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Gabrielle Fischer

Fun Facts About Thanksgiving!

Once every year, American friends and family gather together to give thanks and celebrate Thanksgiving. We eat delicious foods like turkey, and biscuits, and pie, and everyone is usually feeling happy and grateful and loving. 

Fun Fact #1: The very first Thanksgiving took place almost 400 years ago!

The story of Thanksgiving Day is also the story of America. You see, a long time ago, the king decided which church his people would attend in England. Some people wanted to choose for themselves and left England to find a place where they could pick their church. 


After traveling around for a while, these English families got on the Mayflower boat and sailed from England to America. They were hoping to land in Virginia, but the weather was terrible, and they had to stop sailing, so they landed in Massachusetts instead. 

Fun Fact #2: 101 Pilgrims came from England to America on the Mayflower! 

Massachusetts can be cold in the winter when the pilgrims landed there. Their trip took 66 days, so they were also exhausted and hungry, besides being cold. Very, very hungry. 


Lucky for the Pilgrims, the Native Americans had already lived in America for a long time. They knew how to grow food, hunt, and fish and shared their food with the starving Pilgrims. Without their help, the settlers would have died. 

Fun Fact #3: Native Americans had lived in America for more than 12,000 years before the Pilgrims came! 

The following spring, two very special Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to use fish to prepare their lands so they could grow crops like corn, pumpkins, beans, and peas. These Native Americans were called Abenaki and Tiasquantum and were part of the Samoset tribe. 


The Pilgrims and the Samoset tribe were friends and decided to join to protect each other from other Native American tribes who might attack them. 

Fun Fact #4: Native Americans used nicknames, too. Tiasquantum’s nickname was Squanto! 

That November, the Pilgrims harvested the foods the Native Americans had taught them to grow. They had so much food that they decided to celebrate their harvest and went out to hunt for deer to eat at their feast. The Native Americans heard the Pilgrims’ guns and got worried that they would break their deal and attack them, so they sent their men to find out what was happening. 

When the Native Americans learned what the Pilgrims were doing, they joined in the hunt. The Pilgrims invited them to their feast to say thank you for all that the Native Americans had taught them. All in all, 53 Pilgrims and 91 Native Americans were at the First Thanksgiving! Can you imagine having 144 people at your house for Thanksgiving? Instead of turkey, biscuits, and pie, the Pilgrims and Native Americans ate deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat. 

Fun Fact #5: The celebration lasted for three whole days! The Pilgrims must have been stuffed! 

The American people celebrated the fall harvest for another 200 years until President Abraham Lincoln officially declared Thanksgiving Day in 1863. Now we celebrate Thanksgiving every year on the fourth Thursday in November. 

Fun Facts About Thanksgiving!

Once every year, American friends and family gather together to give thanks and celebrate Thanksgiving. We eat delicious foods like turkey, and biscuits, and pie, and everyone is usually feeling happy and grateful and loving. 

Fun Fact #1: The very first Thanksgiving took place almost 400 years ago!

The story of Thanksgiving Day is also the story of America. You see, a long time ago, the king decided which church his people would attend in England. Some people wanted to choose for themselves and left England to find a place where they could pick their church. 


After traveling around for a while, these English families got on the Mayflower boat and sailed from England to America. They were hoping to land in Virginia, but the weather was terrible, and they had to stop sailing, so they landed in Massachusetts instead. 

Fun Fact #2: 101 Pilgrims came from England to America on the Mayflower! 

Massachusetts can be cold in the winter when the pilgrims landed there. Their trip took 66 days, so they were also exhausted and hungry, besides being cold. Very, very hungry. 


Lucky for the Pilgrims, the Native Americans had already lived in America for a long time. They knew how to grow food, hunt, and fish and shared their food with the starving Pilgrims. Without their help, the settlers would have died. 

Fun Fact #3: Native Americans had lived in America for more than 12,000 years before the Pilgrims came! 

The following spring, two very special Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to use fish to prepare their lands so they could grow crops like corn, pumpkins, beans, and peas. These Native Americans were called Abenaki and Tiasquantum and were part of the Samoset tribe. 


The Pilgrims and the Samoset tribe were friends and decided to join to protect each other from other Native American tribes who might attack them. 

Fun Fact #4: Native Americans used nicknames, too. Tiasquantum’s nickname was Squanto! 

That November, the Pilgrims harvested the foods the Native Americans had taught them to grow. They had so much food that they decided to celebrate their harvest and went out to hunt for deer to eat at their feast. The Native Americans heard the Pilgrims’ guns and got worried that they would break their deal and attack them, so they sent their men to find out what was happening. 

When the Native Americans learned what the Pilgrims were doing, they joined in the hunt. The Pilgrims invited them to their feast to say thank you for all that the Native Americans had taught them. All in all, 53 Pilgrims and 91 Native Americans were at the First Thanksgiving! Can you imagine having 144 people at your house for Thanksgiving? Instead of turkey, biscuits, and pie, the Pilgrims and Native Americans ate deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat. 

Fun Fact #5: The celebration lasted for three whole days! The Pilgrims must have been stuffed! 

The American people celebrated the fall harvest for another 200 years until President Abraham Lincoln officially declared Thanksgiving Day in 1863. Now we celebrate Thanksgiving every year on the fourth Thursday in November. 

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Thanksgiving Printable: Make A Table Place Card Decoration

Spruce up your Thanksgiving feast...while practicing fine motor and writing skills... with this fun, printable art project. Your little turkeys will love it!

Thanksgiving Printable: Make A Table Place Card Decoration

Spruce up your Thanksgiving feast...while practicing fine motor and writing skills... with this fun, printable art project. Your little turkeys will love it!

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The Great Pumpkin Experiment

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The shelves are bursting with candy corn confections this time of year. The mellocreme pumpkin is a treat made of honey and sugar, simply ripe with scientific possibilities. Grab your little goblins for this ghoulish experiment: dissolve candy pumpkins in different liquids. Stand back to watch the magic! This is an experiment of testing hypotheses. What does your little scientist think will happen in each liquid? Will the pumpkins float? Sink? Dissolve? Stay intact? What happens if you add a little heat? Let’s find out!

Supplies:

  • Candy corn pumpkins
  • Clear glasses
  • Water, warm and cold
  • Vinegar
  • Vegetable oil
  • Milk
  • Microwave
  • Timer

1. Label your clear glasses for each liquid. Fill your glasses about half full.
2. Drop in each pumpkin. Observe for any immediate reaction. Grab your timer and begin to measure your observations in five-minute increments.

3. 5 Minutes: There was lots of bubbling in the warm water and little difference to the other liquids.

4. 10 Minutes: The cold water and vinegar liquids began to turn orange as the sugar “skin” of the pumpkin began to shed, but not much change for the pumpkin in milk.

5. 15 minutes: The cold water, warm water, and vinegar pumpkins all began to shed their “skin,” providing a spooky element to the experiment!

6. 30 Minutes: At last! The theory that the pumpkins might float comes true as the pumpkin’s sugar skin lifts it to the top of the glass. This might provide giggles, as your experiment now looks a little haunted. Who invited the ghost?

8. To add a little interest, put the oil pumpkin in the microwave for 20 seconds. You’ll find it will bubble and then wholly flatten out.

9. Have an adult fish the flattened pumpkin out. You will find it is very pliable and is almost plastic-like in consistency. Your little scientists might be taken aback that this is, in fact, something we can eat!

Findings

The milk broke down the sugary pumpkin over time by dissolving it. The warm water made the reaction slightly faster, but the two water temperatures and the vinegar broke down the candy first, creating sugar “ghosts” from the outer coating. And while the oil had little effect on the pumpkin when resting in the liquid, adding the heat made the natural reaction occur. It was decided that time was the fundamental factor in this experiment: the more time the pumpkins sat in the liquids, the more chances to observe!

The Great Pumpkin Experiment

Join our email list for more free activities!

The shelves are bursting with candy corn confections this time of year. The mellocreme pumpkin is a treat made of honey and sugar, simply ripe with scientific possibilities. Grab your little goblins for this ghoulish experiment: dissolve candy pumpkins in different liquids. Stand back to watch the magic! This is an experiment of testing hypotheses. What does your little scientist think will happen in each liquid? Will the pumpkins float? Sink? Dissolve? Stay intact? What happens if you add a little heat? Let’s find out!

Supplies:

  • Candy corn pumpkins
  • Clear glasses
  • Water, warm and cold
  • Vinegar
  • Vegetable oil
  • Milk
  • Microwave
  • Timer

1. Label your clear glasses for each liquid. Fill your glasses about half full.
2. Drop in each pumpkin. Observe for any immediate reaction. Grab your timer and begin to measure your observations in five-minute increments.

3. 5 Minutes: There was lots of bubbling in the warm water and little difference to the other liquids.

4. 10 Minutes: The cold water and vinegar liquids began to turn orange as the sugar “skin” of the pumpkin began to shed, but not much change for the pumpkin in milk.

5. 15 minutes: The cold water, warm water, and vinegar pumpkins all began to shed their “skin,” providing a spooky element to the experiment!

6. 30 Minutes: At last! The theory that the pumpkins might float comes true as the pumpkin’s sugar skin lifts it to the top of the glass. This might provide giggles, as your experiment now looks a little haunted. Who invited the ghost?

8. To add a little interest, put the oil pumpkin in the microwave for 20 seconds. You’ll find it will bubble and then wholly flatten out.

9. Have an adult fish the flattened pumpkin out. You will find it is very pliable and is almost plastic-like in consistency. Your little scientists might be taken aback that this is, in fact, something we can eat!

Findings

The milk broke down the sugary pumpkin over time by dissolving it. The warm water made the reaction slightly faster, but the two water temperatures and the vinegar broke down the candy first, creating sugar “ghosts” from the outer coating. And while the oil had little effect on the pumpkin when resting in the liquid, adding the heat made the natural reaction occur. It was decided that time was the fundamental factor in this experiment: the more time the pumpkins sat in the liquids, the more chances to observe!

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5 Tools for Your Fall Discovery Table

Are you excited about the fall? Cooler weather, changing colors, and leaves and seeds on the ground make for a great time to get outside and explore nature. Bring a nature inside and set up a discovery table. Today I’m sharing five tools for your fall discovery table. These items will help your little scientists make observations and use real science tools in the process.

5 Tools to Add:

1. Sensory Tubes: Sensory Tubes are a fantastic way to let children observe things through sight and/or smell. They are especially handy for items that you don’t necessarily want the children to touch (sticky pine cones, for example). I added different nature items to the sensory tubes and then also placed items on the tray that can be touched and explored. The focus in this particular discovery table is comparing seeds and leaves. I chose a seed pod, leaves, pine cones, and pine needles. 

Questions to ask:

  • What do you notice about the different leaves? (colors, shape, size) 
  • What time of year do trees like sycamore and maple lose all of their leaves? (fall/autumn) 
  • Pine cones and pine needles come from evergreen trees. They lose their needles a little at a time; not all at once. Compare the green pine needles to the brown ones. What do you think the difference is? (time – the green needles fell more recently than the brown needles, the brown needles are older/drier) 

2. Magnifying Glass: A magnifying glass is perfect for looking at objects more closely. Lay a magnifying glass next to a few nature objects and encourage your child to explore. Here I’ve used walnuts, bark, and pine cones.  

Observations to make: 

  • What do you notice about the different kinds of bark? (color, texture, etc.) 
  • Look at the inside of the walnut. Compare it to the outside. 
  • How is the small pine cone similar to the large pine cone? (look at the cone scales, or seed scales) 

3. Tweezers: Tweezers are a tool worth using for multiple reasons. Your child can take things apart like these sycamore seeds to observe the insides more closely. (Combine the tweezers with the magnifying glass.) Tweezers also work on fine motor skills and hand strengthening. Encourage your child to pick things up with the tweezers. Move things from one side of the tray to the next.  

4. Tape Measure or Ruler

Measuring is a science and math skill that is important to practice. Once you’ve taught your child how to use a ruler or tape measure properly, set them off to compare the sizes of different nature items. We used the tape measure and ruler. My kids love finding the objects on the card and then measuring them. Taking the tape measure outside on your next nature walk would also be fun. Measure the distance between trees or the length of a large rock. The possibilities are endless. 

5. Balance: My favorite addition to the fall discovery table is a balance. We used the Three Bear Family® Beginner's Balance Set (similar item shown). The set comes with caterpillars and leaves in different sizes and weights. I placed the leaves next to the balance and added in some nature items (pinecone, walnuts, acorns, etc.). Encourage your child to explore the balance. Talk to her about how the scale works. When the items on each side weighh the same, the balance will be in the middle. The heavier side will be lower than the lighter side. 

Questions to ask: 

  • How many leaves will it take to balance a walnut? 
  • Which is heavier: a pine cone or an acorn? 
  • Which weighs less: a hickory nut or three orange leaves? 

Final Tips for your Fall Discovery Table

Setting up a fall discovery table is excellent for various age groups. The goal is to let children make observations and explore the nature items. It’s a good idea to show your child how to use the tools first and then let them explore freely. They can ask questions to you and learn more about the items through books or additional resources you provide. What’s your favorite part about fall? 

5 Tools for Your Fall Discovery Table

Are you excited about the fall? Cooler weather, changing colors, and leaves and seeds on the ground make for a great time to get outside and explore nature. Bring a nature inside and set up a discovery table. Today I’m sharing five tools for your fall discovery table. These items will help your little scientists make observations and use real science tools in the process.

5 Tools to Add:

1. Sensory Tubes: Sensory Tubes are a fantastic way to let children observe things through sight and/or smell. They are especially handy for items that you don’t necessarily want the children to touch (sticky pine cones, for example). I added different nature items to the sensory tubes and then also placed items on the tray that can be touched and explored. The focus in this particular discovery table is comparing seeds and leaves. I chose a seed pod, leaves, pine cones, and pine needles. 

Questions to ask:

  • What do you notice about the different leaves? (colors, shape, size) 
  • What time of year do trees like sycamore and maple lose all of their leaves? (fall/autumn) 
  • Pine cones and pine needles come from evergreen trees. They lose their needles a little at a time; not all at once. Compare the green pine needles to the brown ones. What do you think the difference is? (time – the green needles fell more recently than the brown needles, the brown needles are older/drier) 

2. Magnifying Glass: A magnifying glass is perfect for looking at objects more closely. Lay a magnifying glass next to a few nature objects and encourage your child to explore. Here I’ve used walnuts, bark, and pine cones.  

Observations to make: 

  • What do you notice about the different kinds of bark? (color, texture, etc.) 
  • Look at the inside of the walnut. Compare it to the outside. 
  • How is the small pine cone similar to the large pine cone? (look at the cone scales, or seed scales) 

3. Tweezers: Tweezers are a tool worth using for multiple reasons. Your child can take things apart like these sycamore seeds to observe the insides more closely. (Combine the tweezers with the magnifying glass.) Tweezers also work on fine motor skills and hand strengthening. Encourage your child to pick things up with the tweezers. Move things from one side of the tray to the next.  

4. Tape Measure or Ruler

Measuring is a science and math skill that is important to practice. Once you’ve taught your child how to use a ruler or tape measure properly, set them off to compare the sizes of different nature items. We used the tape measure and ruler. My kids love finding the objects on the card and then measuring them. Taking the tape measure outside on your next nature walk would also be fun. Measure the distance between trees or the length of a large rock. The possibilities are endless. 

5. Balance: My favorite addition to the fall discovery table is a balance. We used the Three Bear Family® Beginner's Balance Set (similar item shown). The set comes with caterpillars and leaves in different sizes and weights. I placed the leaves next to the balance and added in some nature items (pinecone, walnuts, acorns, etc.). Encourage your child to explore the balance. Talk to her about how the scale works. When the items on each side weighh the same, the balance will be in the middle. The heavier side will be lower than the lighter side. 

Questions to ask: 

  • How many leaves will it take to balance a walnut? 
  • Which is heavier: a pine cone or an acorn? 
  • Which weighs less: a hickory nut or three orange leaves? 

Final Tips for your Fall Discovery Table

Setting up a fall discovery table is excellent for various age groups. The goal is to let children make observations and explore the nature items. It’s a good idea to show your child how to use the tools first and then let them explore freely. They can ask questions to you and learn more about the items through books or additional resources you provide. What’s your favorite part about fall? 

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Fun Fall Sensory Water Table for Siblings

I love it when the leaves start to change color, and it creates so many fun Fall-themed learning opportunities for my three- and seven-year-old. For this activity, we enjoyed a leaf hunt outside, looking for all sorts of shapes and colors of leaves. I then added a few simple tools and ingredients to turn our new leaf collection into an exciting sensory water table. 

What you'll need for the sensory bin:

  • Jumbo Tweezers
  • Fine Motor Tool Set
  • Sensory table or containers 
  • Scissors 
  • Bowls 
  • Magnifying glass 
  • Water (we also added a few drops of food coloring)
  • Leaves from a nature walk 

Some of my all-time favorite activities start with a nature walk; there’s just something so special about the learning and creativity that comes from the great outdoors! Before we left the playground, we worked together to gather up a fun selection of leaves that had fallen from the trees. As we did so, we spoke about the different colors and shapes we could see. I put my seven-year-old in charge of counting how many leaves we had in our collection.

How to set up the table

Once we got home, the kids refueled with a snack while I quickly set up the water table. I used our IKEA FLISAT Children’s Table with two small TROFAST bins and one large one. I added water and five drops of green food coloring to the large bin placed the leaves in one of the small bins, and then the fine motor and cutting tools in the other small bin. It was terrific how inviting this setup looked, considering its simplicity!

Let's Play

I always try to keep sensory bin setups as open-ended as possible to build my children’s confidence to explore independently. Straight away, my seven-year-old started experimenting to see whether the leaves would float or sink in the water. Together they spent ages using scissors to cut the leaves into different shapes. We had a star, a man, a dinosaur, and even a boat floating on the water. The fine motor skills at work were awesome. This is where having an older sibling helps because it encourages creativity and imagination for the little one!

Both my kids enjoyed exploring the different fine motor tools. Big bro liked using the Squeezy Tweezers™ and Handy Scooper™ to rescue the leaves from the water and then drop them back in. Meanwhile, baby sis was all about making the leaf confetti and sprinkling it into her bowls of green leaf soup!

Adding a magnifying glass to any sensory setup can stimulate more in-depth conversations and observations. The kids were fascinated by the veins running through the leaves and experimented with ripping the leaves to explore them further.

This was such a fun sensory and fine motor setup, and best of all, it appealed to both ages. It pays off to ensure a range of open-ended tools and containers with a sensory table because you never quite know how kids will choose to play with it.

Writer's bio

Lucy Baker is a Mom of two (4 & 8 years old) passionate about creative play and hands-on learning. She firmly believes in providing children with the opportunity to learn through play and being part of their play journey as a parent. See more of her creative play ideas and process art projects on Instagram @findthelittlemind and over on her blog, Find the Little Mind.

Fun Fall Sensory Water Table for Siblings

I love it when the leaves start to change color, and it creates so many fun Fall-themed learning opportunities for my three- and seven-year-old. For this activity, we enjoyed a leaf hunt outside, looking for all sorts of shapes and colors of leaves. I then added a few simple tools and ingredients to turn our new leaf collection into an exciting sensory water table. 

What you'll need for the sensory bin:

  • Jumbo Tweezers
  • Fine Motor Tool Set
  • Sensory table or containers 
  • Scissors 
  • Bowls 
  • Magnifying glass 
  • Water (we also added a few drops of food coloring)
  • Leaves from a nature walk 

Some of my all-time favorite activities start with a nature walk; there’s just something so special about the learning and creativity that comes from the great outdoors! Before we left the playground, we worked together to gather up a fun selection of leaves that had fallen from the trees. As we did so, we spoke about the different colors and shapes we could see. I put my seven-year-old in charge of counting how many leaves we had in our collection.

How to set up the table

Once we got home, the kids refueled with a snack while I quickly set up the water table. I used our IKEA FLISAT Children’s Table with two small TROFAST bins and one large one. I added water and five drops of green food coloring to the large bin placed the leaves in one of the small bins, and then the fine motor and cutting tools in the other small bin. It was terrific how inviting this setup looked, considering its simplicity!

Let's Play

I always try to keep sensory bin setups as open-ended as possible to build my children’s confidence to explore independently. Straight away, my seven-year-old started experimenting to see whether the leaves would float or sink in the water. Together they spent ages using scissors to cut the leaves into different shapes. We had a star, a man, a dinosaur, and even a boat floating on the water. The fine motor skills at work were awesome. This is where having an older sibling helps because it encourages creativity and imagination for the little one!

Both my kids enjoyed exploring the different fine motor tools. Big bro liked using the Squeezy Tweezers™ and Handy Scooper™ to rescue the leaves from the water and then drop them back in. Meanwhile, baby sis was all about making the leaf confetti and sprinkling it into her bowls of green leaf soup!

Adding a magnifying glass to any sensory setup can stimulate more in-depth conversations and observations. The kids were fascinated by the veins running through the leaves and experimented with ripping the leaves to explore them further.

This was such a fun sensory and fine motor setup, and best of all, it appealed to both ages. It pays off to ensure a range of open-ended tools and containers with a sensory table because you never quite know how kids will choose to play with it.

Writer's bio

Lucy Baker is a Mom of two (4 & 8 years old) passionate about creative play and hands-on learning. She firmly believes in providing children with the opportunity to learn through play and being part of their play journey as a parent. See more of her creative play ideas and process art projects on Instagram @findthelittlemind and over on her blog, Find the Little Mind.

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