who the Pilgrims were? Why did they have a Thanksgiving feast? What does the word pilgrim mean? What was it like to live in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1600s?

The History of Thanksgiving Quiz

We trace our Thanksgiving dinner to the Thanksgiving feast which occurred in Plymouth Colony in 1621. Governor William (1)_______________approved a celebration to give thanks to God for the end of a drought and the safe journey of a ship carrying new colonists to Plymouth.

The celebration lasted for (2)_______ days. A large number of Wampanoag Indians attended. In fact, it is said that there were (3)_______in total. There were more Indians at the celebration than Pilgrims. Some thanksgiving celebrations continued, especially in the New England colonies, but not on a specific date.

They ate ducks, geese and turkeys in addition to lots of (4)___________,which is usually not part of the main course of our traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Because the Pilgrims didn’t have ovens or (5)__________, it is said that they didn’t eat pumpkin pie or other baked desserts.

In 1789, after the Revolutionary War, President (6)_________________  proclaimed that Nov. 26 of that year would be a national holiday to give thanks for the establishment of a new government. But only some states celebrated Thanksgiving.

By 1830, the state of (7)_____________ had an official Thanksgiving Day. It was the first state to have an official Thanksgiving Day.

In 1863, Sarah Hale, the editor of a famous lady’s magazine, convinced President (8) ___________________ to proclaim that the last Thursday in November would be a day of thanksgiving.  

Then in 1939, President (9) _____________said that Thanksgiving should be celebrated one week earlier.

In 1941, Congress passed a law that Thanksgiving would be observed on the fourth Thursday of November and it would be a legal federal (10) __________.

Answers: 1. Bradford 2. Three 3. 90 4. Fish (specifically shell fish); deer is an acceptable answer also. 5. Sugar 6. George Washington 7. New York. 8. Abraham Lincoln 9. Franklin D. Roosevelt 10. holiday

Happy Thanksgiving.

-Dr. Linda

If you have a question to ask Dr. Linda about your child or a school-related situation, she can be reached at Linda@stronglearning.com or visit drlindasblog.com.