Today, we turned our attention to the actual celebration of the first Thanksgiving (which wasn’t even called Thanksgiving at all!).

Our books did overlap with some of our other readings, particularly the ones having to do with the Mayflower voyage. The focus of each, however, was why the Pilgrims were so thankful, and what their celebration looked like. We started with The Thanksgiving Story, which focuses on the Hopkins family, who are known for having the first baby (Oceanus) born upon the Mayflower (and the only baby born at sea). We then read If You Were At…The First Thanksgiving, which is always a favorite because of the question and answer format. Our third selection for the day was Thanksgiving: A Harvest Celebration, which focuses on Who the Pilgrims (and we) were thankful to!

Tomorrow we’re moving on to Thanksgiving celebrations in the 1800s, including a look at a Canadian pioneer Thanksgiving, and how Thanksgiving became a national holiday. We also have another fun craft project…this one from a kit I got from Oriental Trading. I can’t believe our Thanksgiving school is winding down already, but we still have two days next week to look forward to, in addition to tomorrow!