Day seven was our last “serious” day of Thanksgiving School (tomorrow is our equivalent of a party day). We started by reading another book in “The American Story” series: The New Americans. This book picks up where Exploration and Conquest left off, and details how the different colonies in America were settled, and what countries were responsible for the settlement of these colonies. Turkey and Bunny like this series so much (good-storytelling and excellent artwork) that they can’t wait to read the next one, about the French and Indian War. They’ll have to wait until we get it, though!

We also read a fictional story about what Thanksgiving was like in the 19th century–An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott. This is a heart-warming story about a group of siblings who work to prepare the Thanksgiving meal for their parents when an emergency surprises them on the holiday. Of course there are some mix-ups, but they still have a wonderful holiday, and their hard work is appreciated by everyone. I have an older edition of this book, and the illustrations are beautiful–I can’t speak to the illustrations in the newer edition, though.

Our craft for the day was supposed to be a felt and pipe cleaner turkey from another kit I picked up on clearance at Jo-Ann’s. We learned a lesson about craft kits, though–sometimes they just don’t work as advertised. The directions included with the kit were incorrect, and while I figured out what they were supposed to be, the pieces just didn’t work together the way they were supposed to. We regrouped, and I came up with an idea for turkey stick puppets–not as cute as what I had planned, but at least Turkey and Bunny could actually make them successfully. I’ve seen their Pilgrim puppets hunting their turkeys, and found the turkeys riding their paper plate Mayflowers, so I don’t think they’re too disappointed that we didn’t get to do our originally scheduled craft!