Thanksgiving Feast in the Classroom!
So many people over look Thanksgiving and skip straight to the December Holidays. NOT IN MY ROOM. Today we had a HUGE thanksgiving feast in the classroom. It was such a fun day and the kids learned so much. I want to share with you all of the details of our day!
We spent all week learning about the process of setting the table as well as table manners. We used our Thanksgiving Dinner social story paired with my How to Set A Table adapted book.
Provide ALL the communication opportunities for students with two communication boards for this month. One page for all things Thanksgiving and one page for all things Thanksgiving food!
I love to use thinking maps to help my students understand the process of different tasks. We used a flow thinking map to sequence the steps of setting the table. Students also did this worksheet on their own….click on the image below to grab it for free or click HERE!
After we did this worksheet we discussed what it means to be thankful. I paired it with my social story, Giving Thanks. Students then completed this SUPER cute worksheet I got from Teaching Differently.
We prepped all week to make sure our room would be ready to go! We made these cute place mats earlier in the week so that I could laminate them and have the students eat on them! I got the pieces from Teacher Idea Factory.
We also made name tags. Of course, GLITTER makes everything cuter…so we used glitter!
Earlier in the week we also made ADORABLE turkey hats!
During recess, an aide and I quickly rearranged the tables to make for ONE long table. We got table cloths and put out the name tags (strategically so that we could manage the student needs during our feast). This is one of the only days of the year where we all sit together, students and staff, and eat as a little classroom family.
The students then all helped to set the table. We then used the menus and students “ordered” their meal and helped serve themselves. You can grab this menu for free by clicking on the image below or clicking HERE!
My students were champs, they all sat and waited until EVERY person had gotten their food. I made a toast and the students learned how to “cheers” one another.
It was a happy feast in my class and the students had a great learning opportunity in SUCH a fun way 🙂 I hope you can use some if these ideas for your Thanksgiving feast in the classroom with your kiddos 🙂
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