Gift Ideas For Your Budding…Musician

This is our second list in the gift ideas series and the one that I most needed this year. I never thought that I would be purchasing lots of musical gifts but three of my four children have ideas from this list on their wish lists. My daughter began playing violin just over a year ago, and has really enjoyed it. She wants to add keyboard lessons in January. My two oldest sons have more recently began violin lessons and the oldest wants a new violin for Christmas. My youngest is not quite two but really enjoys the Musik at Home lessons, so I added that along with a toy violin to his list. He is always trying to get the older children’s violins and play them so I am hoping he will enjoy playing with this own violin.

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

Practice Practice Practice

This list is mostly broken up by instrument, although I did include a category for preschool age children with a variety of musical ideas. Since music is such a broad range an each instrument has different accessories I thought it would be easier to find what you were looking for based on the various instruments.

Gift Ideas For Your Budding… Musician

Preschool/ Early Elementary Ages

Violin

Practice Monkeys Subscription
Instrument
Music Books
New Case
Rosin
Tuner (The one we actually use was out of stock, but this one is similar with good reviews.)

Guitar

Keyboard

Any Instrument

Be sure to check back for each of the posts this week relating to a different interest. If there are other interests or ideas that you have, please feel free to share them. You can also check out Educational Christmas Ideas (that don’t feel like school supplies), Clutter Free Christmas Ideas, and Twelve Christmas Adventures for clutter free Christmas ideas. If you have other interests or hobbies that you would like to see included, please share in the comments.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

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This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

Not Consumed has a special early sale on their new Bible studies! Sale ends today!

Evan-Moor is having a 40% off sale on their e-books. use code: VDAY40

The Old Schoolhouse is running a great special on their magazine! $19 for a year’s subscription and some fun digital curriculum as a bonus.

Crystal Paine is launching her newest e-book, Slashing Your Grocery Bill for a special launch price of just $7!! She always has great tips on saving money over at her blog, Money Saving Mom.

Sally Clarkson just launched her newest book, a devotional for moms! You can purchase it at Amazon now .

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Horses of History Appaloosy Books by Mattie Richardson (Review)

Our family loves history and we love reading. So when I learned about Mattie Richardson’s Horses in History Series by Author Mattie Richardson/Appaloosy Books I was excited to review them. My thirteen-year-old son jumped on the opportunity to read and review them. Over the course of the last several weeks, he read all four books and is finishing up an enrichment guide that goes along with the fourth book: Day and Night. My eleven-year-old daughter is going to give them a try based on his review.

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

These short paperback chapter books are written by a teen author and are full of great historical information through the eyes of horses as they experience historical events. They are a great way to engage students in history and get them interested in learning more.

Matthew’s Thoughts

Appaloosy is a great book for readers 9-14. It is the story of a horse that runs from an Indian village and is caught by white men. The horse goes wild, and no one can ride him except one little girl. One day he runs away with her and trips into a hole. After that, the father, who didn’t know she rode, made her stop riding until she told him the whole story.

Golden Sunrise is a great read for people 9-14. It is the story of Cheyenne, a palomino horse who belongs to a boy named Jared. Jared becomes a soldier in the army of Texas. While he is traveling and fighting in the Alamo he meets men like James Bowie and Davie Crocket.

Dusty’s Trail is a great read for people 9-14. It is the story of Dusty, a horse in the Pony Express. As a pony in the Pony Express he faces Indian attacks and other extremes. One day he rode three shifts because of sick horses that could not run. After that he became very famous to all the people in the pony express.

Day and Night is a good book for people 9-14. It is the story of horses Tucker and Shiloh. They are brothers who were sad to be separated but happy to be having an adventure. Tucker becomes a horse in the U.S. Mounted Infantry and Shiloh is a horse in the Confederate Volunteer Calvary. This story shares a lot about the United States Civil War.

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The enrichment guide for Day and Night was full of great information and worksheets. There were comprehension questions and vocabulary for each section of chapters. Then for each section she included an activity for them to complete to write their own story. If they complete each section, they will have a completed story at the end. There are also historical extension activities for each section. Information about civil war medicine, various important figures from the Civil War, recipes for Johnny cakes and hoe cakes and lots more. It was a great way to really dig deeper into the time period and would work wonderfully as a unit study.

Overall, we really enjoyed these books. I loved that in addition to history, my children had the opportunity to see that teenagers really can accomplish something big like becoming a published author. My son recommends them for ages 9-14 but I think you could read them aloud to even younger children. Be sure to find out more about the books and the author over at Author Mattie Richardson/Appaloosy Books. You can purchase the complete set at Amazon. Finally, don’t forget to click on the graphic below and check out the other Crew Reviews.

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Gift Ideas For Your Budding…Artist

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Welcome to the first of our lists of Christmas ideas based around a child’s interest of hobby. I am excited to share some of our favorite art resources for all ages today. Art can be anything from crayon drawings or fun crafts to formal art lessons. There are so many great art supplies that make for fun Christmas gifts, will be helpful to your budding artist, and since they are being used won’t feel like clutter. A win-win for everyone!

I have divided this list up into several age categories, because I find that typically younger children enjoy the opportunity to just be creative and explore various materials, color patterns, and textures. Older children that have a stronger interest in art may be looking for more formal art instruction and higher grade materials. Gifts can be a great time to splurge on the higher quality materials that we might not normally buy, but that can really make a difference for some art techniques. For example, I did not realize until recently how much difference in quality there was between various brands of color pencils. We still use the trusty Crayola pencils for regular coloring but have invested in nice color pencils for my Bible journaling and some of the children’s other art work.

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

Gift Ideas For Your Budding… Artist

Preschool/ Early Elementary Ages

Bucket of Crafts (a great way to get creative)
Pipe Cleaners and Pom Poms
Dot Markers
Toddler Crayons
Ultimate Crayon Collection
Finger Paint (fun for all ages)
Toucan Art Box Subscription (inexpensive art subscription that sends you two crafts each month with step by step instructions and needed supplies. Often also includes bonus activities. )

Older Elementary/Middle School

Quality Colored Pencils
Chalk Pastels
Pastel Chalk Pencils (great for the child that likes the look of pastels without the mess)
Graphite Pencils
Drawing Books
Sketch Pads

High School/ Adult

Art Desk
Famous Artist Books (or The Master and His Apprentices (Art History) Review)
Bob Ross Videos (or if you have Prime you can find them here)

All Ages

Water Color Pencils (one of my favorite art supplies)
You Are An Artist (our very favorite art lessons)
Art Frames (these are on my Christmas wish list!)
Canvas

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Deals and Freebies

Not Consumed has a special early sale on their new Bible studies! Sale ends today!

Evan-Moor is having a 40% off sale on their e-books. use code: VDAY40

The Old Schoolhouse is running a great special on their magazine! $19 for a year’s subscription and some fun digital curriculum as a bonus.

Crystal Paine is launching her newest e-book, Slashing Your Grocery Bill for a special launch price of just $7!! She always has great tips on saving money over at her blog, Money Saving Mom.

Sally Clarkson just launched her newest book, a devotional for moms! You can purchase it at Amazon now .

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Gift Ideas For Your Budding….

I absolutely love the Christmas season! The decorations, the food, lights, smells, family time, songs, and all of the joy and excitement. I love giving gifts and enjoy receiving them, but the one thing I don’t love is feeling like we have so much clutter because of all the gifts. I want to be very clear, that I am super grateful for the love that is shown to my children through gifts and they love them. It is just that when they get so many things all at once, it can feel like clutter. If we are not careful, things can even get pushed to the side and forgotten about.

In an effort to help calm the clutter but still encourage fun and love that are incorporated into gift giving, I thought I would come up with some fun but useful ideas for children with various interests. Over the course of this week, I will be posting each day with ideas for a different interest. If there are other interests or ideas that you have please feel free to share them. You can also check out Educational Christmas Ideas (that don’t feel like school supplies), Clutter Free Christmas Ideas, and Twelve Christmas Adventures for even more clutter free Christmas ideas. If you have other interests or hobbies that you would like to see included, please share in the comments.

Gift Ideas For Your Budding….

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

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Deals and Freebies

Not Consumed has a special early sale on their new Bible studies! Sale ends today!

Evan-Moor is having a 40% off sale on their e-books. use code: VDAY40

The Old Schoolhouse is running a great special on their magazine! $19 for a year’s subscription and some fun digital curriculum as a bonus.

Crystal Paine is launching her newest e-book, Slashing Your Grocery Bill for a special launch price of just $7!! She always has great tips on saving money over at her blog, Money Saving Mom.

Sally Clarkson just launched her newest book, a devotional for moms! You can purchase it at Amazon now .

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

CrossTimber: Your Amazing Name Video (Review)

The Your Amazing Name – Personalized Adventures for EVERY name! video by CrossTimber – Name Meaning Gifts is one of the most unique reviews we have done with the Review Crew. While these videos follow a template they are personalized with your child’s name, art work, address, photograph, and a letter from the parents (or whomever is purchasing the video for the child).

When you purchase this for your child, CrossTimber – Name Meaning Gifts sends you a Google form to fill out with information about your child. You include all of the information that they need to personalize the video. My favorite part was the opportunity to write a short letter to Benjamin. This was a wonderful way for us to share how we chose his name and remind him how special he is to us and God. You also include a piece of artwork that your child has done. This artwork is used throughout the video and is a really fun way for your child to connect to the video. We sent in a tractor he had drawn and he enjoyed seeing it show up in various settings of the video.

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The video is animated and takes your child on an adventure to learn about the meaning of their name. Our video was particularly interesting because my son shares a name with the main “character”, an animated pencil named Benjamin. The pencil takes your child on a rocket ship, made out of the child’s artwork to meet the stars. The stars share about how each of them has a name and how important our names are to God who knows all of our names. Then you also go to a tree house to meet an owl who talks about name origins, and even into a field to meet the sheep that ‘once was lost and now is found.’ Throughout the story you are learning more about names and name origins, the child’s specific name, and how God views each of us as individuals and knows us by name.

When I asked Benjamin what his favorite part was he said that he really enjoyed the part with the owl. The owl taught about names and told Benjamin that his name came from the Hebrew language and the country of Israel. Then at the end of the video, it shared that his name means “Son of my Right Hand, Mighty in Spirit”.

As a fun bonus, they included a PDF of personalized worksheets about Benjamin’s name. there were mazes, coloring pages, copywork, and tracing paper focusing on his name. These are perfect for us because he is working on learning how to write his name.

Check out this sample video for more information!

If you are looking for a unique and meaningful gift for a child in your life, consider getting them the Your Amazing Name – Personalized Adventures for EVERY name! video. I would recommend these videos for children in the 4-10 year old age range, although my eleven year old daughter saw my son’s video and requested a video using her name. In addition to the videos, CrossTimber – Name Meaning Gifts has a variety of personalized items sharing more about your child’s name including plaques, mugs, music boxes and more. Make sure that you click on the graphic below to find out what the other Review Crew members thought.

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Goldtown Beginnings Series by Kregel Publications (Review)

When I showed my five-year-old the pictures of Jem Strikes Gold and Jem’s Frog Fiasco by Kregel Publications, he was unsure if he wanted to read and review them. I was surprised that he was not more excited but he explained that he was not sure about them because of the dog on the front. We discussed it and he agreed to give them a try. He does not know how to read yet, but we agreed to review them by having me read them aloud to him.

Goldtown

Even though he was a little worried about the dog on the cover (he is scared of dogs), he waited eagerly for the books to arrive in the mail. When the box arrived, he opened it to find two adorable paperback books with beautifully colored covers. The print on the pages was a little larger than normal, making it great for young readers.

When the books came in he wanted me to start reading Jem Strikes Gold right away. We curled up in the recliner to read a chapter or two that evening, and ended up reading half of the book. He kept wanting me to read more and my eleven-year-old daughter was working in the same room and ended up listening with us as well (it might have helped that she shares a nickname with one of the main characters).

Jem Strikes Gold tells the story of Jem and his little sister Ellie and their lives in a California gold town. They live in canvas tent with their parents. Their mom does laundry and bakes pies for miners and dad pans for gold. They help out with these tasks but also have time to play and get into lots of adventures. They learn how to deal with a bully, how to obey their parents, and how to be kind to one another and they even add a pet dog to their family. By the way, my son decided that since it was in the book and not in real life, this dog was okay.

Since we had such a positive experience with book one, I decided to pack Jem’s Frog Fiasco and bring it along with us on a short family camping trip that we were doing. We already had several longer novels that we were listening to on the road but I wanted a good book to read at the camping site. I thought that my older children might find it a little childish but knew that my five-year-old would enjoy it. However, all of the children enjoyed sitting around and listening to the story in the evenings. My daughter even helped me read a few chapters one night. While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend buying the books for older children, the story is fun for the whole family. (I did notice that Kregel Publications has a series featuring this same family designed for children in the 9-13 range.)

Jem’s Frog Fiasco is the second book in the series and continues the story of Jem and his sister Ellie. This book shares even more of their adventures with their dog, catching bullfrogs, a missing sister and lessons they learn about being kind to one another. It felt so very real to me because the children reminded me of my own. They love each other but still get into arguments and fuss with each other. The story has some serious moments and important lessons, but it is also filled with lots of laughter and fun.

While we used the books as fun read alouds, they also have some great printable educational activities to go along with the books. It includes comprehension questions, recipes, vocabulary, graphing, drawing, and more. These would make a great unit study. I am saving them to use in a couple of years when my son can read the books independently.

I highly recommend the Goldtown Beginnings Series for children ages 3-7. They make great read alouds and would also be good first chapter books for independent readers. The stories are fun and engaging while also teaching important morale lessons. My son has already requested books 3 and 4 in the series as soon as they are released next spring! Make sure to check out these books and all of their other offerings at Kregel Publications and then click on the graphic below to check out all of the other reviews.

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Late Colonial Period Through Revolutionary War: Resources for Early North Carolina History

From sugar cakes to gun powder in the cabbages, so much was happening in North Carolina during this period in history. The French and Indian War, the construction of Fort Dobbs, the Regulator Movement, the Moravians settling in Salem, thousands of settlers moving ‘over the mountains’, a grand tea party in Endenton, the Mecklenburg Declaration and the Halifax Resolves to propel us into the Revolutionary War. Throughout the year we will be working our way through North Carolina History and geography. Each month I will share some resources specific to the topics and time periods we are studying that month. I also have a more comprehensive list of North Carolina history resources that I am continually updating as I find new resources.

History Resources Late Colonial through Revolutionary

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links see below for more information. *

You might be wondering about Governor Martin and the Gun Powder in the cabbages. I find that children remember history much better when it is connected to a story and there are many wonderful stories from history. One story that my children love to retell when we are at historical events, is how Governor Martin hid the gun powder in the kitchen garden with the cabbages in an effort to keep the patriots from taking it after he fled from Tryon’s palace. Stories like this help children connect to the event and keep it from being a ‘boring list of events and dates’.

Another wonderful part of this time period is the Moravians settling in Old Salem. This is a culture steeped in interesting traditions (and food). We have been blessed to attend a homeschool day there as well as a Candle Tea event. If you are able, I highly encourage you to visit. However, for those that are unable to visit there are lots of great videos and recipes included in the lists below. One of the things my daughter found most interesting is that she was served coffee and not tea at the Candle Tea event.

Fort Dobbs is an often-forgotten historical site in North Carolina. Now, it’s just off the main road in a mostly residential area, but when it was built in 1755 it marked the boundary between the civilized British Colony and wild Native American lands. There is a lot of great history at the fort and they recently finished a creating a life size reproduction of the original fort that can be toured. They also offer several special homeschool days and other events with lots of living history. We were hoping to tour the fort on a recent trip through the area but unfortunately, they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. We did get some great pictures from outside the gate and look forward to making another trip up that way soon.

There is a lot of moving, expansion, fighting, and growing going on in North Carolina during this time period. Despite being regarded as a poor, backwater colony by the British, North Carolina was a tinderbox and rather influential in the movement for independence. Understanding all of these things helps put the Revolutionary War into perspective and sets up a better understanding of the culture of North Carolina during this period.

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I encourage you to check out some of the wonderful resources I have found below (many of which are free) and tell me in the comments what resources you use to learn about the Lost Colony and the early colonial era. Don’t forget to check back next month for resources on the late colonial period through the beginning of the American Revolution.

North Carolina Late Colonial Through Early Revolutionary Period Resources

Books and Magazines:

Tar Heel History on Foot (good for multiple months)

Voices From Colonial America: North Carolina

Living History Classroom (Free Digital Magazine)

French and Indian War in North Carolina (for older students)

Farming Dissenters

The Young Reader’s Series of North Carolina History: “King George and Broadswords!” The Battle at Widow Moores Creek

Videos:

Old Salem Videos

Old Salem (C-Span)

Old Salem (PBS)

Friends in Liberty: North Carolina in the American Revolution

Trail of History Fort Dobbs

Fort Dobbs North Carolina Weekend

History Kids: French and Indian War

Battle of Alamance (short clip)

North Carolina’s Role In American Revolution

Websites:

Moore’s Creek PowerPoint

French and Indian War

Regulator Movement

History of Fort Dobbs

Eighteenth Century Timeline

NCpedia (An online encyclopedia of all things North Carolina)

Battle of Moore’s Creek Curriculum Materials

North Carolina in the Revolutionary War

North Carolina Continental Line

Field Trips:

Old Salem

Fort Dobbs

Tryon Palace

Alamance Battleground

Moore’s Creek Battlefield

Recipes:

Old Salem Recipes

History of Sugar Cakes

Moravian Sugar Cake

Colonial Pantries of North Carolina

A Taste of Carolina Colonial Recipes

Colonial Williamsburg Recipes (not North Carolina but the proximity means the food would have been similar)

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

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Deals and Freebies

The Old Schoolhouse is running a great special on their magazine! $19 for a year’s subscription and some fun digital curriculum as a bonus.

Crystal Paine is launching her newest e-book, Slashing Your Grocery Bill for a special launch price of just $7!! She always has great tips on saving money over at her blog, Money Saving Mom.

Sally Clarkson just launched her newest book, a devotional for moms! You can purchase it at Amazon now .

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Thanksgiving Resource Round Up and Gratitude Challenge/Printable

November is a great time to focus on gratitude and thankfulness. Over the last several years, we have shared various ideas and traditions to encourage gratitude. I will link those posts below so that you can take a look and see what might work for your family. This year we are going a 30-day gratitude challenge that starts today, November 1st (if you are reading this after November 1st please feel free to jump on in).

I will be sharing the day’s challenge each day on Facebook to help you keep track. I have included the entire list here so that you can plan ahead. There is even a printable version of the list at the end of the post if you want to put it on your refrigerator or somewhere in your home that would remind you each day.

*Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links; see below for more information. *

I have tried to include a variety of ways that your family can show gratitude to God, each other, and other people. Please feel free to adapt these ideas to work best for your family. We will be going through them in order with the date coordinating with the number on the list. However, feel free to jump around to what works best for you that day. I would love to see you share pictures from your gratitude challenge as we encourage each other. Use #gratitudechallenge and #schoolinswag to see them on social media.

Start a gratitude tree or jar that each member of the family can add to each day
Hymn Study: We Gather Together
Alphabet Gratitude (work together as a family to come up with something you are thankful for using each letter of the alphabet)
Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (Read and discuss or copy down into journals)
Make sugar cookies in the shape of hearts or fall shapes and pass them out to people for whom you are thankful. This could be friends and family or people who you interact with throughout the day, such as cashiers, postal workers, bus drivers, etc.
Read a Thanksgiving Book (If you need suggestions, you can check out this post for a great list.)
Send a thank you card to someone who has blessed you.
Gratitude Art: Draw or Paint a picture of something for which you are grateful.
Hymn Study: Count Your Many Blessings
Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:6-7 (Read and discuss or copy down into journals)
Thanksgiving Poetry: Read some of these fun poems and maybe even write your own.
Thankful Senses: Share one thing for each sense for which you are grateful. For example, I am grateful for the smell of roses in the summer, the warmth of hot cocoa on a cold day, etc.
Thankful verses: Use a concordance or google and find out how many verses in the Bible talk about thankfulness. Based on that number, talk about how important thankfulness is for Christians.
Sibling Gratitude: Make a card or craft for your sibling and tell them why you are thankful for them. If you do not have a sibling, choose another family member.
Thankful Acrostic Poem: Create your own or print this free template
Tell a Friend: Make a point to tell a friend why you are thankful for them. You can tell them, send them a card, or call them on the phone.
Hymn Study: Come Ye Thankful People Come
Thankful Colors: Share things for which you are thankful using as many colors as you can. For example, I am thankful for green grass, red apples, and blue water.
Thankful Photos: Using a camera or your phone, take turns taking photos of things for which you are grateful. These can be turned into a collage or viewed as a slide show.
Scripture Reading: Psalm 7:17 (Read and discuss or copy down into journals)
Make cards or a small homemade gift for the staff or volunteers at your church to thank them for serving the Lord.
Thank You, Jesus: Write a letter/prayer to Jesus telling him how thankful you are for all he has done for us.
Show your gratitude for all of your blessings by doing something nice for someone else. Rake a neighbor’s yard, take can goods to the food pantry, do a sibling’s chore, etc.
Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 16:34 (Read and discuss or copy down into journals)
Make a thank you card for a local public servant ( trash collector, firefighter, police officer, etc )
Thankful I Spy Game: Play the I spy game but use things for which you are thankful. For example, I might pick the dishwasher because I am thankful that it makes cleaning our kitchen easier.
Create placemats or a placeholder for each person joining you for Thanksgiving dinner. Share what makes you grateful for them on the placemat. (You can use construction paper or buy these inexpensive paper ones.)
Read a Thanksgiving Book (If you need suggestions, you can check out this post for a great list.)
Thankful Neighbors: Make a card or bake cookies for your neighbors. Take them over and tell them how thankful you are to have them as neighbors.
Make Gratitude Journals to help keep this habit of gratitude throughout the year.

Gratitude Challenge Printable

Thanksgiving Resources Posts

Hymn Study: We Gather Together

A Month of Thanksgiving and Praise!

November Hymn Study: Count Your Blessings

Thanksgiving Resources Round-Up

Thanksgiving Books and Celebrations

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will get a link and password to the library. We are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you updated on what we have going on.

Resource Library

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always, I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

One of my favorite Amazon sales, just in time for Christmas shopping! Buy 2 Get 1 Free Books!

Tuttle Twins has a great Veteran’s Day sale happening now!

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Thanksgiving Books and Celebrations

One of our favorite ways to celebrate various holidays is through books! Thanksgiving is a great one for books because there are so many wonderful books that look at Thanksgiving from various perspectives and topics. You can read books about the Pilgrims and Native Americans, books about the first Thanksgiving, books about gratitude, books about modern-day Thanksgiving, and fictional books that teach lessons about being thankful.

How to Use Books in Your Celebration

We use books in various ways, including having them set out as part of our seasonal decorations. This often sparks the interest of the children, and I find them reading the books that we have displayed. I can also pull from the display whenever we need a read-aloud for the family. *Some of the links in my posts may be affiliate links; see below for more information. * Thanksgiving Books

For my kindergartner, we are using these books as part of his reading curriculum and doing various seasonal activities to expand upon them. For example, we might read a book about turkeys, make a turkey craft, and sing some turkey songs. Another week we may choose a book about pilgrims or gratitude. We will definitely spend a week on Cranberry Thanksgiving doing various activities that we find, as well as using some of the ones from Five in a Row. (Stay tuned for a post specifically on Cranberry Thanksgiving soon.)

Thanksgiving Books for Older Students

For my older children, we enjoy finding chapter books or more detailed picture books that relate to the holidays and allowing that to be their reading assignment for the week. Thanksgiving on Thursday is a good choice for elementary students. You could also use Samuel Eaton’s Day for a compare and contrast with Tapenum’s Day or Sarah Morton’s Day.

Quality Time with Books

We also really enjoy spending time together enjoying a book and a snack. Sometimes a specific snack that relates to the book, and sometimes something as simple as a store-bought cookie and a glass of milk. For example, we make cranberry bread when we read Cranberry Thanksgiving. Baking together is always fun, but don’t let that be a stumbling block. Using a boxed mix can still make memories. What are your favorite ways to incorporate books into your holiday celebrations? Any great Thanksgiving books that I should add to my list

Thanksgiving Book List:

Cranberry Thanksgiving The Very First Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks Arthur’s Thanksgiving The Squirrels’ Thanksgiving Oh, What a Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving on Thursday Happy Thanksgiving, Curious George Samuel Eaton’s Day Thanksgiving Poems Tapenum’s Day Sarah Morton’s Day Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library, you will get a link and password to the library. We are adding new things to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you updated on what we have going on. Resource Library This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always, I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in, and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

f my favorite Amazon sales, just in time for Christmas shopping! Buy 2 Get 1 Free Books!

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Hymn Study: We Gather Together

We should practice gratitude and thankfulness all year, but I think November is a great time to refocus ourselves on gratitude. When I was thinking of hymns, I wanted one that reminded me to be thankful and encouraged us as we celebrated Thanksgiving. We Gather Together was written in the early 1600s, by an unknown Dutch author, and first published in 1624 by Adrian Valerius. When it was written it was used to celebrate the freedom of the Netherlands from Spanish rule. However, Theodore Baker translated the text into English in 1894 and called it a “Prayer of Thanksgiving.” While it may have started as a song about the Netherlands independence, it is seen now as a song celebrating the Church seeking God’s help and thanking Him for His presence in the pursuit of victory over evil.

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We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
he chastens and hastens his will to make known;
the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing:
sing praises to his name; he forgets not his own.

This song is a great reminder that we should gather together with friends and family as well as our church congregations to give thanks to God. As you learn about this hymn, I have included free copywork and a hymn study worksheet to help guide your study. There are also a variety of different versions of this song linked in the resources, so you can listen and pick your favorite style. In addition to studying this hymn during your school time, it would be a great hymn to listen to as you gather with friends and family for Thanksgiving. There are also a variety of scripture references related to this song listed here. We enjoy reading over those together and sometimes choosing one as a memory verse. If you wanted more copywork, you could also use the Bible verses as copywork.

I also am excited to share with you that we are collaborating with Nana from You Are An Artist Chalk Pastels who is doing a great painting to go along with this hymn tomorrow. This is a fun way to engage your little artists in hymn study or your musicians in art. To check out the art lesson from You Are An Artist Chalk Pastels you need to be a You Are An Artist Clubhouse Member! This brand new lesson is included in the You Are An Artist Clubhouse membership.

Hymn Study Resources:

We Gather Together (kids singing)

We Gather Together (guitar)

We Gather Together (bluegrass)

We Gather Together (Hymn Story)

Download Your Freebies Below!

Hymn Study Fact Sheet

We Gather Together (November Copywork)

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

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Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!

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