Grace Garden Preschool

Dear Caterpillar Families,

It has been an extremely busy, but fun, week as we've busied ourselves in preparation
for the Thanksgiving Feast. The Caterpillars made Pilgrim hats and Native American
vests and headbands for their roles in the Thanksgiving performance and have enjoyed
practicing their songs throughout the week. This year's performance will surely be
adorable for the audience of parents and loved ones, and enjoyable for the kids!

Our discussions about Thanksgiving this week have piggy-backed very nicely on our
lessons from last week about friends around the world. I'd like to think that our limited
discussion of world geography last week made the scope of the Pilgrims' journey to the
new world a little bit more clear to them, and that our conversations about bullying made
the Pilgrims' primary reason for wanting to leave their home a bit more understandable
to the Caterpillars. A couple of books that were particularly helpful in this were
Thanksgiving by Gail Gibbons and Thanksgiving Day by Anne Rockwell.

To reinforce the idea of the long journey on the Mayflower, we recreated the trip with a
scavenger hunt around the school. The Caterpillars kept their eyes peeled for “clues”
hung on the wall, and each stop was another step on the Pilgrims' journey. Each stop
was also an opportunity to engage the Caterpillars in thinking about what they would do
if they were in the Pilgrims' or Native Americans' shoes. The kids had a great time
walking all over the school and imagining what items they would have brought along
with them on the Mayflower, how they would have handled sea-sickness, or what crops
they would have tried growing.

As we close this week and prepare for a week off with our families, I am thankful to be
teaching this wonderful class of children. It is truly a joy to be a witness to their learning
epiphanies and social growth.

Have a blessed holiday and restful week off!
With love,
Ms. Katie