Thanksgiving

Create Your Own Mayflower Compact – New and Improved!

October 24, 2018 by Amy Leave a Comment

I love Thanksgiving. I love everything about it – but I most love the real historical information. Not the cranberry-sauce-from-a-can version, but the we-were-starving-and-now-we-have-much-to-be-thankful-for version.

When I was nine, my grandmother took me to Plimoth Plantation. It was amazing! It was the first time I really tried to put myself in the shoes of historical figures. It was cool and rainy that day, and the houses were dark and smoky. I remember wondering what it must have been like to be cramped into that whole space, more than one whole family at a time, especially with people very sick, for that long, first winter.

Fast forward a few years. When I began to teach, I really wanted to study Thanksgiving differently. I wanted to teach my kids about the real story, and since North Carolina is pretty far from Massachusetts, it was a good bet that none of my students had been to Plimoth.

That’s when I began to teach a big hands-on history unit about the Separatists, the Wampanoag, and … the Mayflower. My favorite way to kick off this unit was by creating our own version of the Mayflower Compact.

The Mayflower Compact was an agreement created when the people on board the Mayflower realized that they weren’t going to be settling where they planned – and where they had a formal document with the king giving them permission to do so. They needed a new document like that, but it would take time for the Mayflower to get that permission and then bring it back to the settlers. In the meantime, they wanted something that clearly stated their purpose for settling in the New World. This compact, or agreement, is thought to have influenced our Declaration of Independence.

I used the Mayflower Compact as a way to discuss behavior for the upcoming hands-on activities. We talked about the original document, it’s meaning, and why people signed it; then we talked about our purpose for our fun projects to come and what our expectations were. My students then used this discussion to write their own version of the Mayflower Compact, modeled after the original.

That’s why I created this product. Inside you’ll find copies of printables with various stages of scaffolding, in both print and a cursive font, for students to sign or create their own Mayflower Compact. There’s also an informational handout and links to sites with more information. There’s a planning sheet designed to help your students think through each part of the Compact before they begin formally writing theirs. There’s also a comprehension checkpoint that could be used for homework, individual or group analysis, or as a study guide or quiz.

I’ve done all the work for you – everything is here, ready for you to print and hand to your students. Bring the real Thanksgiving to life this year in your classroom, and kick it all off with your own Mayflower Compact.

Get a Create Your Own Mayflower Compact printable pack here.

Looking for other creative, time-saving teaching ideas? Check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store here.

Simple Slow Cooker Stuffing

August 4, 2014 by Amy

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My mom adapted her stuffing recipe years ago to use in a slow cooker, and that’s the basis for this recipe. It’s perfect for the holidays – it frees up oven space for roasting pans, it neither burns nor dries out, and the flavors only intensify with time.

Stuffing – my family calls it filling – has always been my favorite part of a holiday meal (besides the mashed potatoes, maybe). My family tears the bread together, chops the veggies together, and then we smell it cooking for hours.

Making it in the slow cooker is even better. We still get the togetherness of tearing and seasoning, even the great smell, but without the hot-oven-stirring or the fear of burning the bread. It can even be made ahead!

Making our stuffing this way has totally simplified our holiday meal. I hope that you like it, too!

Simple Slow Cooker Stuffing

2014-08-04 14:22:00

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Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

1813g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 4495

Calories from Fat 1199

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 137g

210%

Saturated Fat 68g

340%

Trans Fat 4g

Polyunsaturated Fat 25g

Monounsaturated Fat 33g

Cholesterol 247mg

82%

Sodium 7041mg

293%

Total Carbohydrates 681g

227%

Dietary Fiber 41g

164%

Sugars 77g

Protein 130g

Vitamin A

69%

Vitamin C

21%

Calcium

365%

Iron

280%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Does this look wrong?

Ingredients

2 loaves of bread, white, wheat, or a mix of both
2-4 celery stems, minced
1 onion, minced
1 stick of butter
1/2 c. chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 - 1 t. poultry seasoning
1/2 t. celery seeds

Instructions

Tear the bread into small, bite-sized pieces.
Saute the veggies into a small frying pan with the butter and seasonings.
If you're making this ahead, put the butter mixture into the fridge. Otherwise, continue!
Put as much of the torn bread as fits into your slow cooker. It's okay if it doesn't all fit right away - it will!
Stir the butter mixture into the bread until it's well mixed.
Cook over low heat for several hours or all day. The flavor will intensify as it cooks, so the longer it cooks, the stronger the flavors! I like it best after about 6-7 hours.
As the bread cooks down, add more and stir. For a stronger, moister stuffing, add the chicken stock.
Serve hot.

By Ann Laughlin

beta

calories

4495

fat

137g

protein

130g

carbs

681g

A Nest in the Rocks http://anestintherocks.com/

How do you make your filling?

Write Your Own Thanksgiving Psalm

July 21, 2014 by Amy 1 Comment

One thing that I love about homeschooling is the flexibility to go with the flow when inspiration strikes, and sometimes that springs from the scripture I read during my own early morning quiet time.

A few months ago, when I was reading the Psalms, I was struck by the repetition in Psalm 103. I liked the detail, the way that David listed what he was thankful for, and it reminded me of parts of the New Testament and how we are to give thanks always. I decided that this would be a great way for us to recognize just how many blessings God showers upon us, and so the Psalm 103-Bradsher-style began.

We started with a roll of easel paper and our favorite smelly markers. We chose to keep the first and last stanza of the psalm but to make our own list in between. We also kept the sentence “May we never forget the good things He does for us.” I acted as scribe so that the kids could think creatively and not worry about spelling or grammar.

They soon were shouting out things they were grateful for, and as their list grew longer, their sentences became more poetic. After writing a full door-length worth of blessings, we ended our psalm as David did.

Then the kids took the smelly markers and drew small pictures near the nouns in their psalm. They made it colorful, and by the time they were done, it was a great visual reminder of God’s provision.

We’re definitely going to do this again.

Want to see the real Psalm 103? Here it is – the parts in bold are what we kept in ours.

1 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
2 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    may I never forget the good things he does for me.

3 He forgives all my sins

    and heals all my diseases.

4 He redeems me from death

    and crowns me with love and tender mercies.

5 He fills my life with good things.

    My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

6 The Lord gives righteousness

    and justice to all who are treated unfairly.

7 He revealed his character to Moses

    and his deeds to the people of Israel.

8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful,

    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

9 He will not constantly accuse us,

    nor remain angry forever.

10 He does not punish us for all our sins;

    he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him

    is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

12 He has removed our sins as far from us

    as the east is from the west.

13 The Lord is like a father to his children,

    tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

14 For he knows how weak we are;

    he remembers we are only dust.

15 Our days on earth are like grass;

    like wildflowers, we bloom and die.

16 The wind blows, and we are gone—

    as though we had never been here.

17 But the love of the Lord remains forever

    with those who fear him.

His salvation extends to the children’s children

18     of those who are faithful to his covenant,

    of those who obey his commandments!

19 The Lord has made the heavens his throne;

    from there he rules over everything.

20 Praise the Lord, you angels,

    you mighty ones who carry out his plans,

    listening for each of his commands.

21 Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels

    who serve him and do his will!

22 Praise the Lord, everything he has created,

    everything in all his kingdom.

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

Have you ever written your own psalm?

Life as a Pilgrim: Fun & Games

July 19, 2014 by Amy

This month our Book Club girls read Ron Roy’s The Mayflower Treasure Hunt. I was pleasantly surprised by this book – the descriptions of the Mayflower are historically accurate, the initial movement of the Pilgrims are tracked throughout the Cape Cod area, and the modern Plymouth is well depicted. I love the way that Roy added a believable mystery into the Pilgrim story, making it easy to tell which parts are fiction and which are true while still maintaining a fun and exciting story.

I had lots of events planned for this club meeting and was very excited – and then it became possible for us to travel to a local park for a “Pilgrims at Play” program, where they promised to teach about the fun side of Pilgrim life. This seemed like the perfect place to meet about this book!

Several of the girls traveled with my family, and they talked a bit about the book on our way to and from the park. They also learned quite a bit more about Pilgrim life while there.

The program began as Hilary, the presenter, talked about basic Pilgrim facts. As she prepared them to use books to study Pilgrim life, she taught the kids a few phrases in Wampanoag and in Elizabethan English. This was by far my favorite feature of this program. Who would expect to hear Elizabethan English in a small park in North Carolina?

Next, Hilary pulled out tubs of supplies and let the kids play Pilgrim-style. Mine never moved past the ball-and-cup. They were each determined to get the hang of it!

After learning about the foods available to the Pilgrims for their first Great Harvest Celebration, the kids made painted fish impressions. They painted a textured rubber fish and then rubbed it onto plain paper to transfer the colorful image.

After a picnic lunch on the center’s beautiful stone porch and some playtime in the museum, we headed out. Even though the rain had stopped, the girls were too happy to pose under this vibrant umbrella.

Next month we’re looking forward to discussing a good Christmas mystery and spreading some Christmas cheer.

What good books have you read lately?

Life as a Pilgrim: Daily Activities

July 19, 2014 by Amy

This week we got together with friends once again to live life as a Pilgrim. We focused on activities of daily life this time, and began our work by learning about the clothing that the children would wear.

After reading Samuel Eaton’s Day and Sarah Morton’s Day, both by Kate Waters, we grabbed three petticoats and an apron. The girls each put on all of these layers to see what it felt like to wear so much clothing at one time. They were all quite certain that they’d stick to their jeans!

Next, we moved to the table and began to make poppets out of cardboard and fabric. Using the pictures in the books as guides, the kids each dressed their poppets in the clothing worn by the pilgrims then. They cut out clothing from fabric and used yarn as garters to hold up their stockings. They worked for a very long time on this, determined to get each layer just right.

Mine were very excited about their finished product.

Don’t they look great?

By this time we were all quite hungry, so we headed for a Pilgrim lunch in the kitchen. After working together to set the table with plates and spoons, the kids stood by their plates – as children did then – and carefully placed their napkins on their shoulders. They were less than pleased, however, when I put five kernels of corn on their plates. After talking about how sick the Pilgrims were that first winter, about how that may have been due to their lack of nutritious food and disease, about how some days this was just all they had, the kids sadly ate their corn. They were quite upset with me …

so we handed them their journals and let them write. Each child expressed his/her displeasure well through writing. My Little Man used exclamation points for the first time, declaring the corn to be “hard.” Another child stated that if he had been a Pilgrim, he likely would have starved, although he would have eaten the corn since there wasn’t anything else.

When they finished their writing, they cheered as we brought out their ‘real’ lunches, and headed outside happily for a picnic.

Next we learned about Pilgrim furniture. After talking about the difference between beds for adults and beds for kids, they stuffed large burlap bags with straw. Each child took turns laying on it. They finally decided that this whole process was a lot of fun, but that they preferred their own beds to these scratchier ones.

Our last activity of the day was to dip candles. While the Pilgrims bought their candles from England for the first few years, being too focused on survival to have time for candle dipping, we thought this would be a good way to see the work that went into having light during this time period. Besides, someone was dipping candles for the Pilgrims!

The kids really enjoyed this process, although they got most excited about it when their candles began to grow fatter. This took a long time, and when the kids learned that a typical candle has 200 dips, a few were rather discouraged.

I took this picture when we were about halfway through the process and at the time, this was the biggest candle. She was so excited with her finished product that she began a second candle! All of the kids decided that they wouldn’t want to be dependent upon their own candle-making abilities for light – but that this was a fun process, at least for a few minutes.

Next week we’re taking a field trip to learn about the Pilgrims’ journey on the Mayflower and games that the children might have played. Come back to join us!

You can read about our Pilgrim cooking adventure here.

How are you preparing for Thanksgiving?

Life as a Pilgrim: Cooking

July 19, 2014 by Amy

When I was about nine, my grandmother* took me to Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts. It was a cool New England day in the summer, a bit misty and damp, and I’ll never forget how shocked I was as I stood inside those tiny houses, amazed at how dark and smoky and damp they were. I felt sure that the Pilgrims must have been incredibly brave and determined people to purposely live in such difficult conditions.

As a teacher, I feel that we often leave that part out of the Thanksgiving story. Yes, we talk about a rough winter, about Squanto teaching Pilgrims how to plant corn, and then a miraculous, wonderful harvest and a big party to celebrate; but I want to dig deeper into the story. How did they really survive that first winter? Why were the Pilgrims – really called ‘Separatists’ – so very determined to stay in the New World? How difficult was that first winter really, and what was their trip like on the Mayflower, anyway? Basically, what did their everyday lives really look like? What kind of people were they?

As a parent, I want my children to understand about the kind of people who will do anything to obey the calling that God has placed on their hearts – even when it makes no sense to their peers. So this month, we’re studying the real story of the ‘Pilgrims’ – and we’re doing it in a real way.

We’re reading books, studying photographs of my two journeys to Plimoth Plantation, and watching virtual tours- but we’re also getting together with friends to try our hands at some real Pilgrim activities. We began yesterday.

After trekking out to the edge of the forest, we talked about how the Pilgrims brought very little with them – and so they had available to them whatever they could find on the beach or in the forest. With that in mind, the children tackled their first task: cooking.

We spent most of our day working with food – largely because that was one of the most important tasks for the Pilgrims during their first winter in Plimoth. Arriving in December didn’t allow them to build or harvest anything leisurely – they had to hurry to settle in. While they wouldn’t have had an oven to bake bread, they would have needed to find a way to cook, and simple quick breads and fritters were likely.

We gave the kids a batch of homemade play dough and asked them to cook it. You should have seen their faces!

After working for nearly an hour, conferring, scouring the yard for natural ‘supplies, and talking through their plan, they built this spit-like contraption. They broke the dough up into smaller pieces, reasoning that it would ‘bake’ faster this way, and they arranged it on boards and on a spit in the sun. They felt sure that the sun would bake their small pieces of dough.

Next, we handed them a rubber ‘turkey.’ They laughed crazily at this one, but instead of building another spit as I expected, instead they went searching for vines. They found one near the creek and tied the turkey to a tree. Again, they expected the sun to cook their bird.

We had to have a long talk about the strength of the sun during a New England winter.

These Southern children were not impressed. They seemed to prefer a Myrtle beach heat wave to a Massachusetts winter wind. Oh, well. Back to the drawing board!

Next we gave them each a walnut that we had harvested and dried from our backyard walnut tree this summer. Now, this project completely cracked me up. I’ve never seen kids struggle so much with a nut! At a loss as to how to crack it without a nutcracker – which my kids have never seen, anyway – they began throwing the nuts at trees. When that didn’t work – they just lost the nuts that way – they began banging and scraping them against the bark, trying to rub off the shell.

After a seemingly endless amount of time, we asked them to work on another plan, so they found some rocks. They each put their nut on a rock and began banging on the nut with a stick. That didn’t work out so well, either. They did throw large rocks at the nuts, and they cracked that way, but since that was rather dangerous – who really goes around throwing boulders at tiny walnuts? – they started again. They tried everything from jumping on their nuts to making a 3-Pilgrim pile-up on top of a nut, hoping to squish it with their sheer accumulated body weight, but to no avail. Finally, after a few hints towards other objects and reminders that their Pilgrim tummies weren’t filling up this way, they grabbed hand-size rocks and beat the nuts with it.

Rock-hammers work for cracking walnuts. Just so you know.

(It’s a good thing these kids aren’t real Pilgrims, but you gotta hand it to them – they’re seriously determined!)

Next, we moved on to the real cooking. We gave each kid an ear of dried Indian corn and asked them to remove the kernels. That proved to be harder than they expected.

Then, using borrowed mortars and pestles of different materials and sizes, they tried grinding the corn.

Eventually we used a very simple recipe to mix up our own cornbread. My husband had a fire going in the yard, and so we cooked our cornbread outside in a pan over coals. It was difficult to get the temperature right, the smoke burned my eyes as I tried to flip each one, and the kids danced impatiently around the fire as they waited hungrily to eat. Oh, the life of a Pilgrim!

Finally the cornbread – and the simple pumpkin fritters that we’d made and also cooked over the fire – were ready. They kids all liked the cornbread and asked for more. The fritters were a bit less popular. They all decided that cooking like a Pilgrim was hard work.

Back outside, the kids decided to check on their ‘bread’ dough. They decided that it was getting crusty and that perhaps this sun thing was working. We decided that next time we should use real dough instead of play dough that dried out so easily. 😉

Finally, each child settled in with a journal to record his/her thoughts about Pilgrim life and food. Each child decided that being a Pilgrim was quite difficult – and one was quite certain that he didn’t want to give up his McDonalds’ drive-through or KFC. They each seemed to feel that our lives today are much simpler – at least where basic survival is concerned – than that of the Pilgrims. My Big Helper had so much to say that she began another book – complete, as my Little Man exclaimed, with “a Table of Continents.”

In the end, no matter how successful they might be at Pilgrim cooking, they met our goals. They tried hard. They were creative. They thought outside the box, just as the real Pilgrims had to do. They realized that the Pilgrims worked really hard and made do with what they had. They also learned that they have lots to be thankful for.

Mission accomplished.

Shared at I Can Teach My Child.

Come back next week to see our next installment in our ‘Life as a Pilgrim’ series!

*Nana, thanks for taking me to Plimoth all those years ago. It made a huge impression on me – and, by extension, is making one on my kids, as well. 🙂 I appreciate all the work you put into our summer excursions!