Perspective on Thanksgiving

Though kids may view Thanksgiving as the first stop on the school holiday vacation train, there's a lot more for them to know about it than simply no class, stuffed turkey and whipped cream-topped pumpkin pie.
                                       

This November, teach your children historically accurate facts about this important holiday by learning about the events that led up to the well-known first feast and doing creative Thanksgiving activities together. Share these activities with your nanny, so she can do them with your kids too.

Read Together
Share an educational story time with your children, no matter their age, by reading a Thanksgiving-themed book.

                                             

Journey to 1621
Use the topic of Thanksgiving to investigate the journey of the pilgrims. Children can learn important historical facts in a fun, interactive way. Plimoth Plantation, a Massachusetts-based living history museum about the Plymouth Colony, provides an award-winning and free downloadable Thanksgiving activity that's appropriate for children of any age. See Link http://www.plimoth.org/what-see-do/mayflower-ii/journey-mayflower

Visit the Mayflower

The education experts at Scholastic have developed a complete and thorough unit dedicated to Thanksgiving. In addition to holiday-themed book recommendations, printable worksheets and informative videos, the site allows children to take a virtual tour of the Mayflower. Kids can also learn what daily life was like for the pilgrims and Wampanoags by comparing their living quarters, schools, chores and games.

Complete Thanksgiving Activity Sheets
Find coloring sheets, word searches, hidden picture sheets or puzzles that relate to Thanksgiving.  See Link http://www.edhelper.com/Thanksgiving_Activities.htm 

Do Crafts that Teach Gratitude
Children can construct a "Thankful Paper Chain" to count down the days until Thanksgiving. Have them write what they are thankful for on strips of construction paper and then loop them together.

Create a "Thankful Tree" by tracing your child's hand on pieces of red, orange and yellow construction paper, and having them write why they are thankful on each. Then attach with glue to a brown tree trunk made of construction paper.

You can also add pictures to a photo album or scrapbook of people, places, foods, pets, toys, movies or events that are special to your family. Include interesting stories of gratitude or explanations in your "Blessings Book."

Decorate the Feast Table
Since Thanksgiving centers around making peace with people and sharing food, pay special attention to the table setting. Encourage children to make it special by constructing Thanksgiving-themed table decor themselves. Talk about what the pilgrims and Indians would have had available, and use those objects in your decorations.

USE: cardboard tubes, construction paper, pompom balls and googly eyes to make pilgrims and Indians to set at each place setting. Kids can cut leaf shapes out of construction paper and write the name of each guest on one side and why they are thankful for them on the other.

Plan Games

Games are a great way to learn anything in a competitive, but fun way. Have a relay race in which children pass holiday-themed items like acorns, cranberries, nuts, peas and corn kernels to each other using chopsticks. Play trivia with fun Thanksgiving facts or create Thanksgiving bingo cards with historical information or Thanksgiving foods in the squares.

                                                            

Today, Thanksgiving is a holiday signified by loved ones coming together to share a meal and give thanks for each other. By taking the opportunity to explain its origin to children in creative ways, they can not only understand its historical importance, but its relevance in their everyday lives.

Photos provided by google images, content provided by Mary Evett a freelance writer. Edited by Nancy Perez 

My Job

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."

Martin Luther King, Jr. Minister - civil rights activist (1929-1968)

Not many workers sense that they have a calling for their particular job. However, think how wonderful it would be to do business with an organization in which every worker considered their job to be one in which they were called or designed to perform. In other words, their job mattered and they mattered in that job to the level that they performed above and beyond what was expected. Experiment for one week to work above and beyond (not more hours) as if you were called or designed just for your current job.

Attitude

"Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... or a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our attitudes."

Charles Swindoll - Pastor, author, educator

How we respond to our daily interactions with others quite often reflects the condition of our inner emotional health. What attitude did you choose to embrace this morning? Was it an attitude of the heart open toward understanding others or focused inward on self? Are you choosing to wrestle with an inner hurt rather than choosing to be available for others? You may be missing out on the greatest honor, that of helping others. To be available to others it helps to be content with ourselves. How I see myself is truly up to me. Begin today seeing yourself as your creator sees you, BEAUTIFUL, WORTHY, and ACCEPTED. What type of attitude will you choose to embrace? If you want to be warm, loving and caring, then today and everyday, be intentional and choose an outward attitude.

Situations

"You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it."

Bill Cosby - American Comedian

Let's face it . . . Life can be a struggle . . . Or it can become our favorite comedy show. What lens are you using through which to view your struggle? We are not perfect and by human nature we make mistakes knowingly or unknowingly. How adept are you at laughing at yourself or your situation? When I work myself into a state of frenzy over something, God may send a funny picture to my mind, such as . . . me running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. How silly is that behavior? That 's just enough to make me laugh and diffuse my anxiety. The humor lens of life is so much more fun! Which lens will you choose?

Discovery

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in making new landscapes but in having new eyes."

Marcel Proust - French novelist (1871-1922)

How many of you absolutely love to travel? You probably love the magic of discovery as well. The thrill comes when you are willing to open your mind's eye and see the ordinary in a unique and interesting way. So one does not need to travel or create something in order to discover. One simply needs a willingness for new eyes meaning a new way of looking at the ordinary. The depths of discovery go only as deep as you are willing to dive. Don't be afraid to see differently and dive deeply toward exciting discoveries.

Building Mindset

Want To Build A Company, Or Make More Money? 3 Steps You'll Need To Take...

While I'm not suggesting you change who you are, I am telling you this: If you want to achieve more in life, it starts with increasing your confidence.  Everyone is born into this world with the same capacity to believe in themselves. It's up to you to make the most of it. Here are three tips to getting started:

Step #1 - Ask yourself, "What am I afraid of and why am I letting it hold me back?"You must address the fears and the negative self talk head-on.

Step #2 - Get a mentor. You need someone who motivates you. Someone who will hold you accountable.

Step #3 - Build up your GRIT. That stands for: Guts, Resilience, Innovation and Tenacity. You need to work hard and remind yourself that the more you step into the limelight, make mistakes, struggle, and learn from the experience, the stronger you'll become.

PS - Don't Be Afraid To Be Ambitious 

Think of what you could do for others if you were more successful? It's not a bad thing to be confident. You will not become all those negative traits just because you want more for yourself. Why not give it a try? A happier life could be yours if you are willing to tap into your confidence!

Perception

"The difference between greatness and mediocrity is how an individual views a mistake."

Nelson Boswell - American Author

Path: Excellence or Perfection. Result: Greatness or Mediocrity; Must my goal be perfection or could it be excellence? Could there be a difference? Have you ever considered how versatile humans are in the art of failure? We even shock ourselves at times with our brain glitches. We all have had a moment in time when our mind goes blank. How do you view mistakes? Let's look at our patterns. Why are many of us so driven for perfection and use negative talk? (Unrealistic) Do you suffer from "I must get a 100% or the world will end syndrome?" (Be Perfect) Are you obsessed with exactness or redoing a product? (Fearful) Notice: Are you a risk evader? (Avoider) "Guess I won't try because I'm not perfect." (Procrastinator) "It's best if I put off this task since I won't do a perfect job or get a perfect score anyway." (Stressed/Anxious) "I'll disappoint myself and others." This thinking leads to stress, failure, poor self-esteem. Turn your thinking around. Go for excellence instead. (Priorities) Just make your bed in the morning. Forget that the pillows are not positioned in just the right place. (Be Free) Your A- will not cause the Earth's orbit to freeze in place. (Be adventurous) Your first attempt at planting a garden might not produce food for your whole family, but it might entice some enjoyable family time together or lead to a new hobby. (Be intentional) Consider which items on your "To Do" list are top priority (something really crucial is at stake); (Be focused) then work your heart out to do your personal BEST. (De-stress) Chill out on the other items on your list. (Be optimistic) Talk positive to yourself; (Bounce Back) when knocked down by failure; get up fast and (Serve) put focus on doing good for others. That's "EXCEL"lence" in action. Select Excellence over Perfection. Choose to Stay healthy and stress free!

Discipline

"Discipline yourself, and others won't need to."

John Wooden - Basketball Coach (1910-2010)

We must all discipline ourselves in many areas of life: work habits, punctuality, hygiene, orderliness and organization, and money management, for example. Beyond that are areas of conduct that are just as important: honesty, work ethics, boundaries, relationships, etc. Paying attention to the business of discipline is our primary business. The world will discipline us in a much harsher way if we fail to control ourselves. Self-discipline is a right and responsibility that gives us freedom. Make the most of your self-discipline so that others are not impacted negatively. This type of discipline becomes a huge example of how to extend love and respect to yourself and others.

Destination

"The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score."

Bill Copeland - American Poet (1946-2010)

How do we know where we are going if we don't have a destination? Subsequently, how do we know that we have arrived without a goal marker? Pay attention to your heart's desires, set your goals, make your plans, then be willing to make adjustments as your inner voice directs you. The entire process calls for us to look continually moment by moment to our Creator for guidance and then be willing to follow. Score big with a destination that really counts and speaks to your heart!

Luck

"Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get."

Ray Kroc - Founder of McDonalds (1902-1984)

Dividends, like luck, are simply bonuses. You could consider a dividend to be a gift that is over and above the normal earning. Dividends don't usually occur without hard work, wise decisions and conservative methods amidst a strong economic trend. So begin your world of work with plenty of sweat, continue your day with an attitude of sweat and sustain yourself with more sweat. Who says that you can't enjoy sweating as you work hard? The odds are that you just might experience a surprise or two along the way. Some call that luck. Others call that a blessing . . . Work, sweat, enjoy, and be blessed.

Greatness in Others

"One of the marks of true greatness is the ability to develop greatness in others."

J.C. Macauley - Author

Have you ever observed the manner in which someone imparts their knowledge to another? Do they take great care in communicating, breaking down into small steps, teaching with enthusiasm and making that person feel important? Do they convey a strong belief and faith in the student's abilities? Greatness in one begets greatness in others. How beautiful to live ones life by instilling worth and value in another human being to the point that it brings out the greatness in the receiving person.

Crisis are blessings

"No matter how bad someone has it, there are others who have it worse. Remembering that makes life a lot easier and allows you to take pleasure in the blessings you have been given."

Lou Holtz - American Sportscaster

Job loss brings flexibility. Medical issues invite faith and dependency, car problems encourage ingenuity, and the passing away of a loved one calls for the rallying of a strong support system. The greater the crisis or situation, the more intense the opportunity for huge blessings to abound. Be on the lookout for the blessings in each situation. Peace and comfort can be found in the blessings if one chooses to see them. Many people live in the fog of life, never noticing the blessings before them. Will you find the blessings or the crisis?