ABCs of Thanksgiving - An Elementary Lesson With Reading, Writing, Speaking, Drawing & Technology

They examined the pilgrims. Have you studied the life of the Wampanoag Indians. They have recreated the 1621 Thanksgiving. You have to dress your students made. What can be done this year as a kind of summary of information about the first Thanksgiving?

How to write a book ABC and podcasts? Write the characters on strips of paper. Every child in the class chooses a letter. With a paint program like KidPix have each child designpage of the class book. Even before approaching the computers, have each child decide what to write. The older the students, the more complex, advanced thoughts with explanations are expected. Make the first draft, revise, edit and finalize what will be the text for each child's page.

When the writing is complete, then begin the work on the computer. The specific letter for the page should be made larger than the other text. After typing, students illustrate their writing with appropriate drawings. These pages can be printed out, but also save the student work into a common folder to be accessed for the podcast version of the book.

To make the podcast, have each child record what he or she wrote. This recording can be done with an iPod with a voice recorder attached or with a microphone connected directly to the computer, or using the built-in microphone if the area is quiet enough. You can combine the audio and images using a program such as Garage Band or iMovie and then share as a podcast. For publishing your podcast online there are many free options.

By preparing to record what has been written, students will work on reading fluency in order to sound professional for the world to listen to them.

Create a class project to be shared within the classroom and outside with the world. The ABCs of Thanksgiving is a project that ties together history, social studies, reading, writing, speaking and drawing.

Thanksgiving Day in Canada and Australia

Thanksgiving celebrated in Canada on the second Monday in October each year. Canada celebrates Thanksgiving Day a month before the United States. It is celebrated to thank God Almighty for a rich harvest. The reason for the difference is geographical; autumn season starts earlier in Canada than in America. The first Canadian thanksgiving was celebrated April 15, 1872 to give thanks for the recovery of King Edward VII from a serious illnessand after 7 years, Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1879 on Thursday.

Canada has had a hard time deciding when to celebrate the holiday. Between 1879 and 1898, the celebration happened on a Thursday in November. Between 1899 and 1904 was celebrated on a Thursday in October. There was then a party on a Monday in October, the period between 1908 and 1921. Then 19 years was celebrated on "Armistice Day" until Parliament announced the second Monday inMonth of October as "official" Thanksgiving Day ". After he declared" a day of general thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed. "Celebrate include Thanksgiving, parades, customary 'family feast' and 'Turkey'. It is a time for loving and sharing family meetings. The idea behind the festival is to be thankful for the past harvest and praying for the next year.

ThanksgivingAustralia

Australia celebrates family, past and present in their gratitude, a unique opportunity to celebrate and thank God for certain values of honor, respect, appreciation and gratitude to our fellow human beings who make their great nation. You are to thank God for himself and all things which are, of course, but that makes life worth living. Australians use the day as a blessing for those who have been a blessing in recent years, asvolunteers, senior citizens, and unsung heroes. It is a National day: an opportunity not an event. It occurs in March for 3 or 4 days and has both a cultural and fun events such as grape crushing competitions, street carnivals, parades, fireworks display and ends with the crowning of 'apple n grape ambassador'.

Thanksgiving Holiday Bingo

Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays in the American calendar. The actual holiday is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in the month of November, but most people get, at least, Thanksgiving itself and the following day as a paid holiday - hence in total receiving a four day weekend.

The origins of the holiday are supposedly based on the arrival of early English settlers in Massachusetts and Virginia, and the modern holiday thus involves a mixture of a harvest festival, a celebration of American history, and of course a wide range of enjoyable activities.

One fun activity that is well-suited to Thanksgiving parties, and to celebrations of Thanksgiving that are held in school, is a game of Thanksgiving bingo. This game is played almost exactly like a normal bingo, except instead of using standard numbered bingo cards, the bingo cards are printed with words or phrases relating to the Thanksgiving holiday.

If you are interesting in this game, you should consider an application to be there to get your set of cards bingo Thanksgiving. Once upon a time, the only way, themed bingo cards was to get him sent to a specialized supplier for them. Today, however, there is a much simpler solution. You can simply print bingo cards directly from your computer motto. If you want Thanksgiving bingo printables free from the Internet and use it, or you prefer, you can create a bingo card manufacturercomputer program.

Attend to the Grape Harvest Festival

A nice rest at the Mendoza's 4 Stars Hotel is highly recommended in order to get ready for the most exciting week in the Mediterranean province. Parades, musical shows, wine tasting and beauty contests are some of the proposlas to celebrate the new harvest. The origins of the Grape Harvest Festival date back to 1936, when it used to take place at the General San Martn Park. Ever since, this celebration has been part of Mendoza's culture and, year after year, the ritual comes back to life. As the most important social event in Cuyo region, this event has become one of the most important festivities over the whole country.

The Grape Harvest Festival starts with a tour of carrousels along San Martn Avenue. Many of the visitors are part of the huge audience at the Gimnasia y Esgrima stadium, where the main acts take place. However, the festival is not officially inaugurated until the Blessing of the Fruit is held. This event is performed in tribute to the first peasants, who used to thank the Carrodilla Virgin for the good yields. They did it in every winery, and it became a tradition as time went by. That is why the Blessing is such a relevant part of the festival.

The Queen's White Way is a moment full of expectations and emotions. During this national celebration, people from every department of Mendoza province wait till that evening to cheer for their candidates, hoping one of them becomes the Grape Harvest Queen. The following day, the queen parade can be enjoyed along the main streets. Gorgeous queens and princesses of each department ride on their carriages, waving and thanking to the crowd. At night, the Election of the Grape Harvest Queen takes place at the Romero Day Greek Theater. Tourists and residents attend to the ceremony, full of surprises and artistic shows.

The Grape Harvest Festival is a national and popular celebration, which no guest at the Mendoza's 4 Stars Hotel should ever miss. Winegrowers, winemakers and all those who take part on the wine production are there to celebrate their achievements and to share their creations during a fantastic show of light, colors and music. March is certainly the merriest and most festive month for Cuyo region, as this marvelous festivity takes place, seizing the warm weather of the last summer days.

Children Face Painting Designs

Face painting for children is a common pastime offered at community fairs and similar types of events. Of course there are a number of children face painting designs that may be employed. Here are some ways to choose designs that are right for the occasion.

In some instances, there may be a theme to the event where children face painting designs are employed. For example, a harvest festival that focuses on a vegetable or fruit indigenous to the area may provide the basis for the types of face painting designs that are offered. Designs such as apples, bunches of grapes, or even rows of crops may be a fun and colorful option.

The designs may draw their theme from a holiday as well. Flags may be ideal for an event centered on Flag Day, Memorial Day, or the Fourth of July. Christmas and Easter may feature children face painting designs that center on religious or secular themes associated with the event, such as crosses, Santa faces, Easter eggs or hearts.

Of course, children face painting designs may also be very free form in nature. To that end, the designs may focus on anything from symbols that are indicative of local culture, favored music groups or performers, or even a hobby, such as music or an art form.

The important thing to keep in mind with these types of designs is to keep it fun and easy, so that the child will enjoy the design and have a lot of fun wearing the finished product for the duration of the event. Also, make sure the children face painting designs that are offered are within the skill range of the person who will apply the designs. That way, both the creator and the child will have a great time with the activity.

Free Halloween Family Fun Ideas

Halloween is an excellent time for family fun. The Internet is a great resource for fun ideas for your family from creating invitations for your party to decorating your desktop with Halloween images.

Did you know? This started in the U.S. as a harvest festival. Our Irish emigrants brought us the Jack o Lantern originally oversized rutabagas, turnips and potatoes were hollowed out, carved into faces and illuminated with candles. In the old country on Halloween, Irish peasants would beg the rich for food. For those that refused, they would play a practical joke. In an effort to avoid being tricked, the rich would hand out cookies, candy, and fruit, a practice that morphed into trick-or-treating today.

Halloween is now the sweetest holiday of the year with over 25% of candy sold in the two months prior to it in the U.S. Chocolate is the favorite sweet; Snickers tops the list of most wanted candy bars. But it is not all about empty calories, pumpkins born in Mexico over 9,000 years, is one of America's oldest known vegetables and a major source of vitamin A, beta carotene and potassium. And your family roast the seeds for protein and iron.

How to roast pumpkin seeds

Rinse pumpkin seeds under cold water and select from the pulp and strings. (This is easiest just after you remove the seeds from the pumpkin, before the pulp has dried.)
Place the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on an oiledbaking sheet, stirring to coat. If you prefer, omit the oil and coat with non stick cooking spray.
Sprinkle with salt and bake at 325 degrees F until toasted, about 25 minutes, checking and stirring after 10 minutes.
Let cool and store in an air tight container.

Halloween is not just for children any more over 60% of adults get into the spirit (and admit to sneaking into their children's candy every now and then). Consumers spend $1.5 billion on costumes each year, $2.5 on Halloween decorations and crafts and over $50 million on greeting cards. Now you can get your family in the spirit with these free, spooktacular ideas:

Print FREE Halloween party Invitations to get the party started. Free borders, text, images and more included.
Add Halloween clip art for a ghastly touch to all your craft projects.
Decorate your screen with a superior 3D Screensaver.
Turn your wallpaper into a haunted cave complete with 3D witch, ghouls and more.
Download sound effects to get in the creepy spirit!
Play Halloween games until the haunting begins.
Create a greeting card with your favorite goblin's picture. Totally adorable.
Add eerie ringtones to your cell phone.

The Muse of Lughnasadh

Mythology:

Lughnasadh is the celebration of the Mother as she readies to birth her nature for humankind. It is the feast of the fruits and flowers, calling on the elements of water and earth to honor the wells and the mountains; the first harvest and the transition of Summer into Fall. Here we honor both gods and goddesses in celebration of the shadow and the light, the mysteries, the warmth of the Sun and the cool cycles of the Moon.

As the Wheel of the Year turns upward from the South into the West, we meet Lugh (lookgh) a highly skilled immortal who eventually, after many trials, comes back to live at Tara, hill of kings. Born of the Tuatha De Danann (tuaoa die danan), a tribe known as the gods of humanity, he makes his way home after years of fosterage and helps his people wrestle Ireland from the rule of the Fomoraig (Fomorians), the gods of chaos and wild nature.

Lugh is a god of light, and nasadh is the binding promise he made to his foster mother, Tailtiu, Queen of the Fir Bolg tribe that preceded even the Tuatha De Danann. As the Queen lay dying of exhaustion from clearing the whole of Ireland for agriculture, Lughnasadh, was born as her funereal festival.

More than just an acknowledgment of a mother passing into the otherworld, Lughnasadh is symbolic of the agreement between all living beings and our planet, an honoring of the last sheath of grain, woven through corn husks in the image of woman. These corn dollies were the effigies and receptacles for all woes and shadow states of the tribe that were absorbed and held throughout the year by women. These energies were finally purged at Lughnasadh into the corn dolls during their making, then burned to transmute the energy, using the dross to fertilize new ground for Spring planting.

Feasting on the harvest; singing and dancing to celebrate hand-fasting; competitive games for the men to prove their physical prowess was equal to that of Lugh; the long arms of heat from bonfires that lit up the night sky, symbolizing the powerful light of the Sun in Lugh, and the torches carried only by goddesses who'd been into the underworld and back again. This is the festival of victory--the brilliant light against the powers of darkness--as the Wheel turns once more into the West.

Maker of the seasons and birth mother of the Wheel, Demeter is a Greek triple goddess; mother to Persephone, daughter of Hecate. As the goddess of grain she offers the food of life to humans. She is the goddess of all seasons, giving us birth in the Spring, life in the Summer and death in the Fall; then she gives us an opportunity for rebirth again after meeting our shadows in the lonely months of Winter.

Three faces of the goddess, three phases of the moon, Demeter, as creatrix of the seasons, you personify the birth, the love and the death. You are the mother who rescues herself as the daughter Persephone when she drinks the inter-dimensional brew. Meeting grandmother Hecate in the shadowy darkness of her own underworld, you become sage and expansive in a place where until now, only Hades has flourished.

While stumbling about in the dark, your angry stick stirs the cauldron of remembering. Drop by drop-- because mother courage effortlessly drags the lost maiden from her cowering place under the blight of the crone--the essential brew of life dribbles onto stone. It transforms youth into maturity and love to a Queen's reign.

Steamy and sizzling, the ground cracks wide open under your feet. As rock disintegrates into dust, you fall and your fearful, thunderous rage ignites chaotic static in the air. It fills the sky with bolts of light, surprisingly and safely guiding you through the expanding crevasse into a gateway.

Though you tumble and bounce, still trying to fly, your eyes are flashing and keen. You scan, searching for the edges of a veil that exists for you no more. Now living in the world of humans, you acquiesce and merge. You are the perfect blend of ingredients for the life residing within you as you carry the eternal torch of those who've traveled inward and downward, emerging alive and integrated. In your essence, you remain a Queen.

You are the triple goddess; all things come from you, you are all things. Demeter you turn the wheel; you created and now you control the seasons. You are the midwife for sister Ceres, to whom Ker is born, the babe and the first stalk of grain. From this comes the first loaf, the first bread and the first taste of the body, enlightened.

We call on you Demeter, to guide us to see the abundance of your cycles, and to touch the gratitude in our souls. We ask for your blessings on our inner food at harvest time, on the bubbling elixirs for transformation and growth. Mother, may we perfect the tilling of our soil, plant our seeds on fertile ground; may we please you and may you always be here to remove in us what does not belong to you.

Journey into Gratitude:

Find a comfortable seat, close your eyes, put your feet on the floor and breathe into the bottom of your feet, gently calling it into your legs and pelvis. Let the breath pool in the pelvic floor, filling it up with air and then releasing it on the exhale.

Now feel the Earth energy moving up from its core into your feet chakras as you inhale, into the bubbling springs of life, moving through your legs into your Root Chakra and back down into the Earth.

Witness the Earth energy carving and defining its channels, streaming from the bottom of your feet, through your legs, passing the ankle, knee and hip joints; through the Root Chakra and into the Earth again.

Observe and notice how the Earth energy clears stagnant energy from your lower body, taking all things foreign or past-time as it moves out and back into the center of the Earth.

As you exhale, send the unwanted energy down deep into the Mother with great gratitude. She will transmute your dross to gold, giving birth to new and blessed forms, the fruits of your essence. Continue to offer her your dried and dead stalks, slashing and burning, fertilizing and making room for new seedlings of growth. Breathe in and breathe out, sending gratitude for each cycle of nourishing inspiration and the die-off with expiration.