HanDS: Democratic Schools-an etwinning project 2019/20

When this pandemic began, teachers all over the World were given little notice to shift very quickly to distance learning or e-learning, sometimes with no training. In many cases, we had 48 hours or a weekend to reinvent lessons for an already planned curriculum, learn new technologies, find non-technology solutions to student learning, and figure out how to keep students engaged. But all us etwinning teachers ,also had to balance home and work and how to do our life’s work from afar while simultaneously caring for students, grieving losses, and so many more challenges and obstacles!

For all those -mainly non-European -teachers who keep asking me about what etwinning is about: eTwinning is the community for schools in Europe.

I personally realised that there was only ONE thing that was still there for both me and my students, during the lockdown: etwinning!

eTwinning offers a platform for staff (teachers, head teachers, librarians, etc.), working in a school in one of the European countries involved, to communicate, collaborate, develop projects, share and, in short, feel and be part of the most exciting learning community in Europe. eTwinning is co-funded by the Erasmus+, the European programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport.

eTwinning promotes school collaboration in Europe through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by providing support, tools and services for schools. eTwinning also offers opportunities for free and continuing online Professional Development for educators.

Launched in 2005 as the main action of the European Commission’s eLearning Programme, eTwinning is co-funded by the Erasmus+, the European programme for Education, Training, Youth and Sport, since 2014.

Its Central Support Service is operated by European Schoolnet, an international partnership of 34 European Ministries of Education developing learning for schools, teachers and pupils across Europe. eTwinning is further supported at national level by 38 National Support Services.

TwinSpace

The place where eTwinning magic really happens is the TwinSpace; a safe platform visible only to the teachers participating in a project. Students can also be invited in the TwinSpace to meet and collaborate with peers from their partner schools.

One of the most important elements of eTwinning is collaboration among teachers, students, schools, parents, and local authorities. In eTwinning teachers work together and organise activities for their students. They have an active role, interact, investigate, make decisions, respect each other and learn 21st century skills. eTwinning projects involve the contribution of each member of the team. Take inspiration and explore these awarded projects.

Finally, in eTwinning, our work is important and deserves to be shared and recognised locally, nationally and Europe-wide. eTwinning recognises the work carried out by teachers, students, and schools through National and European Quality Labels, eTwinning Awards, eTwinning Schools and the eTwinning Portfolio.

One of our school  inspiring etwinning projects, this year, was a project about DEMOCRATIC VALUES.

About the project

This #eTw4Democracy project, provides an opportunity for students to make connections with students of other European partner schools, sharing and enhancing democratic values, at the same time.
Our schools are microcosms of the communities in which they exist. They are the perfect environment for students not only to learn about civics and democratic values, but also to experience democracy in all aspects of school life cultivating the way the students become citizens. In a democratic school students and teachers should participate equally in the shaping of school life, thus realising their right to have a say on matters that affect them. The activities in this project aim to support students in promoting democratic values within their school communities ensuring that students understand their rights and responsibilities and have strategies for building an inclusive and equitable school environment for all.

AIMS

The overall aim is to share school democratic values, with others! Children will recognize that their actions affect themselves but also others.
Our “HanDS” project, provides the opportunity to break down classroom walls, too. It gives our students a chance to see a world outside of their walls and teach about Democracy, at the same time. Additionally, our aim is that, the concept of Europe will be understood and our students will become fully aware of the other European partner schools. Therefore, citizenship should become a practical ,rather than theoretical, part of the curriculum.
All in all,our aims are:
To prepare students for their future role as citizens
To provide students with opportunities for learning in a democratic environment
To promote active participation and responsibility in the school environment
To improve students’ communication, collaboration, decision- making and problem- solving skills

WORK PROCESS

The tasks, will be set by all partner schools; the activities and work produced will be shared on twinspace by the schools, on a monthly basis and the work process will be communicated using the journal, on a weekly basis. Depending on the activity, pupils will have the opportunity to work independently or with talk partners and will have membership / access to twinspace to share and see the other school’s work and join in forums. Children will also have the opportunity to work in mixed ability groups in each school or in teams of pupils in different schools, sharing responsibilities. They will also have to work in teams, to think of ideas about collaborative projects and about the hand-print crafts, to fill the parcels that will be sent to the other schools, on different topics. Those parcels will have themes, such as:school life in the past, school life at present ,a day in a democratic school etc
The project, works on two levels: sharing on twinspace and parcel exchanges, by post.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Children will learn about civics and democratic values, but also experience democracy in all aspects of school life, through their dialogue, written work and the parcels that they will send and receive! Children will also practice writing and communicating in English and children in all countries will familiarize themselves with aspects of each other’s school life, promoting democratic values within their school communities.

Our project, helps us to widen our horizons, reconsider our perspectives, improve self-esteem, increase understanding of different cultures and values , enhance democracy in the school environment and prove that “communication is at the basis of understanding others”.The process is always constantly about learning to learn collaboratively, building an inclusive and equitable school environment for all.
The pupils are expected to be inspired and motivated and participate equally in the shaping of school life .

Origami crafts and ELT games

This school year, we decided to use ORIGAMI crafts, in our ” CUbeS: CUlture and Smiles in a CUbe”  etwinning project ! Origami, is such a creative form of Art!

Why is Origami good for our students?

Generally, Origami is good for our students, as it develops eye hand coordination, sequencing skills, spatial skills, memory, but also patience and attention skills.  Origami allows students to develop fine motor skills and mental concentration. All of this combined stimulates the brain – especially when BOTH hands are being used at the same time.

Add to these, the social aspects of Origami – learning about other cultures, working together, teaching each other and taking pride in your work –simply PERFECT for our etwinning project, this year!

Young children will surprise us in the ability they show creating basic folds – start on origami patterns such as Fortune Tellers , Windmills and Paper Boats are a classic example of childhood origami projects! And you can quickly progress from there.

Oh.. and what childhood does NOT include a Paper Plane? Origami right there! I love this Origami Paper Plane video by this 7yr old. 

It is fantastic for cooperative learning – children learn to work together and support each other. It breaks down age barriers – a younger child may be able to help and older one. It is also a great way to learn about other cultures and communities. So the key aspects of Origami benefiting well being and social skills are:

• Patience

• Cooperative learning/ Working in together

• Sense of achievement

• Learning about other cultures

• Community building (especially if working on an origami school project)

• Sense of achievement & joy in the finished product

A. The Origami Paper Airplane “You” game

This fun writing icebreaker or brainstorming activity, works well with all students.

To start, the students write three to five facts about themselves on a piece of paper. Remember to ask them to write their full name on one of the wings. Then they put their creativity to work by folding that paper into a paper airplane.

On your count, everyone flies their planes toward the middle of the room. Then students pick up a plane that landed near them.

Students take turns reading the facts written on the plane and add one new fact about the person whose paper plane they have in their hands. Let the class help if individuals get stuck.

Repeat the procedure as many times as you wish

A class discussion may follow.

Extra: another Paper Plane Game idea

Level: Any Level

Draw a target (with points – like a dart board) on the whiteboard or use a cardboard box in the middle of the room. Then, students make paper airplanes and launch them after they answer your question in the form of a sentence-in our case, about their etwinning partners.

I recommend formulating questions that lead to 1 or 2 types of answers. This allows for better memorization. For example, use CAN/WILL questions and write the beginning part of the answer on the board “I /My etwinning partner can/will…”.  I recommend giving a prize to make the target points mean something, thus peaking their interest

B.The Origami CHATTERBOX game

Chatterboxes (or fortune tellers or cootie catchers) are one of those classic toys that epitomise childhood…I remember lots of laughter playing with them with my cousins on summer holidays. This suggested game is a bit of a twist on the traditional chatterbox, perfect for our etwinning project, whilst also having a giggle.

To make:

• You will need a square of paper. Ours was the width of an A4 page – 21 centimetres.

• Fold your chatterbox according to the instructions found here (or you could google up a Youtube video).

To play:

1. Ask one student to read and choose a colour, from the outside of the chatterbox. Spell out its name as you open and close the chatterbox.

2. Ask the student  to read and choose a number, on the inside of the chatterbox (you should only be able to see four choices). Spell out the chosen number, as you open and close the chatterbox.

3. Ask your student to choose a number from the choices on the inside of the chatterbox that are open on the last letter spelt. Open the flap corresponding flap and read the name of one favourite sight, there.

4. As far as our etwinning project is concerned: this is the sight, which that the student should visit on the relevant twinspace PAGE,to read and learn more about- and later write about what he/she has learned and his/her impressions, on the relevant twinspace FORUMS thread!

5. Swap over and have fun letting your students be in charge this time, working in pairs…you might just have a hard time getting it back off them though!

 C. The Origami Paper Boat Game

This is a game where you practice words that have to do with any topic – in our case, words that have to do with the second “CUbeS’ Page about our Country-  and your memory!

Hand one paper boat to each student. Give them some time to read all the info on it.

Start like this: say to the first student “a boat comes loaded”. The student answers “with what” and you say “with sunny islands”. Then the student continues to say to the next one in the class “a boat comes loaded”…he/she answer “with what”…the student says “with sunny islands and the Acropolis” for example. And then it continues like that “forever”.

The students have to remember what words have been said and they have to come up with a new word/phrase having to do with the topic.

If anyone fails to remember all the words that have been said or if he/she can´t come up with a new word, they are out of the game. The winner is the one that can continue “forever” without failing. (It can be a looong day!)

When I played it with my class (Greeks 12 year olds) they didn´t want to stop so they continued the game even after the lesson was finished and I had left the room!!

Have fun learning about Greece-or any other topic- with this origami paper boat game!

D. The Origami windmill  “Call My Bluff / Two Truths and A Lie” game

Call My Bluff is a fun game which is perfect at the start of term as a ‘getting to know you’ kind of game but, it can also work in our etwinning “CUbeS” project .

The game is excellent for practicing speaking skills, though make sure you save a time for after the game to comment on any mistakes students may have made during the game. (I generally like to reserve this for after the game, so you don’t disrupt their fluency by correcting them as they speak).

With older groups you can have some real fun and you might be surprised what you’ll learn about any given topic, when playing this particular EFL game.

How to play:

First, hand your students a paper windmill each. Allow some time to play with it and read all the info written on it.

• Write 3 statements about any given topic – or about the Greek school in our case- two of which should be lies and one which should be true.

• Allow your students to ask you questions about each statement and then guess which one is the truth. You might want to practice your poker face before starting this game!

• If they guess correctly then they win.

• Extension: Give students time to write their own two truths and one lie.

• Pair them up and have them play again, this time with their list, with their new partner. If you want to really extend the game and give students even more time to practice their speaking/listening skills, rotate partners every five minutes.

• Bring the whole class back together and have students announce one new thing they learned about the given topic- or about the Greek school, in our case- as a recap.

E1. Easter Bunny-Flower corner bookmark craft

1.The bunny bookmark design, really is a very easy one:

Step 1: Begin my making your very basic Origami Corner Bookmark. There are step by step photos and worded instructions for you on this Origami Bookmark post – you can print these off too!

Step 2: using any paper cut offs – cut out two large bunny ears. Add a little pink and glue to inside of your basic origami bookmark.

Step 3: add facial details.

That is it… you have made an adorable Paper Bunny Bookmark using printer paper!

Here’s a video link to help you create your own origami paper bunny corner bookmarks.

https://www.redtedart.com/easy-paper-bunny-bookmark/?jwsource=cl

2.You could also try to make the Flower corner bookmark.

 

1. Begin by making your basic Origami Bookmark in green – like leaves or the grass.

2. Once you have your green bookmark base, it is time  to make your flowers.

3. Decide on your colour combination of your flower bookmark, as well as the types of petals you would like. We made two different ones – the blue flower and the white daisy bookmark.

4. For the blue flower bookmark, you will need 5 blue petals – oval shaped and one yellow one.

5. For the daisy bookmark, I cut out 12 long thin white petals and one yellow oval for the centre of the daisy.

6. Glue all your petals onto your bookmark, but take care not to stick them onto the lower part of your bookmark.

7. Add your centre. Decorate with with your pens and rosy cheeks.

8. Finally, you can make a little red ladybird or bee and as it as a cute detail.

Here’s the video link to help you create your own bookmarks.

https://youtu.be/jnzVYG09RYA

E2.-The origami Easter paper corner Board Race

First, hand each student one corner bookmark and give them enough time to read all the Easter customs and traditions vocabulary written on them.

Later, have them play the game below, in teams.

There isn’t an EFL teacher I know who doesn’t use this game in the classroom. Board Race is a fun game that is used for revising vocabulary.

It is a great way of testing what your students already know about the subject you’re about to teach- in our case: a great way to teach/revise Easter vocabulary and learn more about Easter traditions in our  etwinning partners’ countries.

How to play:

First, watch this helpful video of real teachers using this game in the classroom by BridgeTEFL:

Here’s a step by step explanation:

• Split the class into two teams and give each team a colored marker.

• If you have a very large class, it may be better to split the students into teams of 3 or 4.

• Draw a line down the middle of the board and write a topic- ie Easter in Greece- at the top.

• The students must then write as many words as you require related to the topic in the form of a relay race.

• Each team wins one point for each correct word. Any words that are unreadable or misspelled are not counted.

F1. Origami mini books craft

Here’s a picture which will help you make your own origami mini book.

And here’s a short video tutorial.

F2. The Origami Mini Book HANGMAN game

This classic game is a favorite for all students. It works no matter how many students are in the class.

How to play:

As usual, hand each student one mini book-In our case, it’s a Greek Recipe mini Book .

Ask the students, to read them.

Then, play have them play this game.

In case you’ve never played, here’s a quick rundown.

• Think of a -Greek recipe- word/name and write the number of letters on the board using dashes to show many letters there are.

• Ask students to suggest a letter. If it appears in the word, write it in all of the correct spaces. If the letter does not appear in the word, write it off to the side and begin drawing the image of a hanging man.

• Continue until the students guess the word correctly (they win) or you complete the diagram (you win).

• They win an extra point, if they can tell you anything about that recipe, in correct English.

European Day of Languages fun activities,in a… Library!

The European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on 26 September, as an initiative of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

Throughout Europe, 800 million Europeans represented in the Council of Europe’s 47 member states are encouraged to learn more languages, at any age, in and out of school. Being convinced that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent, the Council of Europe promotes plurilingualism in the whole of Europe.

The European Day of Languages celebrates plurilingualism and encourages the 800 million Europeans in the Council of Europe’s 47 member states to learn more languages.

 

 

For the day, a range of events is organised across Europe: activities for and with children, television and radio programmes, language classes and conferences.

Modern foreign language education aims to develop multilingualism and intercultural awareness. In this theoretical framework, the foreign language can be used as a bridge among the students’ languages and serve as a tool to develop translinguistic competence.

This year, I’ve  decided to write, about  the activities our local “English Language Teachers Association” created, for the European Day of languages event, which was held in the local Public Library, on 26th September 2016!

Also, I  used most of those activities in my class, the very next day, with huge success!

Here we go…..

BRAINSTORMING TIME !!

Children aged 8-12 , had the chance to know a lot about the different languages spoken, not only in Europe but, all over the World, by watching several videos, singing and taking part in a discussion .

 

They shared their experiences concerning their mother tongue and all the foreign languages they had been exposed to.

GAMES TIME !!

Later, they worked in teams and played a Quiz game. They answered questions about different Languages, testing their knowledge and having fun ! A bomb timer was used ,to add more excitement to the game!

In the next game, a representative from each team , had to wear a special hat, with the name of a language written on it. His/her fellow players, had to help him/her  guess the name of that Language, using miming, key words, descriptions, movement and more…That was fun!!

“BOOK TREASURE HUNT”!!

Then, it was time for our Book Treasure Hunt, in the Library!

The teams, had to move around the room, and  look for  12 books, well hidden in the shelves, with titles written in many different Languages! There was a musical background during the Treasure Hunt and a time limit…..3 Songs ,with lyrics in 3 different European languages!

GIFTS!!

All the kids, were rewarded with the  “European Day of Languages” bracelet and special stickers !

ARTS AND CRAFT!!

The next activity, enhanced the kids’ artistic expression!

The children had to create the Multilingualism Tree , full of cute Owls, speaking many different Languages.

“Hello” IN ALL LANGUAGES!!

The final activity ,was to write  “Hello” in as many Languages as possible, on special mouth-masks!

And , of course, they greeted each other in all those Languages, holding their mouth-masks!

I used most of these activities in my class, the very next day! My students loved them and had so much fun! Here are some photos…

With my older students, we also played a favourite game I have written about, in a previous post:“ The multilingual game”  !

With my very young learners, we played several circle games practicing “Hello” and “Goodbye” or “Goodmorning” and ” Goodnight” . But, the most fun thing we did, was to have our mascot Hippo, talk to us about his hometown London! We made beautiful drawings of Hippo’s most favourite places in London! We even asked Hippo lots of questions about his life there and learned so many things about life in a different country, in Europe ! It was a fun-fun day!

And don’t forget: WE ALL SMILE IN THE SAME LANGUAGE!

 

 

 

 

Because, ART matters!

As an elementary school English teacher I’m always looking for new ideas for my students.  Pinterest, is always helpful for new ideas as well as sparking my own creativity!

Last school year, I was asked to teach Art to 1st and 2nd graders, for one hour a week…

“What a challenge” I thought. By the way, in my school, there is no Art teacher!!! No ICT teacher! No Drama teacher! I love all these three subjects and have done my best to incorporate them in my English teaching , all these years! For my students sake…

I have always believed that, using arts and crafts in the classroom can be an excellent way to facilitate language learning with young learners.

Why I use arts and crafts in my English class?

• I get students to work on projects in groups with a mixture of levels. For example, if students are creating a poster, then those with a lower level work on designing a ‘tag’ while higher levels write an accompanying text about the topic.

• Arts and crafts can be a great way to include cross-curricular activities in the English language classroom. Students can incorporate drama skills using masks they have made for role plays, for example.

• I find that teamwork, class cohesion and sharing are promoted if students have to work together to complete an art project.

• You can appeal to the competitive urge in many students by getting them to produce art work for competition, e.g., design a Christmas card or school magazine cover. I find that brightening up a classroom with students’ work is also great!

• Kinaesthetic learners who learn best by moving around and Visual / Spatial learners, who love making things will find arts and crafts activities motivating.

• I find arts and crafts useful for recycling language. You can use a wall display to revise vocabulary as a warmer.

(This must be the topic of a future post, I guess…)

But, that case was different…Those young learners, had never been my students, before! They would start learning English in the 3rd grade! Therefore, my job was to be their…Art teacher, for about one school year- not their English teacher! How challenging was that! I am not an  Art teacher, but I can do Art in my English class, so….I thought, “Why not”?

Things to keep in mind, before you start :

With very young learners, a teacher has to be patient…I sometimes break a project down into sections, over a number of classes.

I have all materials ready before I begin. Students may lose interest while the teacher spends a few minutes searching for extra scissors! If the children need to bring in materials from home I always  ask them do so a couple of classes in advance and keep them somewhere safe.

I usually go stage by stage and wait until everyone has completed a stage before moving on to the next one. Very young learners who finish first can help others so that they stay on task and don’t get bored.

I have to make sure to leave plenty of time at the end of the session for tidying up and encourage monitors to make sure everything is put back in the right place.

I always have an extra task for early finishers or ask them to work on the details or even help others with their work!

A crucial thing for me is, to ask them to learn to REUSE  ,when it comes to Craft work! Most of the crafts we did , were made by reusing things we could find in the recycling bins!

It’s useful to show students an example of the end product. They will then have a clear idea of what they are going to make. I’ve learnt from experience that you should try the activity yourself first.

You can use your imagination and creativity to come up with the right Art projects to work on but, in my case, Pinterest was my precious source of ideas! Highly recommended to all of you, as well…..

One of the many projects we worked on, last school year was the “Pinwheels for Peace” project. Very proud of that!

Kids were often really proud of what they had made and liked to take things home to show their family. I had part of their work displayed on their classroom walls, of course. And I made sure that, they would keep all their work in a special Art folder , which they could take  home, in the end of the school year!

 

 

 

What I  personally love about the Arts ,the most….

Well, the arts are a wonderful arena for fostering creativity, an important skill to have in a rapidly changing world, for our kids.

Also,through the arts, children learn how to work together to achieve great things. As they work together, they learn to understand differences and diversity. They learn how teamwork contributes to great performance. By teaching students how to live and work together, the arts contribute to making schools safer and more peaceful learning environments.

 One final thought…..

“When you think about the purposes of education, there are three,” Horne says. “We’re preparing kids for jobs. We’re preparing them to be citizens. And we’re teaching them to be human beings who can enjoy the deeper forms of beauty. The third is as important as the other two.”

Mardi Gras: fun class games

 

Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” in French. It is a celebration full of feasting and merriment just before Lent is ushered in for the 40 days of “self denial” leading up to Easter. Mardi Gras is the time to march in parades, eat treats, sing and dance, and generally celebrate good times.

This is a great opportunity to have a fabulous party for our students in the English class, too!

Here are some game ideas, I use in my class…..

We play classic children’s games with a Mardi Gras twist, such as musical chairs.

Instructions:

I set up chairs in a tight circle, with the seats facing outward. We should have one less chair than you have children participating. I place a Mardi Gras mask underneath each chair. I play some Latin  music. When the music starts, the kids must walk around the chairs. When the music stops, they must quickly find a seat and put the masks to their faces. The child who doesn’t have a seat is out. I take away another chair for the next round. The game continues in the same manner until only two kids are battling over one chair.

For a version of “Simon Says,” have the kids play “Mardi Gras King or Queen Says.”

Instructions:

The leader might say, “Mardi Gras Queen says march in place,” and the kids must follow. However, if the leader gives a command and doesn’t say “Mardi Gras Queen says,” the kids are not to follow the command. Anyone who does is out.

Scavenger Hunt Games

I sometimes, scatter the Mardi Gras bead or Pasta (!)  necklaces my students have made at home, following written instructions, all over the classroom area for the kids to find and put around their necks. The person with the most necklaces , wins.

I also, hide a special Mardi Gras necklace, which an American friend who had been in New Orleans, sent me some years ago…. The child who finds that necklace ,earns a special prize.

This year, we had  a scavenger hunt with carnival masks and other party stuff. I put them all in a…treasure  box. I gave  the kids a clue each time ,as to the location of the next clue card. I put the children in pairs to figure the clues to find the Treasure Box. The winners are the first children to bring back all the clue cards, in order.

Contests

I ask the  students, to come to the lesson  dressed  in their best or most creative Mardi Gras gear. The outfits can be anything with the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold,  or not….For example, some of my students, this year have decided to improvise and wear their own clothes, upside down!!. Students, vote for the best costume. They cannot vote for themselves. The most fun thing is, that I have the students  do a …Catwalk Mardi Gras Best Costume competition! We have to describe what students who take part  are wearing , before we vote! Great order of adjectives, practice!

For a mask contest, I give each of my younger students, an undecorated paper Mardi Gras mask. The children must decorate their masks using any art and craft items you have on hand such as glitter, paint, feathers and stickers. Each child will get to stand up and present her mask to the group. The children then vote — by secret ballot — for their favorite mask.

With my very young learners, we played ” Carnival dictation ” on the board.

Instructions:

1.I draw about 6-8 masks on the one side of the board and the same number of Masks on the other.

2.Assign the kids to either Carnival King or Carnival Queen  teams

3.I ask a player from each team in turns, to come to the board and write a word they are given, on one of their team Masks.

4.   If they are correct they move to the next ,mask  towards the finish.

5.If one student is not correct, their team miss a turn. If both players are not correct, the next two players proceed!

We also did an “Orange dance” with Carnival music! A dance which requires  collaboration between the partners and is so much fun!!

Finally, we love playing “ Mardi Gras whispers“!

Similar to ” Chinese Whispers” , but this time, we use Mardi Gras and Carnival vocabulary! It’s a fun way to revise new words! I always ask the last person in the row, to come and WRITE the word on the board! This way, we practice spelling, too! They get a point for their team if they get it right!

We love Mardi Gras in class! What about you?…..

 

Thanksgiving class favourites

 

Thanksgiving, is my most favourite holiday of all! Thanksgiving is the perfect time to teach our kids about being thankful. Taking nothing for granted, matters! Here are some ideas to teach  children how to appreciate the blessings in their lives.

Most of the following ideas, come from http://www.apples4theteacher.com, an amazing site I often visit! Highly recommended!

Thankful Paper Chain

Another way to remind your children of their blessings is to create a paper chain. This is similar to a regular paper chain – where you cut strips of paper and connect them together as loops, but there’s one difference. You write on the strips of paper before you connect them. Write the things you are thankful for with your children. For instance, “Grandma plays games with me” or “My teacher is nice.” The fun part of this activity is to make the chain as long as possible – showing all your blessings. A variation I tried this year was to ask my students to write the things they are thankful for on paper turkeys which they have made by tracing their hands on paper and later added eyes etc to make it look like a turkey!

 

Thanksgiving Tree

This is another take on the idea above and works really well if you have several kids in the family. Get each child to trace their hand on yellow, red, or brown construction paper. Cut out the hand shapes and write (or have the child write) what they are thankful for on the hand shape. Cut a tree trunk shape out of brown construction paper. Glue it on a large piece of poster board. Let the kids add their hand shapes as leaves above the tree trunk, turning it into a beautiful fall colored tree.

 

Thankful Book

This idea is similar to the others, except it’s more of a keepsake. Purchase a photo album or scrapbook kit and make a “blessings” theme. Add photos of loved ones, including stories about why they are special to you. Also, include pages of your favorite foods, favorite stories, favorite movies and all the other things that make you happy. Any time your kids feel down, you can open your blessing book to see all the reasons you have to be happy – and thankful for the blessings in your life.

 

Thankful collage 

The goal of this craft is to create a collage filled with drawings and pictures of all the things the  children are thankful for. I ask them to cut photos from magazines, or print some photos from their  computer. Older children can write captions under the photos or draw their own. After I have talked with my 4th graders about what they feel thankful for,and we brainstorm some relevant vocabulary on the board, I ask them to go home and make their  collage  and be ready to talk about it in class, before it is put up on the classroom walls!The big poster with all the individual collages , remains on the classroom walls till the end of the school year, reminding my students of all their blessings every time they look at it! Precious!