November Activities in the Classroom

Thankful pie

When I first became a teacher, this was something that our grade level always did. The teachers, parents, and students all loved it. I was so excited to try it out, but BOY was I overwhelmed! Over the years I have tweaked it, so it is not so time-consuming. Below are 2 of my favorite November Activities for the classroom.

Thanksgiving is all about being thankful for what we have. This project is to share that with families during thanksgiving. Hopefully, it will become a tradition that they do each year.

They write why they are thankful for each person in their family then it is placed inside a fake pumpkin pie. On Thanksgiving, they will open the pie and read each slip for the people that came to Thanksgiving dinner. Here’s what you will need:

Materials

• Brown tempura paint
• Orange tempura paint
• Paint brushes
  • (I used 2 foam paint brushes, but you will need more if you want more to paint at a time)
• Hot glue gun and glue

1 per student

• paper plate with ridges
• pie tin
• Thankful Pie Label

I start off on November 1^st sending this slip home. It is a guest list of who is coming to Thanksgiving dinner. I tell them they can get 2 Dojo points if they bring it back the next day. I have limited it to 5 people, you will see why later, but feel free to do as many as you would like. On the paper it mentions just doing the immediate family, but I let parents know they can put whoever on it.

Once the paper comes, back I put it in a bin that has the paper plates that are labeled with their name on the back, pie tins, and labels already printed, and thankful pie slips. That way whenever I have time the materials are ready for me. This is something I learned to make it less stressful. This would be a great project for a parent helper, high school tutor, or even as a station.

That first week of November, we paint the plates.

• I put a lot of orange paint in a bowl then add a little bit of brown until it resembles a pumpkin pie color. I put butcher paper down on the table for easy cleanup. If you do not have a drying rack you can also put butcher paper on the floor for them to dry.
• I explain what they are doing and have an example on the table. We talk about how much paint to use and how to put the paint in the ridges. I make sure to tell them it’s okay to get paint on the table because we want it to be covered.
• As soon as they are dried, I put their thankful pie label on it and put them back in the basket.

Writing The Slips

• Whenever I have time or a few days before we go on break, I call students back to write their slips. Calling back your reading groups is great because they are at the same level and it goes faster.
• I place their guest list, pie tin, and slips next to them. I show them an example of what to do and we brainstorm things we can be thankful for. I really don’t want them to just say I am thankful for you because you buy me things.
• I remind them that the sentence frame is already there for them, and they should start it with you because you will be reading it to them. Once they do a few they get the hang of it, and I am there just helping with spelling.
• After they do each slip, they will fold it in half and put it in their pie tin. This is helpful because when they are done, I just put their pie top on it and then I can just glue it after school.

Putting It All Together

• When all the students are done, I start gluing. I put 4 dots around the pie then press the top down for a few seconds. I call the student back and remind them what to do on thanksgiving and they put it in their cubby to take home.
• I send a reminder on Dojo or you can make a slip saying:

Your child will be taking their Thankful Pies home today. They worked very hard on writing why they are thankful for the people that are coming to Thanksgiving dinner. On Thanksgiving you can have everyone sit down and your child can read each slip.

Butter (pilgrims)

The last November activity for the classroom is making butter. We spend a week learning about pilgrims and how things were on the Mayflower. It is always fun to see how different things were back then.  I hand this worksheet out and talk about what ingredients we will use, and I have them color it. Then I have them make a prediction of how long it will take for it to become butter. They write their prediction on their whiteboard.

Then I put on a thanksgiving show or Magic School bus and they take turns passing it around and shaking it. It takes about 20-30 minutes for it to be butter. They write a sentence on what we did while I am getting the rolls and butter out. Here is a recipe for Tack bread that I might try next year! For the butter you will need:

• 1 mason jar (pint)
• I pint of heavy whipping cream (I fill the mason jar about ½ full)
• A pinch of salt
• Rolls
• Plastic knife for spreading

This is a crazy month and having a few important and meaningful activities helps to not feel overwhelmed. What November activities are a must in your classroom?