the lesson of the day (including a tutorial)

we are out of preschool all week and i have a needy, unhappy baby and i have not slept through the night in more than a week. not to mention, that each child woke up several times last night. so, when we woke up this morning everyone was in a great mood. after getting doctor appointments for 5:20 this evening (yes, that is the earliest appointment they had and, yes,i called right when they opened), i realized there was nothing to eat or drink for breakfast. so, we headed to mickey d's in search of a nutritious breakfast full of the the healthiest ingredients. each child got exactly what they ordered. only one didn't through a fit screaming they wanted something different once we arrived home. so, as spencer and i ate our breakfast in peace and quiet, i had an idea. and, once the others collected themselves and ate their breakfast, we began.

i found this stick on the front porch a week or so ago and thought it would be perfect for a mobile.

we hung it with invisible thread. ideally, i would have used monofilament, but this was a in-the-moment project.

i've had this book sitting in the closet for years. any book about being thankful would work, but i love the way pk hallinan's books resonate with my children.

after reading the book, we traced some leaf shapes on leftover cardstock. while carter cut them out, i wrote what miller said on his leaves. then carter wanted me to write her things on her leaves. they both wrote their own names on the back of their leaves.

what they are thankful for is a complete reflection of their personalities. miller included "all the books we have at home" and "all the teachers (specifically ms. donna, ms. carole and ms. molly)" and carter included "stars" (it was listed in the book) and "ms. jennifer".

then we strung them on the invisible thread and hung them on the stick. and, we found an old vent to hang it from in the middle of the room.

while we were worked on this project, we talked about how some people don't have the things we take for granted (food, a home, clothes). after a few minutes, carter said, "it's hard not to whine." and, you know what, she is right. when you have what you need most/all of the time, it is hard not to whine about not having the things you want. it is even harder to teach my children to be thankful when they seem to have even less of an understanding of being in need. true need. 

so, while some tend to skip over the holiday that i often feel obligated to, i will try to put more of a focus on it and the lesson it teaches. because right now, being thankful has to be taught just as much as reading and writing. tell me, what are you thankful for?