Seasons:  The boys and girls enjoyed the story Every Autumn Comes the Bear by Jim Arnosky, and In Autumn by Cynthia Rylant.  Afterwards, they completed an autumn coloring craft.  We talked about the sights, sounds, scents, activities and traditions that November's cooling temperature brings.

Holiday Shelf:  We learned where the holiday books are kept in our library.  We read Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende Devlin, and discussed cranberries and other traditional foods for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Books:  The children participated in a discussion about the similarities between historical and modern day pilgrims.  We read How Many Days to America? by Eve Bunting, and The Pilgrims at Plymouth by Lucille Recht Penner.

Thanksgiving Books: We read Squato and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas. In this historical story we learned that the actual hero of the Thanksgiving was neither white nor Indian, but God.

Tall Tales:  A tall tale is a uniquely American story that features a larger-than-life, or super-human main character with a specific task,  a problem that is solved in a humorous or outrageous way,  and exaggerated details that describe things larger than they really are.  Many tall tales are based upon actual people.  We read John Henry by Julius Lester.  In this story,  the main character uses his two sledgehammers to pulverize boulders, and John Henry races a steam drill tunneling through a mountain.

Grolier Online Multimedia Encyclopedia:  The students completed a short research report on Veterans Day using The New Book of Knowledge.

Worldbook Online Reference Center: The  students watched a demonstration of the Worldbook Online Reference Center, then were given time to access the resource from the library computers.  This is yet another valuable tool for them to use as they begin the wonderful world of research!