Canoes,Rain Sticks, and more!

This week I have focused on the Native American aspect of Thanksgiving. I honestly did not expect the boys to really get into it, but they have LOVED this week.  First, we started with making a tee pee and explaining that Native Americans did not live in houses like we do.  They had to live off the land, and be able to move when the animals did.  I showed Pierce a few pictures of some tee pees, and then we were off making our own.

Now, I did not have any animal skins available (ewe!), so Pierce and I cut up some brown lunch bags.  Once we cut them up, we decorated them.

I know that most of the tee pees were decorated in geometric design, but try explaining that to a 3 year old.  And hey,this is his tribe he is decorating for, so let him be him.  :)  The next step of this process I thought would be easier than it was.  We took some of our kindling and tried to tie it together, but all I had available was nylon rope.  Let's just say, after about 10 minutes and a 3 year old asking my why I couldn't make it look like the Native Americans, I ended up taping it together with painter's tape.  But, it's the process that counts, and the conversations we had along the way.  

We cannot forget corn either!  I had come across a blown up coloring page of an ear of corn, and decided to get a little crafty with it.  Pierce colored the husks, and then he painted glue in the ear area, and filled it with corn meal.  

After we did the project, it turned into scoop and pour with corn meal.  Pierce loved the gritty texture, and FINALLY Carter showed an interest in what we were doing.  He was pretty finicky that day, and was having a very off day.  But at least Carter had some fun practicing scooping and pouring.  

The next day we made a thankful tree.  I'm not going to lie, I was expecting my children to be all sappy and name off mommy, daddy, ga, etc., for things they were thankful for.  No such luck.  Out of Pierce, my favorite thing he was thankful for was buffaloes.  His reason?  They make lots of noise (I guess the trip to Beardsley really made an impression last time).  Carter was thankful for Mickey Mouse's clubhouse.

To make the tree, I decided to do it more as a keepsake that can be added to every year.  For Pierce, I traced out his hand, and had him decorate his hands with things that he was thankful for.  I attempted to trace Carter's hand, but that was not going to happen.  He insisted on having his feet traced.  It took a little more convincing to have Carter decorate the paper feet, and not his own.  

The end result was awesome.  Maybe it is just because I am their mom, but the boys LOVE their thankful tree and have it propped in their book basket for everyone to see when they walk in the living room.

 To wrap up the end of our Native American week, we had a Native American party today.  I introduced the boys to Native American flute music (thank you Pandora), and we learned about how they traveled the land.  To commemorate their "school" work today, we made our very own canoes.  It was extremely simple. I took a sheet of craft foam, folded it in half, and hot glued the sides shut.  Craft foam floats in water, so it is the perfect light weight material to use.

The boys created a game to see who could sink their canoe first; and their weapon of choice were some nuts that we had found out back.  I'm not exactly sure how they created this game, but Pierce did remind me that Native Americans were gatherers.

The very last thing we did was make rain sticks.  This was more of an after thought, but the boys now have more instruments for their box.  And they were fun to decorate.  :)

To make them, we just used some paper towel rolls, used painters tape to close the end. (I think I was in love with painter's tape this week).  The filling was rice; nothing fancy, and it sounds just like rain.

Next week we are going to have a lot of fun with Pilgrims and turkeys.  :)  After all, it will be time to feast with the family next week and share what we are all thankful for.  Hopefully, my children give some more insightful answers than buffaloes and Mickey.  However, if they don't, at least they are being truthful.  Right?