Category Archives: Community

Gratitude, Pass it On!

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grat·i·tude noun ˈgra-tə-ˌtüd, -ˌtyüd : a feeling of appreciation or thanks

“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” -Henri-Frederic Amiel Philosopher, Poet, Critic

Gratitude is being Thankful!

Dallas Clayton is an American author and illustrator best known for his children’s works in the Awesome Book series. Clayton's adventure started a few years ago after he wrote and illustrated a book for his son called An Awesome Book!. The drawings were bold and the message was simple: Don't ever stop dreaming, and when you do dream, dream BIG.

Not a single publisher was interested in the book, so he took matters into his own hands and published it himself. Clayton made the story available to read for free online. People started sharing his story and those people shared his story and so on so forth … readers of the Awesome Book exponentially grew and has impacted children as well as adults. 

Read, The Awesome Book, the book that started it all!

an awesome thanksDallas Clayton published a second book titled,  The Awesome Book of Thanks! 

 A whimsical, Seuss-esque book that will inspire readers to appreciate the big and little things in life. "Deliciously childlike art…skips across the pages, sometimes silly, sometimes practical…and always appealing." (Booklist)

Thanksgiving

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 Use the resources below to explore Thanksgiving with your child. 

READ:

download (12)Thank You Sarah, The Women Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson. Use Sarah's story as inspiration. Think about things you can urge others to do to make a difference in your communities. Brainstorm a list of ways that you can make the community better. Use the Letter Generator to write a letter urging action, just as Sarah Hale did 140 years ago.   Additional Activity Websites:

  • Thanksgiving Timeline This site provides information about how Thanksgiving has been celebrated through the ages-including President Truman "pardoning a turkey" in 1947 and the Native Americans' day of mourning in 1970.
  • The First Thanksgiving Use this interactive website to explore what it was like to travel on the Mayflower and live in Plymouth. 

What really happened at the First Thanksgiving? Become a history detective and find out! In this fun activity, take on the role of “history detective” to investigate what really happened at the famous 1621 celebration. Along the way, you will see a few primary source documents which include a letter written by an eyewitness to the event, Wampanoag traditions of giving thanks, and a visit to  Pilgrim Mary Allerton’s home. As a final activity, you can design and print your own Thanksgiving exhibit panel. Click the image below to launch the activity.

Screenshot 2014-11-23 17.36.10

The Unites States of Thanksgiving is a post from the NY Times that I discovered via the post The Best Sites To Learn & Teach About Thanksgiving. Click through to see 50 Thanksgiving dishes gathered from each of the 50 unique states in the U.S. The cool thing is that it will show you your state first! Which dish will you help prepare for your Thanksgiving day meal? 

Watch a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving!

Socktober

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Every night in the United States an estimated 600,000 people live on the streets. This October, SoulPancake and Kid President want 2 million people to prove that even the smallest acts of love, like donating a pair of socks, can make a big difference in the lives of our neighbors who are homeless. Socktober was launched by Kid President creator Brad Montague four years ago. It’s a movement to get kids and grown-ups to help the homeless in an easy, fun way.

Last year, more than 10,000 schools, families, businesses, and churches rallied together to bring Socktober to life. People from every state and continent have taken part in Socktober! This year, William O. Schaefer is participating and we are having a "Sock Drive" the last week in October! All of the socks we collect as a community will be donated to a local shelter.

H/T to Ms. Kolesar!

Take the Sock Challenge. Leave your answer in the comments below!