BOOK OF THE DAY: Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell

Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, this seems like a great book to share with your little ones! During this time of the year, you have to be sensitive to various cultural practices and family beliefs. This is also the time of year when it's easy to fall into the "Pilgrim and Indian" trap. Some of us get caught up stereotyping these groups by making cute little Pilgrim hats and
"Inidan" (i.e. Native American) headbands. Some of us forget that for some people, the history of the first Thanksgiving is not a happy and celebratory time. So, instead, it's a good time of year to focus instead on the things that most of us have in common: family, sharing, family celebrations, family feasts, and things for which we are thankful.

Related Activities:

• Have a feast in your classroom. Invite parents and family members to join.
• Here is a GREAT 25 page activity guide/lesson plan for this story.
• Here is another activity guide that includes a fact page, parent page and recipe cards.
• Here are activity cards that include recipes, a rhyming activity, and other experiences.
• If your school is close to a grocery store, arrange a field trip to the store to purchase items for your feast or for a recipe.
• Collect pictures of foods for children to cut (the coupon section of the newspaper and food magazines are great sources). Give each child a paper plate and allow them to make a collage of their own feast.
• Go online and print pictures of families having feasts; share these photos with the children and let them share their own experiences with the class.
• Encourage children to create a "feast" in the housekeeping or dramatic play areas. Provide table cloths, centerpieces, and all of the other necessary trimmings for a feast!