Counting is fun, counting candy is even more fun!  This is a great thanksgiving themed math activity that promotes ” Checking your work” something that not only encourages kids to slow down ( something my son needs when doing tasks) but it also builds independence and confidence. Amazingly it wasn’t my kids who ate the candy after this activity was done… I can’t help it candy corn is so yummy! If you are not a fan of using candy for activities you can easily substitute pom poms or pony beads for the candy or make a turkey like the craft that inspired this activity.

1. Gather your materials. I used a cheap cookie sheet with raised edges to keep the candy corn contained . Also some brown and green construction paper, scissors, tape and a marker. Oh and of course some candy corn.
2. Start by cutting out the green husks. Please remember perfection is not the point, I don’t have time to spare and know you don’t either.
3. Cut out the ear of corn.
4. Tape to the cookie sheet.
5. Add numbers. Try to add some easy and some more challenging. If it’s too easy it’s boring, too hard and frustration sets in, either way learning falls flat.
6. Add the corn!
7. Check your work.
8. Next I flipped the husks over and wrote new numbers on, I added the corn and my son checked my work. I purposely made mistakes on two of the ears, and asked him how to fix them. He subtracted on one and added to the other. It was a great add on to a simple counting activity. I will be doing more “fix my math” activities in the near future because he loved that.

This craft is fast to set up and fun. It can be easily modified depending of the supplies you have on hand, too. Plus, nothing says fall like Indian Corn.

You will need a piece of paper (I used construction paper), self adhesive craft foam, scissors, and a marker. You can use non0adhesive craft foam or even construction paper. You will just need to have some glue, too.

Draw a shape that generally resembles an ear of corn. No artistic ability is needed, as you can see. Then draw so horizontal lines inside the ear of corn.

Cut the foam into small squares. It does not have to be exact, just the general size of the space between your lines that you drew inside the ear of corn.

Let your child start sticking away! There is no rhyme or reason to this. You can encourage them to keep the pieces in the rows you drew. You could also use this craft to explore color patterns. We chose to just make the colors random. I did instruct them to try their best to keep the squares in the rows.

This craft was great for fine motor skills. Little fingers had to peel the sticker backs off. If you are using regular foam or construction paper, just make a line of glue inside the row and have you child affix the squares. I would suggest doing just one row at a time.

Once you are done, you have a genuine ear of Indian corn.

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Marshmallow Corn !

I was looking for a good place to hide Halloween candy and found marshmallows I hid months ago. They were hard and dry and perfect for a craft! If you don’t hide sugary treats from yourself in your kitchen just leave the marshmallows out over night to get stale.  They need to be stale so that your child can color them, without marshmallow bits getting on your markers, or being too squishy to color. Have fun with this, my son thought it was hilarious that he could color the marshmallows and asked at dinner if he could color his fish sticks. Thankfully the markers were put away.

1. Gather your materials. You will need a handful of stale mini marshmallows, yellow and brown construction paper, red, brown , yellow and orange markers , glue and scissors.
2. Start by coloring one end ( or more) of the marshmallows with various colors.
3. Keep going!
4. While they color the marshmallows draw an ear of corn on the yellow paper and husk on the brown.
5. Add glue to the corn.
6. Add the marshmallows.
7. Color the husk if you want.
8. Cut the husk out.
9. Glue it on the top- you can wait until everything is dry to glue it on. I was eager to post this so I fast forwarded a bit. 
10. Let dry and cut out .

Books

This First Thanksgiving Day: A Counting Story by Laura Krauss Melmed is a stunning gem of a book. I can’t believe I haven’t read it before, normally great books like this go through teaching circles like wildfire. The book has so many layers it will keep toddlers and preschoolers alike busy and engaged. The text explains the first Thanksgiving while counting 1-10 in rhyming poetry and the illustrations by Mark Buehner have hidden treasures, see if you can find them! After I return this to the library, I will be buying it for sure!

Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey was such a treat to read. It’s a reworking of the classic Christmas poem, with a Thanksgiving twist.  A bus full of kids head off to the turkey farm the day before Thanksgiving and are immediately enamored with the birds. When a child asks the farmer what the axe by the door is for… well let’s just say the truth is told and the kids fall apart. They don’t stay down for long though, the kids outsmart the farmer and their teacher to save the turkeys from the axe. Somehow the author finds a way to make the possible slaughter of these happy friendly, named turkey’s funny. My son was giggling while I was kinda nervous that they’d get the axe! Great rhymes throughout this hilarious book!

Thanksgiving Treat by Catherine Stock is a really heart warming book that will take you back to family gatherings of your childhood. The story follows the Thanksgiving day preparations of an extended family and one little boy who just wants to help. He goes from one job to the next where he is always told he is too little, or it’s too dangerous for him to do, and he should go somewhere else. Finally his Grandpa steps in with a very important job and the sad little boy is given new hope to be helpful. I remember being too little, and I know that from time to time my son is told he is too little too, this book is a kind reminder of finding ways to make even our littlest family members feel important and included. My son really liked it as well, while reading it today he stopped me and listed some of the things he is still too little to do, and the things that he has recently been able to do independently. Great book to sit down and talk about with your child.