Activities for Squanto & the First Thanksgiving
Tisquantum is better known as Squanto. Before helping the pilgrims, he had been sold into slavery in Spain. He eventually made it back to American but found that a plague had killed all of his people. Squanto stayed and helped the pilgrims, who would have died without his knowledge of agriculture. The European seeds that the pilgrims planted did not yield any food, but the corn harvest saved them from starvation. Thanksgiving celebrates this first havest celebration. Using activities to celebrate the first Thanksgiving and the life of Squanto will allow children participate in festivities. Does this Spark an idea?
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Maple Syrup
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Taps are used to extract maple sap. Squanto taught the pilgrims how to tap maple trees and extract the sap. On Thanksgiving morning, gather the family around the table and serve a breakfast of pancakes and syrup, explaining how Squanto helped the pilgrims. Use 100 percent real maple syrup and show them pictures of the tapping equipment that is used to extract maple sap. You can also use different flavors of maple syrup to show the contrasts between pure maple syrup that would have been used by the pilgrims and the varieties that are now available with modern technology.
Fish Fertilizer
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The trace minerals in fish act as fertilizer. Squanto showed the pilgrims how to plant fish with their crops in order to help them grow better. Give the children a small flower planter. Let them fill their planters with potting soil and plant seeds in the middle of the planter. Choose seeds and a planting day that will allow enough time for them to grow by Thanksgiving. Each time the children water their plant, have them use a fish emulsion fertilizer to help the seed grow faster.
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Collage
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Incorporate corn into the collage. Let the children go on a nature hunt for materials to make collages. They should gather natural materials such as grass, twigs and acorns. Give the children kernels of corn or husk to use on their collage to symbolize the importance of corn with the first Thanksgiving. Ask them to add a few facts about Squanto's life and draw pictures of some of the foods that were served at their harvest celebration. After their collages are finished, display their art as Thanksgiving decorations.
Thanksgiving Pageant
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A stage play can be performed in the evening or during school hours. Write out a simple stage play for the children to act out in a Thanksgiving pageant. Use the script writing process as a teaching method by allowing the children to tell you what should be written into the pageant based on the knowledge they have acquired of Squanto, the pilgrims and their first harvest celebration. Writing and performing their suggestions of the chain of events that led up to the first harvest celebration will help children to retain the information they have learned.
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References
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