Love to Laugh and Learn

Fun and interesting learning activities to do with the children in your life

Learning Fun at Disney: The Importance of Imagination

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Disney, the land (or world) of fun and imagination. It can also be a fun place to learn. Some of these learning ideas can be used in other settings such as home, at the store or at other amusement parks but some learning activities will be especially for Disney. 

First, let’s discuss imagination. Some people may not understand how important it is but it is, oh, so important. Sometimes very intelligent people feel that they don’t need to use it. They feel using their imagination is childish. 

Let’s look at the definition of imagination. According to Merriam-Webster, it is “the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality”. It is “a creation of the mind,” “fanciful or empty assumption”.

Yes, sometimes imagination can be fanciful, seemingly silly and useless but think of the great things that have been accomplished and the wonderful inventions that have been created all because of someone’s “creation of the mind”.

Flying
Imagination Takes Flight

My grandson and I recently flew on an airplane to Disney World. I am always in awe as  the plane gathers speed. Then all of a sudden this big metal contraption lifts up, off the ground and we are flying above the houses and eventually above the clouds. What kind of an imagination must the Wright Brothers have had to believe that they could fly through the air like a bird? They didn’t simply give up and say, “There is no way we can ever do what a bird does.” No, they imagined the possibility of fight and then used their brains to figure out how to make this dream a reality. 

This is what inventors do. They use their imagination to dream about some fanciful new gadget or way to travel. Then they use their brains and education to test and experiment with everyday items in new and different ways. The great imaginers of today will be the outstanding inventors of tomorrow. 

imagination
Journey into Imagination with Figment

Disneyland and Disney World are places full of imaginative activities but you can find an extra helping of imagination at Disney World Epcot. There you can enjoy a ride on Journey to Imagination with Figment. Figment is a little purple dinosaur. He is an adorable figment of some Imagineer. He helps you to learn how much fun and how important it is to imagine new and wonderful things.

Being smart and learning as much as you can are wonderful objectives but don’t forget to add in a large dose of imagination. You might come up with the next great invention because you were able to imagine it. 

Figment of your imagination.
Use Your Imagination

Related Posts

When Do Children Start Learning

Learning Should Be Fun

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Let’s Play with Toy Guns

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Let’s Play with Toy Guns

I believe toy guns are getting a bad rap. I must say I hadn’t given it a lot of thought before but now I have a grandson and a couple of great-nephews, so an interest in guns is something we are going to have to deal with.

I raised two girls so guns were never a big subject around our house. We played with water guns and bubble blowing guns but that was about it. But when I was a little girl, I had a cap gun. I wore it in my holster as I strutted around in my cowgirl boots and hat. I loved playing with my cap gun when I was really young. As I got older, I was allowed to use our BB gun. I have always been fascinated with guns but I am definitely not a violent person. The first time I shot a bird, I cried. (We were trying to keep sparrows out of the purple martins’ birdhouse.) It only stunned him, so he eventually flew away but I didn’t shoot at any more birds.

Let's play with toy guns.
Let’s play with toy guns.

The idea of toy guns around the house hit me the other day because I was adding pieces to our dress-up clothes. I had purchased a soldier outfit and a police officer outfit. I was looking for a badge at the Dollar Tree when I ran across a package with a toy gun, a badge and a pretend walkie talkie. I hesitated because I have heard all the controversy about playing with guns and the possibility of instilling violence in our children, but are we missing a teaching opportunity?

My son-in-law serves in the army. Carrying a gun is part of his job. I have deep respect for all of the individuals serving in our armed forces. They carry guns to protect us and people in other countries. I believe that teaching our children how the military men and women are protecting us is a wonderful lesson. Yes, it is sad that there are wars but it is wonderful that there are people willing to put their lives on the line for others.

Then there are the police officers. They also carry guns as part of their jobs and put their lives on the line for others. Teaching respect for our police officers and learning about how they serve us are just a couple of lessons that can be incorporated into your child’s play with toy guns.

There are people that use guns to hunt for food. Wild game is healthy for you and is fairly cheap, in comparison to store bought meat. Many people around the world depend on hunting for their food. They don’t have or can’t afford to run to the grocery store to pick up something.

Lessons that can be slipped in while the children are playing with their toy guns:

  1.  Respect for our military and police.
  2.  Serving and protecting others.
  3.  Honoring our veterans.
  4.  Our Constitution and the 2nd Amendment.
  5.  How to properly handle a gun.
  6.  Where our food comes from.
  7.  The benefits of forgiveness and the consequences of revenge.

If we are worried about how our children will grow up and handle guns, shouldn’t we be talking with them about it, while they are young? Rather than avoiding or not allowing the opportunity for role playing and discussion, we should be giving them the opportunity to play and explore.

As children turn into young teens, many start playing violent video games or start sharing their interest of guns with their peers. Is this who and what you want to influence your child about the use of guns?

Some parents are worried that allowing their children to play with toy guns will create violent adults. According to an article on WebMD, titled Toy Guns: Do They Lead to Real-Life Violence?, “studies show no link between playing with toy weapons in childhood and aggression in adulthood”.

So let the kids play with their toy guns and let’s use the opportunity to instruct and raise more gun responsible teens and adults.

Firefighters: Love to Learn About Community Helpers

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Firefighters: Love to Learn About Community Helpers
with Free Printables




Illustration of a firefighter in yellow coat, black boots, and red helmet holding a shovel. Surrounding the firefighter are community helper items including a fire hydrant, fire extinguisher, fire truck, firefighter boot, helmet, and axe. Bold yellow title box reads: “Firefighters: Love to Learn About Community Helpers.”
Firefighters are brave community helpers who keep us safe. Explore books, crafts, pretend play, and printables to help kids learn about the tools and jobs of a firefighter.

Firefighters put their lives on the line for us each and every day. It is essential that we teach our children about the sacrifices they make to help others.

Schedule a visit to the fire station. Call first to see if they welcome visitors and what a good time would be to stop by. If the first station you call doesn’t welcome visitors, then try another one. I know there are many stations that would love to have you visit. One thing to ask, is if someone would be willing to put on a full set of fire gear. It is very important for children to know what a firefighter might look like if one would have to save them from a fire. Children need to be taught not to run and hide from them but to go to them.

I like to start my learning activities with a book and I recommend you do the same. There are a few listed below in the Story Time section. If you have another book, that you really like, please share it with me.

Below you will also find a craft and some ideas for pretend play. Be sure to enjoy this time of exploration and learning with your child.

Content:

Playtime
Fun Sheet
Craft
Story Time
Videos
Related Posts
Acknowledgements

Playtime

Does your child have a fire station or fire truck to play with? I love the Fisher Price Rescue Heroes. They were very popular with my preschool classes. I just scored several of them at a Goodwill Store. You would have thought I won the lottery. Playmobil was another things my preschoolers loved. They have a fire station and fire trucks.

Dress up is a fun way to explore the world of firefighters. Dress up is fun for boys and girls alike. I like to look for costumes after Halloween. That’s when they are really inexpensive.

Firefighters: Fireman D.I.Y. Costume by Parties for Pennies
Firefighters: Fireman D.I.Y. Costume by Parties for Pennies
DIY Firefighter Costume Idea

I originally found this adorable D.I.Y. Firefighter costume on Parties for Pennies, but I recently discovered that the blog has gone out of business and is no longer online. I still want to share the picture here so you can get an idea of something you could create on your own.

If I remember correctly, she used a pair of black sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt for the base of the costume. Yellow duct tape was added to the pant legs for the reflective stripes and possibly used to make the suspenders as well. I’ve purchased firefighter hats like these at Dollar Tree in the past, which makes the costume both easy and inexpensive.

I don’t recall exactly how she made the hose, but it looks like something you could easily adapt with simple craft supplies. If you have creative ideas for making one, I’d love for you to share them in the comments!

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Fun Sheet

Community Helpers: Firefighter Fun Sheet
Community Helpers: Firefighter Fun Sheet

I have created a fun sheet to do with your child. Have your child color the firefighter and then color only the items that the firefighter would use. Don’t color the items that the firefighter would not use. Click on the picture to get the downloadable fun sheet.

The fun sheet is a great way for your child to develop their fine motor skills, as they color. They will learn to follow directions and will also reinforce what they have learned about firefighters.

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Craft

Fire Truck Shape Craft

Firefighters: Fire truck Shape Craft
Firefighters: Fire truck Shape Craft

Materials Needed:

Fire Truck template
Crayons, markers or paint
Paint brushes
Scissors
Glue stick
Optional:
magnets
lamination

Instructions:

I have given you several free downloadable templates to use with this craft. I had so many different ideas of things you could do, I just had to include it all.

First of all, you can use it as a simple craft.

  1. Print the fire truck with no color
  2. Print the fire truck shapes (with no words and no color)
  3. Let your child color or paint the pieces.
  4. Cut out the pieces. (either they can do this or you can, depending on where your child is developmentally)
  5. Glue the pieces to the fire truck.

* Another option would be to print the truck shapes with color and cut them out. Then let your child glue those shapes on.
** You could also cut the shapes out of construction paper and let your child glue them to the fire truck.

Another way to play with this is to make a puzzle out of it.

  1. Print the fire truck with color.
  2. Print the fire truck shapes with color.
  3. Laminate both sheets. (I get my laminating done at a nearby teacher’s store)
  4. Cut out the fire truck shapes.
  5. Add magnets to the back of the fire truck picture and to each of the pieces.
  6. Now your child can do the “puzzle” on a cookie sheet.

*You could also print the fire truck with no color for some extra puzzle fun.

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Story Time

DK Readers: Jobs People Do — A Day in a Life of a Firefighter (Level 1: Beginning to Read) by Linda Hayward
Reading Level: Ages 5 – 7 yrs old

Follow Rob Green as he goes through his day as a firefighter. Rob will have to be away from his family for a full day (24 hours). This book covers a couple of duties that Rob might have that I haven’t seen covered in other firefighter books. It explains that the firemen have to inspect restaurants and stores to make sure they are safe and have the simple fire equipment they need to keep customers safe. It also talks about a class having a field trip to the fire station. The firemen will also get to go put a fire out. Rob even sleeps at the firestation. This will be a fun way for your child to learn about firemen and the jobs they have to perform.

A Day in the Life of a Firefighter (Kids’ Career Library) by Mary Bowman-Kruhm and Claudine G. Wirths
Reading Level: Ages 5 and up

If your child is looking for a little more information about firefighters and not just a simple introduction, this would be the book to go to. This book explains the responsibilities of firefighters and the equipment they need but with a little more detail than some other books. If you have an inquisitive child that loves to sit and listen, I would recommend this book.

A Day with Firefighters by Jan Kottke
Reading Level: Ages 2 – 6 yrs old

This is a great book to introduce your little one to the responsibilities of firefighters. It has very simple text but covers the basic information your child will need. The illustrations are actual pictures of firefighters on the job. On another note, I was surprised when I picked up this book at the library. It came in a plastic bag with some paperwork and a DVD. I thought it was a movie of the book but that’s not what it was as all. It was actually a video of someone using American Sign Language to share the book with deaf children. It turns out there is an organization called The Shared Reading Project. The video is to help parents be able to effectively share books with their deaf child so they can become lifelong readers. You can search your library’s website for The Shared Reading Project and you will find several titles to choose from.

Fighting Fires: See More Readers Level 1 by Seymour Simon
Reading Level: Ages 3 to 7 yrs old

If you have a child that is really interested in different types of trucks then he/she will love this book. It doesn’t just talk about fire trucks in general but names and gives you pictures of the different types of fire trucks and the special job each of them does. I especially like the fact that the book explains how people used to pass buckets of water by hand to put out fires. This book impressed me because it covers fire fighting from a different angle than most books.

Fire Fighter! (DK Readers) – Level 2 by Angela Royston
Reading Level: Ages 6 – 8 yrs old

Your child will enjoy the excitement in this book as the firefighters do their jobs. It starts out as a quiet day in the firehouse. Your child will get to see the different things found in the firehouse. Then the alarm goes off and they head to a fire. They are worried that a child might be trapped in the burning house. Your child will get to hear about the different things a firefighter might experience while searching through a burning house for a trapped person. There are several different side notes and pictures of the equipment the firefighters use. This is a very sweet and informative book.

Firefighter (Benchmark Rebus) by Dana Meachen Rau
Reading Level: Ages 2 to 6 years old

I love the books by Dana Meachen Rau that are put out by Benchmark Rebus. They are so simple and easy to understand. I like the fact that they use pictures instead of words as part of the text. It will make your little one proud that they are helping with the story. In this book we learn about the many things that firefighters do and the equipment they use. This is a very cute book to introduce the job of firefighters to your child.

Fire Fighters (Community Helpers) by Dee Ready
Reading Level: Ages 4 and up

This is a great book to introduce your child to the responsibilities of a fire fighter. The illustrations are actual pictures of fire fighters doing their many jobs. The text is simple; just a few clear sentences to each illustration. Once you share this book with your child, they will have a better understanding of what fire fighters do and the things they need to perform their jobs.

  Firefighters (Neighborhood Helpers) by Cecilia Minden
Reading Level: Ages 5 and up

A little girl, named Elizabeth, believes she may want to be a firefighter when she grows up. She wants to learn all she can about being a firefighter. You will find a lot of information in this book about what firefighters do and the equipment they use. It even talks about some of the education they need. Although there is a lot of text in this book it is broken down into subtopics so if your child has a short attention span or just needs a break, it is easy to stop and start up again. There is a lot of additional information along the sides of the pages too. If I had a child that was really interested in firefighters I would definitely share this book with them.

  Fire Fighters: A to Z (Community Helpers) by Jean Johnson
Reading Level: Ages 5 to 8 yrs old

Every letter of the alphabet represents something a firefighter uses or does. There are a lot of wonderful pictures of firemen at work. The illustrations are in black and white but they are still very interesting. There is quite a bit of information about firefighters including an extra section in the back called “More About Fire Fighters”. I would recommend this book whether learning about firefighters or just wanting to reinforce alphabet recognition.

I’m Going to Be a Fire Fighter by Edith Kunhardt
Reading Level: Ages 4 and up

This story is about three little girls whose daddy is a firefighter. They get to go to work with him one day and they share all the things that their daddy does on the job. You will see some of the tools he uses and the many different aspects of his job. The illustrations are actual photographs of the firefighter at work and with his family. This is a fun way to learn about firefighters.

  I Want To Be A Firefighter by Dan Liebman
Reading Level: Ages 3 – 7 yrs old

This book has wonderful photos of firefighters at work. The text is simple which makes it nice for a younger child. Although the text is simple there is plenty of information to help your little one learn about firefighters. Not only does this book talk about building fires but it also talks about forest fires and fires on boats. You child will learn a lot from this simple but informative book.

  I Want to Be a Firefighter by Stephanie Maze
Reading Level: Ages 8 yrs old and up

This book is for a little older child. There is plenty of text and a lot of pictures describing the life and job of a firefighter. Your child will learn about the different places firefighters are needed, such as in urban areas or out in the brush putting out wildfires. Your child will also learn about the different kinds of training that a firefighter needs. There are a lot of interesting pictures of firefighters in action. If your child is a little older and interested in firefighters this will be a great book for them.

Uncle Rocky, Fireman by James Burd Brewster
Reading Level: Ages 3 and up

Uncle Rocky, Fireman is actually a series of books about Rocky Hill and his fire station. As of this moment, I have only read the first book but I can’t wait to get hold of more of the series. I love the use of sound words such as vroom, vroom and clang, clang, clang. Children love making noises and this story definitely encourages that. I love that the author uses technical terms without making the story difficult to follow. Your child will learn new words like turnout coat and smoke inhalation. I hope you enjoy following the adventures of Uncle Rocky as much as I did.

  We Need Fire Fighters (Helpers in Our Community) by Lola M. Schaefer
Reading Level: Ages 3 and up

This is a simple little book that makes a great introduction to fire fighters. There is just one sentence per page. Each page shows a picture and explains something about fire fighters. You get information about the jobs they do and the things they need to carry out their work.

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Videos

Fireman Sam – distributed by Lionsgate
Recommended for ages 3 to 6 yrs old Fireman Sam is a British animated children’s show. It is about Fireman Sam, the other firemen at his fire station and the townspeople of Pontypandy. Each episode deals with some aspect of a fireman’s job. The ones I watched covered things like forest fires, a fire because of paper close to the stove and fire prevention. I believe your child will enjoy these videos and learn a lot about being safe with fires while having fun at the same time.

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Related Posts

Community Helpers – Overview
Doctors: Love to Learn About Community Helpers
Dentists: Love to Learn About Community Helpers
Police Officers: Love to Learn About Community Helpers

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Acknowledgements

Charlotte's Clips and Kindergarten Kids

Some of the images for the Fun Sheet were created by Charlotte’s Clips
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Charlottes-Clips-4150

whimsy-clips-by-laura-strickland-square
Some of the images for the Fun Sheet were created by Whimsy Clips
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Whimsy-Clips

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Thanksgiving Fun with Turkeys

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Thanksgiving Fun with Turkeys

Let’s have some fun with turkeys. Why is it that the turkey has become a symbol of Thanksgiving? The turkey probably was part of the first Thanksgiving meal along with deer, several types of seafood and many fruits and vegetables. Wild turkeys are found in 49 of the 50 United States. Alaska is the only state where they are not found. The fact that they are so wide spread across our nation is probably why they are a common symbol to our Thanksgiving.

Below are some fun activities to do with turkeys during this Thanksgiving holiday.

Fun Time
Fun with Food
Craft
Story Time
Related Posts

Fun Time

Since it’s almost Thanksgiving, I thought it would be fun to have a turkey themed day with my 2 year old great-nephew. We started out with a movie. The movie was Free Birds. It’s a story of turkeys that travel back in time, to the first Thanksgiving, to try to get turkeys off the menu. Although it is currently in movie theaters (November 2013), it might be on DVD by the time you are reading this. I would recommend watching it. It was a fun addition to our turkey themed day.

Right before naptime we read Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano. I love including books in our fun time. This turkey was also trying to find ways to not be included in the Thanksgiving festivities. I loved some of his disguises. I have more suggestions of fun turkey books below in my Story Time section.

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Fun with Food

You can find all kinds of fun turkey themed bento meals on Pinterest. If you aren’t familiar with Bento meals, they are artistically crafted foods that are popular in Japan. If you are on Pinterest, you can find several fun ideas by clicking here. I was especially inspired by the one I found on Creative Food. I adapted their idea to get this:

Fun with Turkeys: Bento style Turkey Sandwich with colored pepper tail and ranch dip

1. For the body, I made a turkey sandwich and cut it out with a circle cookie cutter.

2. I had purchased a package of 2 oz. portion cups (like the ones you might get butter or single servings of dressing in with your take-out food) at Costco. I used one of those for the head. I put some ranch dip in it.

3. We then cut eyes from a piece of American cheese with a straw. I used edible food markers to make the pupils in the eyes.

4. I cut the beak and feet out of carrot pieces.

5. I used a small piece of red pepper for the snood. (The snood is the fleshy piece that grows from a turkey’s forehead and hangs over it’s beak)

6. For the turkey’s tail feathers I cut thin slices of red, orange and yellow peppers.

The meal was a hit! Everyone gobbled it down (pun intended).

Fun with Turkeys: Turkey Bento Meals

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Craft

When I taught preschool, I would do this craft with my classes. I originally found it on Enchanted Learning. You use the child’s hands and feet to make the turkey. The original instructions say to use colored construction paper for the parts but my daughter inspired me to do something different. Read the instructions below to find out how to make this special Thanksgiving turkey and a fun memory of little hands and feet.

Hands & Feet Turkey

Fun with Turkeys: Materials Needed for Hands and Feet Turkey

Materials Needed:

Markers, crayons or paint
White cardstock
Brown construction paper
Wiggly eyes
Pencil
Glue
Scissors


Instructions:

1. Trace the child’s feet on the brown construction paper. Yes, both feet.

2. Cut out the feet. (I got my great-nephew started on the next part before I cut out the feet so he had something to do.)

3. Trace the child’s hands on the white cardstock. You will need 3 sets of hands (Since my great-nephew’s hands are small I was able to get a set of hands on a half piece of paper.)

4. I chose fall colors for the feathers (the fingers become the feathers). We used orange, red and brown. At first I gave Jeremiah the half sheet of paper, without cutting out his hands, for him to color. Since he is only 2 yrs old, I figured he would scribble more than actually color.

Fun with Turkeys: Hands and Feet Turkey Craft

Then he started coloring real intently on one corner.

Fun with Turkeys: Coloring

I decided to cut the hands out so he didn’t waste time working so hard on a piece that would get cut off and thrown away. Here he is working on one of the fingers.

Fun with Turkeys: Hands and Feet Turkeys

I would give him one color for each set of hands.

Fun with Turkeys: Hands and Feet Turkey Craft

5. Jeremiah helped me glue the feet together to make the body and then we arranged the hands to make the tail feathers.

6. Finally, we glued on the eyes.

7. I would recommend putting the child’s name and date on the back of the turkey. We took ours and had it laminated. I had to take the eyes off so we could laminate it but then we glued them right back on.

Here is Jeremiah and his prize turkey. I would recommend doing this activity every Thanksgiving, while they are little, just to see how much they grow from year to year.

Fun with Turkeys: Hands and Feet Turkey Craft

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Story Time

10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston
Reading Level: 3 to 5 yrs old
This book doesn’t have anything to do with Thanksgiving but since turkeys are closely associated with Thanksgiving I thought this would be a fun book to include. The story starts out with 10 fat turkeys “fooling” on a fence. There are lots of funny words such as, “Gobble, Gobble, Wibble, Wobble” and lot of silly antics out of the turkeys. This will be smiles and giggles to your little one..and a few from you too.

Gus, the Pilgrim Turkey by Teresa Bateman
Reading Level: Ages 4 to 8 yrs old
Gus loved being a turkey and loved living on the farm until one day his friends told him some sad news. Gus was looking forward to playing in the snow and celebrating the New Year until his friends told him that turkeys usually don’t make it to the New Year. When his friends shared with him that turkey is one of the main items to eat for Thanksgiving he decided it was time to leave the farm. He travels far and wide to find a safe place to live. As he finds a new safe place to live he comes to the realization that he is now a Pilgrim. Pick up this fun little book for a light spirited look at Thanksgiving and the deeper definition of a pilgrim.

A Plump And Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman
Reading Level: Ages 4 to 8 yrs old
The people of Squawk Valley really wanted turkey for their Thanksgiving dinner but they couldn’t find one anywhere. The turkeys around Squawk Valley had become quite smart and learned to hide when Thanksgiving was near. The townspeople decided to trick the turkeys by having a special art event that featured turkeys. They posted signs all over the forest saying they were looking for a plump and perky turkey to be their model for the different art projects. Pete the turkey saw the poster and believed he could help out so he went to model for the special event. So Pete posed while the townsfolk created their turkey art. Everyone was excited because now they were going to be able to catch Pete and have him for their Thanksgiving dinner. Pick up this fun little book to see if the townspeople get to eat turkey for dinner or if Pete gets away.

Run, Turkey, Run! by Diane Mayr
Reading Level: Ages 3 to 7 yrs old
If you aren’t ready for your child to understand that the turkey we eat at Thanksgiving is a live animal, before we get it, then avoid this story. It is not a morbid, overly detailed, story but the fact that the other farm animals keep telling the turkey to run and the farmer is chasing him through the whole story means you will probably have to have the discussion. It’s actually a cute little story. The turkey tries to roll in the mud with the pigs and swim in the lake with the ducks in order to hide from the farmer. In the end, the farmer and his family eat grilled cheese sandwiches with peas and mashed potatoes. Have fun with the story of the turkey who got away.

Too Many Turkeys by Linda White
Reading Level: Ages 5 yrs old and up
This is not a Thanksgiving story but it is a cute turkey story. Fred and Belle have a tiny farm that they take very good care of. One day a baby turkey, which is called a poult, wanders onto their farm. Belle is not very excited about the idea but Fred says he will take care of the little turkey. The turkey ends up being a great benefit to the little farm until too many of his friends show up. Pick up this book and find out how having a turkey on the farm was helpful although a little stressful at times.

A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting
Reading Level: Ages 5 to 8 yrs old
Mr. & Mrs. Moose are getting the table set for Thanksgiving. They are very excited to have all of their friends over but there is one thing that is making Mrs. Moose sad; there is no turkey for Thanksgiving. Mr. Moose wants to do what he can to make this a special Thanksgiving so he heads out to find a turkey. Pick this book up to find out what happens when Mr. Moose finally finds a turkey, it might surprise you.

Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano
Reading Level: Ages 3 to 7 yrs old
If you aren’t ready for your child to learn that the meat on the table comes from live animals, it would probably be best to skip this book. Other than possibly needing to have that conversation, this book is adorable. Turkey is in trouble because Thanksgiving is almost here and he is the main course. He tries several disguises to hide from the farmer. In the end, he comes up with a fantastic substitution for turkey. Pick up this book and share it with your child to find out what the farmer’s family has to eat this Thanksgiving.

  Turkeys on the Family Farm (Animals on the Family Farm) by Chana Stiefel
Reading Level: Ages 5 to 8 yrs old
This is a wonderfully informative book about turkeys. Your child will get to see actual pictures of turkeys. They will learn how turkeys are raised and cared for, on an organic farm. They will learn the different terms used when referring to turkeys such as tom, hen, jake or poult. This is a great book to get some basic information about turkeys.

Turkeys That Fly and Turkeys That Don’t (Rookie Read-About Science) by Allan Fowler
Reading Level: Ages 3 to 7 yrs old
Your child will learn a lot of fun facts about turkeys. Even I found it interesting as to why some turkeys fly and some don’t. There are lots of pictures of wild turkeys and domestic turkeys so your child can see the difference. I enjoyed learning about the similarities and differences between wild and domestic birds, I’m sure your child will too.

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Related Posts

Thanksgiving Learning Activities
Pumpkins are Orange; and Other Learning Concepts

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The Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie Review

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The Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie Review





Disclaimer: I was given 2 tickets to attend The Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie, as well as a backpack with some goodies. However, I was not influenced by the promotional materials or any of the Conner Prairie staff. All opinions and insights are my own.

It has been approximately ten years since we last attended The Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie. Our daughter was somewhere between 10 and 13 years old. At that time we chose to take the hayride after dark. We thought it would be a little scarier and I guess we were right. When talking to my (now adult) daughter about that night, I said, “Remember how much fun we had?” Her response was, “No! I’m still scarred!” I guess we were right; that going after dark was scary.

Headless Horseman hayride, at Conner Prairie

Since, currently, my blog posts mainly center around activities for younger children we opted to go on the Hayride before it got dark. First of all, let me tell you that the lines are extremely long. Once our turn came up a guide
walked us back to where we climbed into the hay wagons and waited to start our adventure. We were asked not to take pictures during the hayride because it could spook the horses and we definitely wouldn’t want to do that. But I was told that I could take a picture before we pulled out.

I’m not going to give out all the details because I don’t want to spoil the fun for future adventurers but I will share my general thoughts. It is a nice hayride with spooky sights and sounds around every turn. There was a 3 year old little girl in the wagon with us and her older brother who seemed like he was between 5 and 7 years old. The 3 year old cried on and off through the ride. She was visibly shaken and nervous even when she wasn’t crying. Her older brother just seemed to enjoy the whole thing. As for me, I loved it, but I must be honest, when the Headless Horseman rode right up to our wagon and hit the outside of it with his sword it made me laugh nervously, lean forward a little and watch him out of the corner of my eye.

My advice would be to take the hayride during the daylight for younger children. It was still plenty spooky without scaring you out of your wits. I personally wouldn’t take a child 3 years old or younger on this hayride at all but if you have a tough little one that loves monsters and being scared then they may be just fine. For the real adventure, wait until after dark to go. It is pretty scary when the Headless Horseman comes riding out of the dark after you.

Even if you aren’t interested in the hayride there are plenty of other activities to do with the kids so don’t write the adventure off yet. Tomorrow, I will post about all the other fun things that were going on during this special evening.

Related Posts:

October Family Friendly Events
Review: Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie
Review: Conner Prairie on President’s Day (with a 2 yr old)
Review: Conner Prairie with Young Children