Not a Turkey

Of course we didn't only make turkeys. We also made a banner on which we wrote things we are thankful for. 

Anthony made an Indian headband at the Y (Katie made one too at school).

I stocked up on ideas for this school-free week, and we went to the museum of Natural Science on Monday. Both little ones were exhausted and required a nap when we got home, so Ellie got some rare one-on-one time. I gave her popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, plastic cutlery, and rubber bands, and told her to make a catapult. 

I made one too. 

We launched candy corn. 

We also made paper boats, and we pretended the Indians were shooting at the Pilgrims before Ellie declared that they were friends and should not be fighting. 

Eventually, Katie woke up and Paul got home, and they joined in on the fun. We even tried shooting the candy corn into each other's mouths with the catapults. I'm thinking this might be a fun Thanksgiving day activity with extended family...

We also cut open a pumpkin and put potting soil in it to see if we can get the seeds to sprout. Time will tell...

And I found some cute tracing and do-a-dot worksheets for the girls too. They were a little beneath Ellie, but she adjusted them to her skill level by adding to the pictures. 

I had picked up these growing crystal trees over the summer and never got around to doing them with the girls. They are fall colors, so I figured they'd be just right. It was cool to see them grow. 

We also had to make slime. "Pumpkin Pie" slime, of course, orange in color and scented with cinnamon... In mini pie tins for the full experience. I tried to make soluble fiber slime, but I must have bought the wrong kind of fiber, because it totally didn't work... So we went with tried and true borax and glue. Perfect. 

Next up, candy corn science experiments. We predicted what would happen if we put candy corn in water, microwaved it, and froze it. Then we performed the experiments and recorded our observations. Pretty cool. 

I take no credit for the activity, but I can't remember where the idea and printable came from. 

And lastly, I put together some placecards/napkin holders with everyone's photo. Ellie picked who got to be an Indian and who got to be a pilgrim. I think they turned out super cute!

Our table is ready... 

We really do have so much to be thankful for.