Happy Thanksgiving!

Due to a change in schedule, I was with the CE1 (second grade) students again this week. Today I got to teach them the basics about Thanksgiving on the actual holiday! Since the French do not celebrate Thanksgiving, this was the first time my students had heard about the holiday.

I read The First Thanksgiving by Nancy Davis, a very easy flip book for young readers. The book gives a very simple history of the first Thanksgiving- of how the Pilgrims came over on a ship, how the Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to farm, and how they gave thanks for the harvest.

In addition, thanks to another assistant, I was able to read Run, Turkey, Run! written by Diane Mayr, and illustrated by Laura Rader. The book follows the farmyard adventures of Turkey, who is running away and hiding from the farmer on Thanksgiving Day. The book is excellent for young English Language Learners because it is repetitive and reviews familiar farm animals. The story also reviews with readers traditional Thanksgiving foods.

In other news, my floor-mates and I were feeling crafty this week, so we made two paper-mache turkeys (une dinde). They will be centerpieces at our Thanksgiving meal tomorrow with the other assistants!

For those who want to plan a traditional Thanksgiving meal in France, be prepared for the following: You must order a turkey in advance, and it will be cher (expensive). You will most likely find sweet potatoes and cranberries (will be expensive) in a local market (These foods are usually not in a supermarket). You will have to know how to make pumpkin pie from real pumpkins because French grocery stores do not sell canned pumpkin.

Looking forward to the Thanksgiving meal tomorrow, even if it is a day late! Joyeuse Thanksgiving!