We’re focusing on American history this year in our homeschool.
I don’t waste my kids’ time forcing them to write gratitude journals or notebooking through thankfulness lists. If they desire to do those things, great. It kind of defeats the purpose when we make gratitude a chore.
We try to practice being thankful all the time. I copy Scripture each month with the handy calendars from Sweet Blessings. We read the Bible together every evening and my kids do morning devotions and Bible workbooks together every day as part of their homeschool work.
We live far from family, so we don’t really look forward to a huge meal and football with grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. We’re quite alone during holidays and the rest of the year.
We used to spend Thanksgiving at church – a huge potluck dinner. We often have turkey and fixings during Rosh Hashanah. Several family members don’t really like turkey. (gasp!)
We enjoyed traveling over the long Thanksgiving weekends when we lived in Germany. We’ve traveled to Prague and Porto and Venice. I miss traveling.
When Aaron was deployed, we ate just eat ham and played games together during the quiet long weekend.
We like to learn about the reasons Europeans colonized the Americas.
Most Americans celebrate our national day of Thanksgiving with turkey and football, but millions of people were and are being treated so poorly around the world. I want my kids to understand real history and not some whitewashed version written by people who consider themselves the winners. It’s sometimes hard not to get overwhelmed.
It wasn’t all a pleasant experience during that time of American history. We also learn about the tensions between colonists and natives with lots of books and documentaries. Native Americans are still around! Don’t let our public school educations fool us into thinking they’re just a stereotype from TV or all gone and assimilated into White culture.
November is also Native American month, so we learn about the tribes who inhabited the land and area we now call home. Here is a great list of books about and by Indigenous People.
We love the scene in Addams Family Values when Wednesday changes the script for their pageant.
We can change the script too – for our families. We can learn about and teach Truth about American history.
We can still celebrate gratitude, decorate with pumpkins, eat turkey and pie – and even watch football if that’s a thing that’s important. We can volunteer or give of our abundance.
We can make new traditions with our kids rather than highlighting Pilgrims and colonization. We can honor all ancestors and the land we live on with charity, love, and peace.
How we celebrate Thanksgiving
We snuggle up on the sofa and read together in the mornings and evenings. Hygge. With candles and kitties. We love our new basement gas firelogs.
We get through these cold, dreary days when it gets dark at 4 PM with warm tea and cider, baking delicious cinnamon-scented goodies – like pumpkin scones, trying new soup concoctions, diffusing essential oils, and wearing fuzzy slippers
We take our cod liver oil
We try to get outside for walks unless it is very, very cold or icy.
We used to do fun crafts and activities when the kids were younger, but now that they’re older and no longer interested, we often just read and discuss and bake and watch movies together.
Resources:
- FREE Thanksgiving Notebooking Pages
- Makahiki – Thanksgiving in Hawaii
- Favorite Thanksgiving Books
- Redhead Mom Thanksgiving and Pilgrims Unit
- Early Elementary Unit from Ed Snapshots
- Countdown to Thanksgiving by Amy Puetz
- The Homeschool Mom Thanksgiving Resources
- Amanda Bennett Unit Study
- Thanksgiving Lessons from Meet Penny
- Thanksgiving Activities from Joy-Filled Life
- Real Life at Home PreK and K Thanksgiving Unit
- The History of Thanksgiving for Little Ones from The Modest Mom
- Pilgrim Unit Study from In All You Do
- First Thanksgiving Unit Plans from Scholastic
- Harrington Harmonies Colonial Unit Study
- Blessed Beyond a Doubt Cultivating Thankful Hearts Unit Study
- Thanksgiving Build-a-Unit from Homeschooling in Detroit
- Oklahoma Homeschool Pilgrim/Thanksgiving Unit
- Hubbard’s Cupboard The Pilgrims’ First Thanksgiving
- Moms with a Blog The Night Before Thanksgiving
- Just Mommies Pilgrims Unit Study
- Thanksgiving Turkey Unit Study by The Homeschool Scientist
- Give Thanks! A Unit Study About Gratefulness from Crosswalk
- Fields of Daisies Old Fashioned Thanksgiving
- Draw Write Now Book 3: Native Americans, North America, Pilgrims
Books we Love:
I go to the library often and request all the books I can on our topics of study. Here is a list of our favorite Thanksgiving books!
Venice for Thanksgiving! How fun, I can’t wait to read about it. These are great resources, Jennifer. Thanks for sharing with Thankful Thursdays.
I love how you’re spending your Thanksgiving traveling. My kids are older and are kind of getting tired of the traditional turkey dinners and I think they would love traveling and learning some new things.
Thanks for sharing and linking this!
I think Thanksgiving and Christmas should be a spirit we keep all the time. Good list of books, have a blessed holiday.
Jennifer, I like your perspective and how it transfers into homeschooling and family. I love what you said about practicing being thankful all the time. I believe that’s in line with what God is calling us to…gratefulness 365 days a year. Blessings!
Looks like some great books to learn about the history of Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing!
I always think it’s a good time to travel! What a fun Thanksgiving tradition and thanks for the movie suggestions; there are a few on your list we haven’t watched yet. Pinned.
When i lived abroad, I loved inviting in others for our traditional Thanksgiving. And now, at home, I’m asking God, “Who needs my invititation?” which is a way of homeschooling our family in hospitality to strangers.
Thanks for sharing your Thanksgiving study unit on the #LMMLInkup this past week. I loved the list of books and am delving into them now. :)
I love how you stay cosy when it gets dark so early – what a lovely environment that would create. I enjoyed reading about your Thanksgiving, and do hope your husband will be home for Thanksgiving next year. I’ve pinned this post to my Homeschooling Board. It’s a wonderful resource. Thank you for sharing, Jen, and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party. Hope to see you again this week. Have a great week ahead!
Thanks for sharing these thoughts and resources at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com!
Tina
Wonderful topic for unit study! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
Wow, Jennifer!
This list is quite thorough! We have read many of the books you’ve listed over the years. We did the Amanda Bennett unit study on thanksgiving years ago, and I remember it fondly.
How your family celebrates sounds kind of cozy. I see that this was from a few years ago, so I wonder if that’s changed any. Our gatherings change as circumstances change too. This year I’ll probably be working, so that will be different.
I appreciate your thoughts and for linking up at the Homestead Blog Hop!
God bless!
Laurie
Ridge Haven Homestead
Homestead Blog Hop !
I did update the post to reflect our current views and traditions. My kids are older now – 11, 14, 15, 21…Thanksgiving is sometimes just another day with two working jobs. We try to make good food and reflect on our year and goals.
Im checking out all these links! Thank you for sharing! I am all about embracing the coziness of the season!
Hey Jennifer, the theme of my recent blog article is practicing thankfulness all year long. So I enjoyed how you note that here and how you don’t want to make gratitude a chore with your kids. I love that.