We Are Thankful

Even in the midst of stress and turmoil, it is still easy to find things to be thankful for in our lives. The sun continues to rise, and the rain continues to fall. As our son has been studying, the earth continues to rotate, the days pass by—and so do the months and seasons. Sometimes, it is easy to dwell upon the things that are going wrong. I know I often fall into the pessimist camp, looking at the glass as half empty, but during those moments, I remind myself of everything for which I am thankful.

I Am Thankful 

I am thankful for my family. Without my loving husband and three children, I do not think I would be the strong woman of faith that I am today. I have been blessed with a husband who has stood by me through some dark times and helped me see how much God loves me for who I am. My oldest child – my step-son – made me a mom. He has proven to be such a loving older brother to his two younger siblings.

I am thankful for the ability to homeschool. We are blessed with so many wonderful opportunities to educate our children. I am thankful that I am able to create lifelong learners in them. From reading excellent books with them to doing fun projects together, we get to spend our days learning about the world around us.

My Children Are Thankful 

Our oldest son shared with me the following: "I am thankful to have been given life by God. I am thankful I was born with food always ready for me to eat, a home I could come home to every day, and clothes appropriate for whatever weather conditions. I am thankful for the loving family I have and the friends that I have made."

Our youngest son is thankful for houses, food, and the Internet. The house provide safety from the rain and food prevents us from starving. He says he is thankful for the Internet so he can play games. 

Our daughter is thankful for her mommy and daddy. She is also thankful for water on the Earth. She is thankful for toys so that she and her brother stay occupied so they don't argue. She said, "I am thankful that God made me so I can play." 

My Husband Is Thankful

My husband is thankful for God's faithfulness, salvation, grace, and mercy; his wife's love and endurance, his family's love and loyalty to each other, and our church family's steadfastness. He has been attending our church's monthly men's breakfasts and comes home thrilled at how God is edifying those attending with sharing of the Word, prayer, and fellowship. Finally, my husband is especially thankful for author Dr. Michael Heiser, whose works (The Unseen Realm, Reversing Hermon, Angels, and Demons) over the last few years have bolstered his faith.

Thankful Last Words  

As I was finishing up this post, our furnace was being cleaned. This was an annual check-up which turned into a bit of a nightmare. We will need to have the entire furnace replaced for quite a heavy penny because there are cracks. So, while it is hard to be remain ever thankful (we have had problems with our refrigerator (in fact, we still need to get it replaced), our dishwasher has been broken for over six years, and we have some plumbing problems that we are living with), I still have faith and hope in our Lord. I am thankful for our family and for all God has given our family. Even with all these problems, they will not be problems forever. For that I am very thankful. 

Book Club: Thanksgiving-Themed Books for Children

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Searching for books about Thanksgiving for our children has been quite fun. There are a variety of options for books to read during our homeschool days – from board books to chapter storybooks. One could also include unit studies to learn more about Thanksgiving, too. And if a unit study or course is too much to include during the month of November, there are plenty of options to include fun Thanksgiving-themed worksheets into your homeschool day. There is plenty of time to discuss the history of Thanksgiving and remember to focus upon gratefulness, too, this month.

Finding Books 

The Story of Thanksgiving by Nancy J. Skarmeas and illustrated by Stacy Venturi-Pickett 

This is a lovely little board book that introduces both vocabulary and the story of Thanksgiving to toddlers. Children can curl up on their parent's lap and hear about the journey of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower and how Squanto helped them grow native foods. The Story of Thanksgiving ends with a reminder to thank God for our families, our food, and our homes.

Life on the Mayflower by Jessica Gunderson and illustrated by Brian Caleb Dumm 

Children start with the sailing of the Mayflower and journey with the Pilgrims across the Atlantic Ocean. Subdued colors in the illustrations help tell the autumn tale of the Pilgrims, why they were called Separatists, how they entertained themselves during the time in the lower deck, as well as what happened when John Howland was thrown overboard. I appreciated the timeline of key dates, the strange but true facts, and the glossary at the end of the book. Perfect for helping take the story one step further in our homeschool. 

Today is Thanksgiving! by P.K. Hallinan

This is a fun book that details the events of Thanksgiving Day, as seen through the eyes of two young children – a brother and a sister. On Thanksgiving Day, the siblings reminisce about the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving, smell the wonderful scents of potatoes, turkey, and pie in the kitchen, and watch a parade on television. What Thanksgiving day would not be complete without a game of football and loads of family arriving for dinner? 

Pilgrim Cat by Carol Antoinette Peacock and illustrated by Doris Ettlinger 

After a journey to Plimoth Plantation and the discovery of a cat, the author decided to share the imagined story of one cat, named Pounce, who sailed on the Mayflower with the Pilgrims. The main character of Pilgrim Cat is a fictional one based upon real-life girls who journeyed to America. This tale will help your homeschooled children learn about the voyage as well as what life was like once the Pilgrims arrived in America. The Wampanoag Natives help the Pilgrims after they have set up their village and play a central role in the story. During all this Pounce gets into trouble and then disappears! Don't worry, there is a happy ending. 

The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh and illustrated by Helen Sewell 

This children's Thanksgiving book is a 1955 Caldecott Honor Book that starts with both the Mayflower and the Speedwell leaving England. It makes for a great inclusion to help children see the whole story of the Pilgrims. It also features the story of the Hopkins family, who had an addition to their family during the voyage – Oceanus Hopkins was born. The story closes with a time of Thanksgiving depicting the Pilgrims giving thanks to God.

Sarah Gives Thanks by Mike Allegra and illustrated by David Gardner 

We read this book last year, too. I love sharing the story of Sarah Josepha Hale with our children. She provides such a fine example as a determined American. I am very grateful that she persisted after several presidents did not listen to her request to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. How very fitting that it would be Abraham Lincoln who issued the proclamation for a national day of thanksgiving. It may have taken her 36 years, but I am very thankful that we have this wonderful holiday. 

Unit Studies and Useful Resources to Study Thanksgiving 

My Teaching Library 

There are 38 available downloads featuring Thanksgiving from My Teaching Library. You can very easily incorporate some fun word searches, memory verses, vocabulary activities, or even a game of bingo into your homeschool day. There are even two Roman Numerals downloads available that feature Thanksgiving-like mazes that require your homeschooling children to convert Arabic numerals to Roman numerals and back. I printed out several for our son because he has been wanting to learn Roman Numerals.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com 

One of my favorite curriculum sites offers holiday and seasonal resources, including a wide selection of fall-themed lessons, Canadian Thanksgiving lessons, American Thanksgiving lessons, and Thankfulness and Gratitude lessons. From art lessons on how to draw a maple leaf or turkey to writing prompts and copywork, you can find a variety of lessons and activities to help fill out your homeschool days leading up to Thanksgiving. There is even a selection of math games based. And if you want to study the history of more than just Thanksgiving, History of Holidays in America will let your elementary student learn about 20 holidays. 

Holidays – Thanksgiving

Holidays mean so many different things for each individual. Everyone has one or another holiday they prefer over others depending upon which they celebrate in their family. For some, Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday. It conjures up images of families gathered around a large table eating dinner, watching (or playing) football, and relaxing with a cup of coffee and a slice of pumpkin pie.

Memories 

Over the course of my life, Thanksgiving has created many varied memories – from traveling three hours to my uncle's on Thanksgiving day itself or spending time with cousins when I was unmarried to enjoying dinner at our own house to spending it with my husband's family. I even have one memory of working during the early hours of Thanksgiving morning at the zoo helping my fellow Education staff care for our reptiles, amphibians, and insects in our education collection. (That is a fun memory I will always cherish.)

Favorite Foods 

For picky eaters, like myself, Thanksgiving dinner may evoke anxiety and fear. For the longest time, my mom (and later I) would bring something for me to eat in case the typical fare was not something I wanted. To this day, I am still not a huge fan of turkey (but I do love mashed potatoes and gravy!).

Over the years, I have discovered more dishes that I enjoy and found that there are even some that I like which my husband (who is considerably less picky than me) does not like. And of course, if you have children, you know how difficult it can be to find something they might enjoy. Or you find one Thanksgiving they eat everything on their plate and the next one you are bringing a can of Chef Boyardee for them for their Thanksgiving dinner.

Family Fun 

When my mom and I joined our cousins, Thanksgiving meant time to spend together in the kitchen and around the dining room table sharing stories and memories. On a few occasions, we might have played a game but mostly we talked and chatted.

As a parent of small children, Thanksgiving has, at times, been less about socializing with adults and more about keeping the kids entertained or at least not breaking anything. For the last two years, our son has entertained us with a game he created – Toss Pal – using paper (or plastic) cups and teams that attempt to toss their cup onto or into the cup in the middle. He was so excited about playing it this year – especially since Dad bought him his own set of special plastic cups.

The Spirit of Thanksgiving 

With all the food and family fun, it is sometimes easy to overlook that the point of Thanksgiving is giving thanks. Being thankful and showing gratitude for the people in our life is so important on this day and the other 364 days of the year. So let us remember: "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever" (Psalm 107: 1)

How do you spend Thanksgiving? Is it a quiet meal at home? 

Is it in service to others? 

Looking for more Thanksgiving-related posts? Please check out the following:

I joined up with Timberdoodle to share this Holiday post!

A Quest to Celebrate Gratefulness

There are so many ways to help our children be grateful and celebrate that gratefulness not only during the month of November but all year long. Sometimes it is necessary to look beyond the extra things we use and have in our everyday life to see just what we need to have to make our day to day lives successful.

Grateful for Things 

While watching a commercial for an Internet provider, I realized how very grateful I am for the age in which we live. When I tallied up in my head how much I do during the day that requires access to online programs or sites, I was amazed. On a daily basis if I am working on my blog and homeschooling then I need a computer with Internet access, my phone, maybe the television to watch JellyTelly, and sometimes a tablet for teaching with IXL or Matific Galaxy. Then my teen also needs Internet access for his own homeschooling.

Could we homeschool without Internet access? Yes! We have books aplenty, access to our local library, and lots of great print materials. But I am grateful to have my days go more smoothly thanks to access to the Internet.

Grateful for People 

There are times when I need additional help with my blog and with homeschooling. I am very grateful that my husband can find the time to read and edit my blog posts. I have found that my writing is not as strong as it once was. Is this due to aging, my anxiety and depression, or trying to write coherent posts with multiple interruptions? Who knows? But I am grateful my husband edits my blog.

He also steps up the plate when I need help homeschooling. Some times this means helping our six-year-old with a project for Exploring Creation with Astronomy. Other times I need him to step in and help our teen with mathematics or helping with a Chemistry experiment. I am thankful for the opportunity to raise our children together.

I hope that our children will learn to be grateful for things like the Internet and people, especially their father. At the end of the day, we can be happy people if our loved ones are standing by our sides. We have a home, food, clothes, and each other. Most importantly, we have God.

Celebrating Gratefulness 

I joined up with other Timberdoodle bloggers to write about Thanksgiving, gratefulness, and thankfulness this week.

So Close, So Far Away

Please welcome my husband (my editor) in this guest post as he reflects upon Thanksgiving and my late Grandmom-in-law. This post was originally going to be published late last year but we wished to share his thoughts with the family prior to sharing it on my blog.

Thanksgiving. The day we gather as family and proclaim our thanks to God for what we have, what we have been spared, what we have learned, what we have experienced, and what we have been given. Perhaps some of us are hearty enough to be thankful for what is no more.

Thanksgiving conjures up memories of browns and oranges and yellows and reds. Smells of turkey, gravy, stuffing, casseroles, vegetables, breads, rolls, cakes, pies, cookies, egg nog, and firewood smoke come to mind. These sense memories pale, though, compared to the memories of being with my family, such as hearing Grandmom talking with someone, or the laughs of my aunts, or the banter of uncles and cousins around the fire outside the vacation home or in the living room in our hometown. The crack of the pool table in the den or NHL video games on a giant basement TV screen. The day could be represented by a family serving dinner spread out over a wide table in a dining room, a wife cooking for her small family in a small town, or an aunt and uncle with the rest of their families gathering around the light and warmth at whichever house is the host venue.

Grandmom left this Earth the day after Thanksgiving – Black Friday. So named for other reasons, this year it carries a heavier, deeper meaning. Black Friday is so close to Thanksgiving, but so far away because the calendar only moves in one direction. Black Friday is the furthest day from the next Thanksgiving. So, too, Grandmom is now so far away from her family – or (more accurately) from her earthly family. Yet, in reverse, she is so close to the next generations like Black Friday is close to its prior day. Her pedigree is in our very souls. Her laughter, wisdom, and fondness for music in our minds. Her love flows in our hearts. Now, she is among “the cloud of witnesses” the writer of Hebrews tells about in his epistle:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Last week, Grandmom joined Grandpop – my forebear in both name and generation, her sisters, my late first wife, and countless others who named Yeshua Mashiach – Christ Jesus – as Lord and Savior. Because Grandmom believed in her Savior, surely she heard those words we long to hear after we shed our own mortal coils: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” For those who know Jesus, death is merely falling asleep and waking up renewed in Heaven in Jesus’ arms. How else could David and Paul write, “O Death, where is thy sting? Grave, where is thy victory?”

As Thanksgiving gives way to the Christmas season, I am thankful for being Grandmom’s grandson – and for the culture of love that Grandmom fostered in us all. Who else was so forgiving (“Maybe there is an illness in the family.”) or longsuffering (“Maybe they were having a bad day.”)? This is not to cover all of Grandmom’s flaws – as we all have them – but certainly her strengths have taught me many things that I shall treasure until I join her where she is (in glory)—So Close, So Far Away.

If you would like to read more about our family, please see the following posts about our annual Pollyanna Party and more:

Thanksgiving Crafts: Turkey Hand and Foot Print

Completed Project

We decided to make ourselves and the grandparents a hand-print Turkey for Thanksgiving from our toddler. I got the idea from various Facebook pages and Pinterest Pins.

Considering last Christmas my son did not want any parts of having paint on his hands for a mitten ornament we were making, I was pleasantly surprised at his enthusiasm for this project. 

I painted his hands different colors using a cotton ball and finger paints. We also painted his foot brown to make the body of the turkey. Afterwards, I let him paint some Thanksgiving pictures with the cotton balls since they still had paint left on them. 

He loved every minute of it. The end project turned out great. I can't wait to try this next year with his sister.

My Son's Blue Hand

   Sharing this post at Timberdoodle's Blog Hop: Celebrating Gratefulness.