1-2-3 Come Do Some Shape Actiities With Me

“Shapin’ Up With Turkeys” provides a quick, easy and super-fun “print & go” craftivity, that will help review 2D shapes in some interesting & engaging ways.

The 2D shapes included are: circle, oval, square, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, pentagon, octagon, trapezoid, rhombus, heart & star.

The packet includes patterns for the above shapes, so that children can make a “Perky Turkey Pal” of their own.

There are a variety of turkeys to choose from; for example, the “keepsake” turkey’s head is traced from your students’ shoe, which makes a nice keepsake. 

"This turkey's head was made by tracing my shoe! My way to say Happy Thanksgiving to you." 

I wrote the poem to be placed on the turkey's tummy. I discovered, that unless a child told their parents that the head was their shoe print, many of them didn't realize this!

There are also 10 other head patterns to pick from. Choose your favorites, or give children a choice.

Shape templates come in a large, full-page size, as well as a smaller, two-on-a-page pattern, allowing you to make just a “shapely head”, or a “full body” turkey. 

I recommend making just the head with little ones, as it's the easiest craftivity.

Keep things extra simple by adding just a beak and wattle. However, I've also included two, one-piece feather patterns, which can be glued to the back of the head or body. 

Feathers add an opportunity for students to color, while practicing making a pattern: AB-AB, ABC-ABC etc.

Large wiggle eyes add extra pizzazz, but I've also included several pages of other eye patters, including eyeballs where the pupils match the shape of the turkeys head/body.

Check out the photographs to help you decide what’s most appropriate for your students

To add even more variety to your turkeys, there are also 3 wing patterns.

Create different looking turkeys by placing the wings rightside up or upside down. To make the wings "moveable", instead of gluing them down, attach with brass brads. 

Hat, shoe, leg & feather patterns also add variety.  Pick your favorite pieces, or give students a choice.

Accordion-folding the leg strips, is a fun way for students to strengthen their finger muscles, while adding to the cuteness factor of their turkey.

If your kiddos are like mine, they will enjoy the “boing-boing” effect.

Besides making a turkey with one of the more traditional heads, students can also match their turkey's head to its body shape. 

To help practice the “positional words” portion of the 2D shape standard, I’ve also included a “Corn Cob” whole group, assessment game.

Use the shape posters and pocket chart cards to introduce your lesson.

I’ve also included a “Shapely Turkeys” bookmark for your students.

Completed projects make an adorable display.

Dangle them from the ceiling as a border in your hallway.

I’ve included several posters to add extra pizzazz.

To add to the fun, encourage children to name their turkey, then fill out a "turkey tag", which can be glued to the middle of their turkey's tummy, or displayed next to their turkey on your display.

Older students can write down the attributes of the shape that they chose.

Today's featured FREEBIE is also about turkeys. 

"It's Turkey Time!" is a set of turkey-themed pocket chart cards, that will help your students practice analog and digital time to the hour and half hour. 

I've also included a whole group assessment worksheet, plus a black and white "turkey time" pattern, so that your students can make a telling time booklet as well.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

I have to put my "Nana" hat on, as my daughter's dropping off my granddaughter for a few hours.  She's one of 10; so we are truly blessed.

Wishing you a love-filled and carefree afternoon.

Turkey Talk: "Hey turkey, what are you thankful for?" "Well, this month, I'm especially thankful for Vegans!"

1-2-3 Come Do a Place Value Turkey With Me

November is fast approaching, so I've been working on some interesting turkey activities.

You can put some “Woo Hoo!” into studying place value, by creating a super-cute PVT (Place Value Turkey).

This is an especially fun activity for your students, and a nice alternative to worksheets; making it that “extra special something” you can do for the entire month of November.

Completed projects turn out absolutely adorable, and make an outstanding fall bulletin board or hallway display.

I’ve included 2 posters to help decorate.

You’re sure to get lots of compliments, as the results definitely have that “Wow!” factor.

The packet is very versatile, with lots of creative options for your students to choose from; which not only results in a nice variety of turkeys, but allows you to diversify your lessons.

These place value turkeys appeal to a variety of ages and abilities.

The versatility allows younger kiddos, as well as older students, to create a turkey that will have a one, two, three or even 4-digit number value!

Keep things simple for little ones by limiting the number of pieces and options, while challenging older students to create a bigger value for their turkeys, by gluing on more place value blocks and rods. 

Students can draw in their own face or pick one of the "head patterns" with a variety of eyes.

To add some 3D pop, add a beak and wattle, and bend the wings up a bit.

Children can also add a Pilgrim hat or bonnet or a bow.

There are also 2 patterns for the legs; one with regular turkey "feet", as well as one with Pilgrim shoes.

There are pattern pages with 2 sizes of "ones" and one hundred "blocks", as well as 2 sizes for the "10s" rods.

Students color and trim, then use the pieces to decorate their turkey with. 

After they have arranged the pieces to their satisfaction, they glue them down. 

Look at the photographs and you can see how I glued some "ones blocks" to the turkey's legs, his Pilgrim shoes, and on the back of the feathers. 

I tilted the 100s blocks to make a diamond-shaped design on one sample. You can also see a 100s block inside the buckle on the hat, as well as on the bow tie. 

For other examples, I glued 10 rods to the wings, hat, and legs.

There are also a variety of "belly" options.

I had an absolute blast making my samples and hope your kiddos enjoy creating their own place value tureky too. 

You can also opt to use the feather patterns that have a variety of place value pieces already on them. 

I thought using a 10s rod for the shaft of the feather looked terrific. This will save time cutting and gluing. 

Shading and adding highlights with crayons gives a splash of extra pizzazz and makes the turkeys more vibrant. 

I made my turkey's bodies with shades of brown paper, then did a rainbow color pattern of feathers on one of my turkeys, plus showed an AB-AB pattern, as well as an ABC-ABC color pattern, on two of my other examples. 

You can get a bit more creative, and print the turkey's body patterns on a variety of neon colors like hot pink, turquoise, purple and lime green, which will make for a wild and whacky turkey display.

Wiggle eyes, and a splash of glitter on the tips of the feathers, are more fun options.

Once children have created their place value turkey, they figure out how much it is “worth”.

I’ve provided several worksheet options for students to complete, which helps break things down.

Several will help students show how they came up with their total; as most students get carried away with decorating, and will have to make "conversions". 

For example if a student has glued on 14 ones blocks, they'll have to convert 10 of them (on their worksheet), then add one more to their 10s place, to correctly figure out the value of their turkey.

Choose which worksheet is most appropriate for your students.

They are different enough, so that you can actually do all of them.

If you're displaying the turkeys, you can also hang up students' worksheet(s), which will show the math.

There are also several whole-group activities for data collection and analysis.

Limited time?

Place value turkeys make a super-fun homework assignment, or another idea is to have students work with a partner or create one PVT in a small group of three, which will divide up the work.

Here's a fun challenge: Give the small group a total turkey value, and see how close they can get to hitting that number. 

The featured FREEBIE is something you can have students color, then send home the day before Halloween .

This "color me" Trick or Treat list of Halloween safety tips, is loaded with Dolch sight words, so take a moment to read it out loud, calling on students to take a turn to read a tip, then send it home as a reminder for parents.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.

The sun is shining and there's nary a whisp of wind, so nature is beckoning me.  Wishing you a fun-filled day.

"The truth is, the Super Bowl long ago became more than just a football game. It's now part of our culture, just like turkey at Thanksgiving and lights at Christmas; and like those holidays beyond their meaning, a factor in our economy." - Bob Schieffer

I-2-3-Come Make A Thankful Turkey Craft With Me

All I ever have to do to get my kiddos highly motivated and excited to write, is put a little bit of craftiness into the project.

With that in mind, I designed this "Thankful Turkey Wheel”, which does the trick in getting them happily engaged, and right down to business.

As a pre-writing activity, students make a list of 4-6 things that they are thankful for.

When they are content with their final draft, they choose one of 3 turkey-topped worksheets to write their list on.  So that you can quickly and easily make a sample to share,

I've included options in color as well as black and white. 

Once students have finished their final list, they assemble their wheel and illustrate those “things” on it.

Students can also use stickers, pictures cut out from magazines, digital clip art, or perhaps real photographs. For example if they are thankful for their family they could glue down a family photograph.

There are 3 wheels to choose from:
A simpler 3-piece wheel for younger children who’d skip the writing portion, as well as a 4 and 6-sectioned wheel for older students.

You can keep things simple with just the head and body of the turkey, or you can add some 3D pop by adding a wattle, beak and wings.

For more writing practice, have students label their pictures.

Completed wheels and prompts make a sweet bulletin board.

I’ve included a “Let our lives be full of Thanks and Giving” poster for the center of your display.

Be sure and make your own, to help explain what you want your students to do, as well as share with them, what you’re thankful for.

Pressed for time? For your convenience, I've included my completed, full-color samples of both the wheel and writing prompt. 

Little ones can simply make a list using a few words. 

Encourage older students to include some descriptive words and a bit more than one or two-word answers. 

You can also do this as a whole group activity with preschoolers, asking what they're thankful for, then listing their answers on the colorful worksheet making a class composite of gratefulness.

Today's featured FREEBIE also has a Thanksgiving theme.

If you're students are as bananas over Pete the Cat as mine are, then I think they'll enjoy this "Color Me" dice game puzzle.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.

Mother Henderson's cupboard is bare, so time for some marathon grocery shopping.  Wishing you a peaceful and productive day.

"Forget the mistakes. Remember the lesson." - Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Turkey Activities With Me

Studying a bit about turkeys is not only super-interesting, but it helps me get in some science and non-fiction practice as well.

Turkeys are a perfect November theme, without being totally tied to Thanksgiving, which is not celebrated by everyone in our very diverse classrooms of today.

With these things in mind, I designed “Turkey Talk”. It’s chock full of a variety of activities that include:

* A colorful KWL chart which can be done as a whole group, while the BW version can be done individually.

* 4 realistic and lovely clip art posters featuring a male, female and baby turkey along with a nest of eggs.
* I’ve also included a set of “Match Game” picture and word cards.

* A “color me” Turkey Talk emergent reader, that’s packed with Dolch sight words, as well as a “trace & write” version for younger kiddos.

* A “Let’s Talk Turkey” vocabulary building poster, with a matching...
* “Define These Words” worksheet.
* A “Turkey Time” word search as a fun way to practice these new words.
* A labeled turkey head, photo-poster, with an accompanying definition one, plus
* 2, “Label the Turkey” worksheets.

* 20+ interesting turkey facts. Pick your favorites, share with your students, then use this background information to check their comprehension.

* A follow up “Some interesting facts I learned about turkeys” writing prompt worksheet.

* 10 photo-posters of wild and domestic turkeys.

* 2 Venn diagrams, which come in color to do as a whole group, as well as BW to be done individually or with a partner.

* 3 photo-posters of a peacock for a comparison-contrast activity.

* A “Turkeys Are Can Have” worksheet in color and BW
* A “Would you like to have a turkey as a pet?” writing prompt worksheet.
* A “Describe a Turkey” worksheet for adjective and descriptive writing practice.

* 2 life cycle of a turkey crafts. One's a slider the other a "Turn & Learn Wheel" Plus several matching worksheets & a game.

All come in BW as well as color, so that you can quickly & easily make samples to share; and finally,

* 2 “We learned about turkeys today! Ask me what I know.” color-me bookmarks. 

Renee over in Virginia, asked me if I had any Thanksgiving-themed  "Fix The Sentence" cards, as her students have enjoyed a few of my other seasonal "pocket chart punctuation" packets. 

Just finished them, so I thought I'd include them in this blog post as well.   

These 28, Thanksgiving-themed sentence cards, are a quick, easy and fun way to practice capitalization and end punctuation, while reinforcing some factual information about the first Thanksgiving.

Choose your cards, then read them together as a whole group to practice lots of Dolch sight words.

Pick a student to come up and using a dry erase marker, circle letters that should be capitalized and then add end punctuation. (period, question mark & exclamation point).

You can do this on a whiteboard, with a pocket chart, or pass a card out to each child to correct.

For more practice, as an individual activity, have students choose X number of mini cards and rewrite the sentences correctly on one of the 7 worksheet options.

Afterwards, students can swap their paper with a partner to correct.

I've included 2 sizes of mini "fix the sentence" cards for this, which makes a nice Daily 5 word work activity too.

There are 28 mini cards on one sheet of paper. Simply print, laminate and trim several copies, for a class set. 

The featured FREEBIE today is a collection of fall-themed, 2D shape matching games.  Students place the colored shape tile on to the matching shape on the leaf, spider, bat, owl, or turkey card.  

I've included a blank template for each theme, so you can program with more shapes or whatever. Hope your kiddos enjoy them as much as mine.

Well that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by. Time to hit the road and do some grocery shopping for turkey day.

Lots to do when our crowd of 20+ gathers.  Feeling very blessed.  Wishing you a warm-fuzzy kind of day.

"When I was growing up, and other people I knew were getting into trouble, I was somewhere in a deer stand or going to bed early, so I could be up before dawn to hunt turkeys. My love of the outdoors kept me solid.  - Donald Trump, Jr.

1-2-3 Come Do Some Thanksgiving Math Activities With Me

Strut your math skills with this cute turkey craftivity.

You can review all sorts of standards while playing this game, which is easy to differentiate for a variety of ages and learning levels.

Use the 10-sectioned pie pattern, to simply make a 10-piece puzzle, for younger students to practice counting and sequencing numbers 1-10. You can also review colors with them as well.

Older students can practice numbers and their number words.

It only took 15 minutes to make a class set. Store them separately in Ziploc Snack Baggies.

Reinforce life skills, by playing with the puzzles as a partner game.

You can use dice and practice addition, or use the spinner (3 are included) to play that way.

If your kiddos are also studying fractions, they can play Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" games, with the turkey's pumpkin pie fraction cards.

I've made a larger set to use as flashcards, as well as included a set of black and white pocket chart cards. 

These can also be used as a worksheet for your kiddos to trace, write,trim & collate into an Itty Bitty fraction booklet. 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to have a look: Easy As Pie, Turkey Number Game With Some Fraction Fun

The featured FREEBIE today is a short story "Who Will Be King".  It's special in that it includes ALL 220 Dolch sight words!

I've highlighted words in various colors, so that you know which lists they come from. Hope you find it helpful. 

Well that's it for today.  The carpet cleaners will be here this morning, so my office will be off limits to creative messes. 

Time to think up something else to fill up my day with.  Ummm, shopping before the crazy crush begins sounds good . . . Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

"Shopping at any level is a bit of therapy for my medulla oblongata." - Theophilus London

1-2-3 Come Do Some Thanksgiving Writing Prompts Craftivities With Me

It never failed, that no matter what grade I taught (PK, K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, and even a college lit class), if I introduced a writing assignment that had a little bit of craftiness to eat, my students couldn't wait to get down to the business of writing.

An added bonus, was that completed projects made an awesome bulletin board that they were proud of.

The two writing prompt craftivities that I'm featuring today, are very simple, and can be done in a really short amount of time.

The first one is "Loopy". He's a creative alternative to the ever-popular "I'm Thankful For..." writing prompt.

Students write something that they are thankful for on strips of colored paper, then bend them into a loop and glue their writing prompt "feathers" to the top of their turkey.

I made my sample out of rainbow colors, but you'll have a wonderful variety if you let your students come up with their own designs. 

You can also reinforce AB-AB or ABC-ABC color patterns as well.

I've included 6 different options for a center circle; from as simple as "Happy Thanksgiving!" to several quotes, as well as a poem.

Include a blank, brown loop behind the head of the turkeys, so you can suspend them back-to back from the ceiling.   Click on the link for this "funtastic" Dollar Deal: Loopy the Thankful Turkey Writing Prompt Craftivity.

Next up is the Thankful Tree.  Like Loopy, it's a nice alternative to the "I'm Thankful For"  writing prompt. 

I designed this craftivity, so that I could reinforce the 4 seasons, which we were learning about. It's also a great opportunity to practice the use of adjectives, to make writing more descriptive.

Here, children complete the prompt: "I'm thankful for (winter, spring, summer, fall) because..." 

There's a cover page, 4 seasonal tree top writing prompts: (I'm thankful for winter, spring summer, fall because...) plus an ending prompt that says: "Most of all I'm thankful for . . ."

Students work on one tree top "page" each day. When everyone is done, have students share one of their favorite pages.

I've included a blank tree top pattern for older students. 
For more pizzazz, students can add small seasonal stickers or drawings to the tree tops. i.e. snowflakes for winter, blossoms for summer etc.

Adding a school photo to the "hollow" of the tree adds that finishing touch. 

Since scarecrows continue to be one of my top November downloads, the featured FREEBIE today is Pete the Peeking Scarecrow craftivity. 

Well that's it for today. Time to straighten up my organized chaos, and replace it with some "crafty clutter". 

I'm watching my grandchildren today; Kaiden's 3 and Kaitlyn's 1. We're going to make shoe print turkeys today.  Wishing you a day filled with special memory-making moments.  

 "Grandchildren fill a place in your heart you didn't even know was empty." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Make a Venn Friend With Me

Venn diagrams are a quick, easy & fun way to introduce the concept of comparison-contrast writing.

Years ago, I came up with the concept of students choosing a partner to make a "Venn Friend" with, as an interesting way for students to get to know each other.

I designed the fall "Venn Friends" packet, which feature apples, pumpkins, leaves, turkeys, Pilgrims & Native Americans.

Introduce the lesson with the "What's a Venn diagram?" poster.

To help them do a thorough job completing their Venn diagram and jump start the writing process, I've included a list of 40 questions that they can choose from to discuss with their partner.

Each student does their own "different" portion of the "circle", and then, once they glue their "circles" together, they take turns recording the similarities that they have with their Venn Friend, using the middle "same" section.

I used a "pumpkin seed" for the middle of the Pumpkin Venn Friends, and an acorn for the leaf ones. 

You can see little boy & girl "toppers" in the pumpkin photo. 

These are black & white so kiddos can color them.  Use them on the pumpkins, leaves or apples. 

I encourage students to do a boy/girl Venn friend, not only so they have an extra "difference" but so they can see how much they truly have in common with eachother.

Doing a Name Venn with a classmate, is another option, and practices upper & lowercase letters, along with name recognition & counting. 

I also incorporate the concept of “greater & less than” with this activity, as students decide who has the most or least number of letters in their name.

I’ve made a sample using an apple, as I do this in September, for a “Getting to Know You” activity for “Back to School”.   There are 3 sets of letter tiles for your kiddos to choose from.

My Y5s enjoy this activity so much, I repeat it in October with pumpkins, and see quite a bit of improvement.

As you can see by the photograph, colorful paper plates (smaller 8” size) provide a nice 3D effect.

I pre-cut these to expedite the activity. Besides yellow & red, I also buy lime green plates, giving my students an option. 

Besides using paper plates, I've also included a wormy apple pattern.

There’s also more than one option for November. Students have 3 choices for their Venn friend topper: a turkey, a Pilgrim boy or girl, or a Native American boy or girl.

You can have a turkey find a turkey partner, a boy Pilgrim find a girl Pilgrim, or a boy Native American find a boy Pilgrim, mixing and matching however you or your students wish.

I designed the Venn friends, specifically so students could get to know a classmate better, but you could certainly have students pretend to be "real" Pilgrims and Native American children, and then compare and contrast historical information as well.

Each seasonal Venn, comes with a graphing extension, so you can get some math practice in as well.

For that finishing touch, add a school photograph. Students could also make a green hand print "leaf" for their pumpkin.

Completed projects make awesome fall bulletin boards. Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to check out the super-fun, 51 page, Fall Venn Friend packet. 

Since Halloween is just a week away, I thought a "Halloween Boo Boos" worksheet would be a fun FREEBIE. Students make corrections to the sentences that have mistakes in them.

Click on the link to grab a copy.  It's certainly a little something fun, yet educational for party day.

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

The winds have knocked a lot of leaves off the trees, so this afternoon the hubby, pup & I are going for a relaxing drive to see what's left of the gorgeous fall colors, before they become  a distant memory, as barren trees dot the landscape.

I am so not ready for winter. Wishing you a pretty and peaceful day.

"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days." - John Burroughs

1-2-3 Come Do Some Comparison-Contrast Writing With Me

Venn diagrams are a quick, easy and interesting way to introduce and practice comparison and contrast writing.  I designed Venn Friends, as an especially fun way to do that.  These are also a great way for you and your students to get to know each other better. 

I've made Venn friend packets for almost every month, but hadn't gotten around to do one for November.  Laurie, who's done several other packets with her kiddos, e-mailed me to ask if I was going to make one specifically for November.  Of course, and another thing was added to my "to do" list.

I'm never one to procrastinate, so I got right down to business.  Unlike the other monthly Venn Friends, I have more than one option for November.  Students have 3 choices for their Venn friend topper: a turkey, a Pilgrim boy or girl, or a Native American boy or girl. 

You can have a turkey find a turkey partner, a boy Pilgrim find a girl Pilgrim, or a boy Native American find a boy Pilgrim, mixing and matching however you or your students wish.  

As a way to get to know each other, I've included a list of 40 questions that they can ask their partner. 

From there, they choose what information they want to record on their Venn diagram. 

Each student does their own "different" portion of the circle, and then, once they glue their circles together, they take turns recording the similarities that they have with their Venn friend, in the middle "same" section.  (See completed sample.)

To make it easy for students to match up and glue their circles together, I've included both left and right circles.

I designed the Venn friends, specifically so students could get to know a classmate better, but you could certainly have students pretend to be "real" Pilgrims and Native American children, and then compare and contrast that way as well.

However, I do that sort of thing in the Thanksgiving Children's Packet with other Venn diagrams.

When everyone is done, have students come up with their partner to share their Venn Friend. This will give children some public speaking practice, as well as enable everyone to get to know each other a little better. 

Completed projects, look awesome hanging in rows on a hallway wall.  Click on the link to view/download the November Venn Friends packet.  For more Venn diagram activities, click on the link to pop over to that section of my site.

Thanks for visiting.  It's an overcast rainy November day; perfect for pouring over Pinterest boards, in search of some "pinspiration". 

As if my pile of "make this" projects is not big enough!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE making homemade Christmas gifts though.  Wishing you a snuggly day.

 "Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." ~W.J. Cameron

1-2-3 Come Do Some Turkey-rific Shape Activities With Me

Review 2D shapes in fun and interesting ways, with this Thanksgiving "Shape Up!" turkey packet.The packet includes a turkey craft, where the feathers have the various shapes on them. Students write the name of the shape underneath the picture.  Older students can write the attributes of that shape on the back of the feather.

Note the feet of the turkey are pentagons, his beak is a rhombus and the belly of the turkey is a hexagon.  I've provided a shape pattern for the head, but if you want to turn this into a keepsake craft, have students trace their shoe for this part. 

I've included feathers for the standard 2D shapes shown in the picture, as well as feathers with a trapezoid, rhombus, pentagon and octagon on them as well.

For more practice, there's a turkey dice game.  children play in groups of 2-4 and take turns rolling a dice.  Whatever number they roll, is the matching numbered shape that they color.  Encourage children to say the shape words as they play the game. 

There's also a turkey shape slider. Even though this is a shape-themed packet, I've also included "slider" strips for upper and lowercase letters, numbers to 30, counting backwards from 10-1 and 20-1, as well as skip counting sliders for 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's. 

Sliders are a quick, easy and fun way to whole group assess.  Choose a child to call out a shape, children pull their slider 'til that shape is in the "window" and then hold it up.  You can see at a glance who is having difficulty.

Use the 10 turkey shape cards in a pocket chart, for your word wall, or as a flashcard review.

Make extra sets and cut them up for puzzles or Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?" games. 

All of these fun, fall FREEBIES, can be found in the  Turkey Shape Craftivities & Games packet.  I hope you and your kiddos enjoy them.

Thanks for visiting today.  It's time for a break to go crunch through some leaves and take a hike through the park. 

Chloe, my poodle pup, has been waiting patiently.  Wishing you an invigorating day.

 "Each life is like a letter of the alphabet. Alone, it can be meaningless, or it can become part of the whole, to achieve true meaning." -- Unknown 


1-2-3 Come Do Some Thanksgiving Shape Activities With Me

One of the most common symbols of Thanksgiving is the Pilgrim hat. When I was doing research about the Pilgrims for several of the packets, I was surprised to learn that they did not really sport the large brass buckles on their hats and shoes, despite belief to the contrary.

In search of a "buckled up" pilgrim picture, I came across a costume company that sells this "authentic" Pilgrim garb.  It is because most of the 17th-century artists also depicted couples this way, that we have come to believe that they all wore buckles.

Buckles didn’t come into fashion until decades after the Pilgrims left England, and were used as a status symbol, since they were more expensive than other fastening solutions. 

The Pilgrims did wear the conical hats, which I discovered were called capotains, but they didn’t have buckles, nor did their belts. 

Pilgrim boys and men, held up their pants with leather laces tied to their shirts and doublets. These facts have been gleaned from historical records, passenger lists, wills, diaries, and letters that included descriptions of clothing.  Buckles later became very popular in England because they were an expensive fashion statement, however, they were not part of Pilgrim dress.

I thought you'd enjoy learning this bit of trivia, which you can share with your students when they do the Shapely Buckle craftivity.  Years ago I made a Pilgrim buckle shape booklet, and thought I'd up-date that idea with a new packet.

This one includes a pattern for the Pilgrim's hat, which I cut out of black construction paper.  A mini-buckle booklet is stapled together and then glued to the center of the hat. 

Children flip the pages to reveal the different shaped buckles.  Adding a bit of gold glitter glue to the cover, really adds that finishing touch.

A graphing extension is also included, showing which shaped buckle your students thought would be the best.  The large shape cards that feature traceable shape-words, can be uses as pocket or flashcards to review and assess.   Make an extra set; laminate, trim and cut into puzzles. 

Students can also make an Itty Bitty booklet, as a cover is included.  Children trace and color the shape buckles, as well as trace and write the shape words.

I've also included smaller buckle shape cards along with shape word cards to play Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" games.  Children can match shape to shape or shape to word. 

Click on the link to view/download the Shapely Buckles packet.  I've shared quite a few Thanksgiving/Pilgrim links in other blog articles and found another one today that you might also enjoy. This link contains 6 short video clips that include interesting Thanksgiving/Pilgrim information from the History Channel.

Since the Penguin Shape packet I & II as well as the Shapely Owls continue to be three of the most downloaded items on my site, I thought it would be fun to make one featuring turkeys. 

Teachers can make the large shape-head turkeys for display or review, and then have students choose their favorite shape and make a shape body - turkey bird of their own. 

A turkey version of the 4-Corners game can also be played with the large turkey heads.  Directions are included in the packet.

There are some turkey shape word cards you can use for pocket or flashcards. 

Make extra sets to play Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" games, or cut them apart and make puzzles.  Click on the link to view/download the The Shape Of My Turkeys packet.

Finally, Susan over in Texas, asked if I could make the Pilgrim Shape Spinner game featuring turkeys.  No problem.  If you'd like a set too, click on the link to grab it.  Turkey Spinner Shape game.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you can stop by tomorrow for a few more FREEBIES hot off the press.

"What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?" - Eleabor Roosevelt