Today we had sixteen friends join us for storytime! I’m so thankful to see our story time numbers growing. It really helps our little library continue to thrive.
Thanksgiving is next week so, of course, we had to talk about turkeys! We made our own turkeys today. I had them paint a piece of cardstock to make feathers. Then we glued brown construction paper, orange feet, orange beaks and sticky googly eyes to the cardstock. They also added their own brightly colored feathers. I got this great idea from https://stayathomeeducator.com/turkey-art-acivity/
Then we read a poem, “Funny Turkey”, 
https://literacyminute.blogspot.com/2012/11/turkey-poems-for-thanksgiving.html
Next we read “Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks” by Julie Markes. It has beautiful illustrations and gets the kids thinking about being thankful.
Then we did a super cute fingerplay that I found on https://thekindergartensmorgasboard.com/2017/11/thanksgiving-research-project.html.
We finished off with reading “Thanksgiving if for Giving Thanks” by Margaret Sutherland. I had the kids raise their hands for everything they were thankful for as we read each page.
Then I told them how thankful I am for them visiting me at the library every week. I’m also very thankful for our moms and caregivers that helped clean up our chaotic mess of a craft this morning. With 16 kiddos coming every week, we’ve got lots more space to corral and people to check up on. I couldn’t have done it without their help this morning! Seriously. They gathered up all the paintbrushes and the newspapers and wiped down the tables. They helped pick up the storytime cushions and put them away. They helped every kid get their turkey colored and their fingerprint apples made.
Speaking of fingerprint apples, we’re going to start doing alphabet books too. Every week, we’ll focus on one letter. Today was the first day, so we started with A. Our fingerprints turned into red, delicious apples!
Our red fingerprint dots will get a stem and a leaf added to them, once they’re dry.
Several years ago, I co-owned a preschool and this is something that we made every year for our parents. I remember crying when my oldest daughter’s book came home at the end of the school year. Her precious, tiny fingerprints are forever preserved in that little book.
Here is page one of our fingerprint books. I plan on doing “B” in two weeks on the back sides of these cards. I haven’t decided if we’re doing bees or balloons. Our theme is bunnies so it might even work at bunnies. We’ll see. 🙂
