Turkeys from Paper Cups: Cute Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Create a Thanksgiving Centerpiece!

How cute is this holiday keepsake? Materials are pretty simple. Oui? Keep your eyes out for some brown 'paper' cups and get out your collection of construction paper and some fun eyes. Googlie? Always a favorite, but as you can see not absolutely critical. 

This weekend could be subtitled: have CAMERA will travel. 

With the conclusion of NAEYC, we had the best possible weekend together with our youngest -- who lives just outside the metro DC complex. 

She's the professional musician in the family. 

Her instrument is the oboe. 

She quilts together a myriad of gigs and miscellaneous pieces to make her living in the big world. 

We LUV LUV LUV to hear her play whenever we have the opportunity.

This weekend her reed trio had a recital, premiering in a brand new recital space. 

What a thrill to hear their collection of French pieces. 

Turns out that the recital was in a Universalist Unitarian church that is also host to a flourishing preschool program. 

You know what that means? 

Me scouting about the shelves and bulletin boards to share some goodies! 

How clever are these little Thanksgiving centerpieces? 

Time is short, but here's a classic. 

Handprint. 

Beans. 

Plenty-of-glue. 

VOILA! 

Turkey Cornucopia. 

Here's the picture of the two of us that hubby Allen took prior to the recital. 

This is in the kid's home. 

Our antique "Hoosier" cabinet has found a great second home in their dining room. 

Here's the "Capital Reeds" posing for a snap! 

After we all regrouped back at home, 

I gathered up some of their earlier photos into a collage for their PR. 

We followed up our classical music recital, 

with a day together at the Smithsonian's National Gallery. 

That's hubby 'going fishing' and me easily entertained. 

Did I mention that it was FREEZING cold during our time together? 

Windy. 

FREEZING COLD!

There was work at every turn that left me breathless.

This was my first visit to the National Gallery. 

What has taken me so long? 

Noelle knew all the shortcuts and most efficient paths to see our absolute favorites. We made some serious good-time to see the highlights. 

The blessing of the holidays is to have the opportunity to spend time with family. 

We have been blessed indeed! 

Here are a couple of earlier articles that I thought you might enjoy. 

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Now? Now we get to start planning for a blogger meet-up in Atlanta! 

I'm one of the 'Rock Stars' on the SDE agenda in Atlanta. 

Are you in the area? 

Plan now to come and hang out on Sunday! 

Turkey Feathers of Gratitude! Piggyback Song!

Let the GRATITUDE Rain Down! 

Welcome to a new week! A new week to spill gratitude from beginning-to-end. Edge-to-edge. Top-to-bottom. Left-to-right! Yesterday was the conclusion of NAEYC. Very definitely the most  grueling longest triumphant 4 days in the calendar year. Now. On to the turkey! 

Before I get to spend this week with family from here-to-there, I thought I'd add a few final turkey-images. I realize that they are probably too late for your use this year, but perhaps you could pin some ideas for your thankfulness next year! One final bulletin board of turkey gratitude. You'll have to go back in time to see the RoundUP of several dozen Turkey/Gratitude/Thanksgiving/Pilgrim bulletin boards. 

These images are from my 'day-like-Oprah' in Alexandria just last week. I just about did a cartwheel when I saw this anchor chart with the "Turkey Poem." I used to lead this poem as a song -- at least three decades ago. A classic! I wonder who wrote the words? Think of it as a piggyback song and use the tune, "Pop Goes the Weasel." You know how I like BIG endings. This is so much fun with your littles...... with an ever louder crescendo of 'gobble, GobBle, GOBBLE.' 

You know that craft projects on paper plates are simple and always in style. 

The turkeys above feature kindergarten feathers of gratefulness. 

The turkeys below had cartoon bubbles of written gratitude.

Can you say turkey handprints? 

These use painted hands to create the tail feathers!!!

I LUV LUV LUV the personally 'drawn' turkey bodies!  

Here's the welcome 'bulletin board' that spells out the experience of the kinder-writers. 

The label even goes as far as to spell out the Common Core standards being used. 

 

Here's a few random shots in the classrooms. 

Just for fun! 

I know how you like to look over each other's shoulders for inspiration. 

We went directly from Ramsey Elementary to the downtown convention center in Washington DC. 

Time for NAEYC 2013. Welcome to the Exhibit Hall! 

Here's my sweet Sharon and her froggie friends -- from Frog Street Press. 

Then Thursday morning I got to pop in ever-so-briefly for a few hugs

at the Redleaf author reception. 

The final hug of the entire event was one of the most memorable: 

ELLA JENKINS! 

My "Feels-like-Oprah" Day with Kindergarten Enthusiasm

ALL Kinder-CHILDREN RECEIVE MY BOOK!

Once-in-a-lifetime we should each have a day when we get to feel like Oprah. Or Santa. Yesterday was exactly that type of day for me. I got to be a combination. Sanprah? or Opta? I'm still attempting to grasp just exactly what happened, and I was there! To attempt to explain all the pieces and parts requires more time than I have at my disposal this morning. I will give it my best shot and then come back and edit (or add) some additional meat and potatoes after the excitement of NAEYC -- which launches later this afternoon --settles into the horizon. 

Yesterday was the first time in my 18 years as music lady and my nine years as an author/illustrator that I have had the personal pleasure of handing every child in attendance a copy of one of my projects: TO.KEEP.FOR.EV.ER! In total, 172 Kindergarten children (which actually included one class of PreK peeps) received a copy of my second picture book, "Tall Giraffe" to take home and read. To say that this was thrilling, is quite possibly the greatest-understatement-of-all-time-ever-typed. At least by me. 

How did this happen? 

What was involved with pulling off this grandiose-of-all superlatives?

How many brown and spotted, polka-dotted dots had to line up? 

Short answer?

The heart and soul of one young and dedicated K teacher with a dream is enough! 

At least it is when she is supported by the savvy, where-with-all of an amazingly insightful and passionate principal..... 

which is coupled together with an enthusiastic team of teachers.

If you're ever feeling despondent, like education in this country is headed down the wrong path, let me provide this evidence that there are brilliant spots of light that illuminate all that is still incredible, all that is still possible in schools. This month I have had quite an array of observing and participating in excellence-in-education -- up close and personal. 

This day? Yesterday? It will be remembered forever!!! It was The day EVERYTHING came together on behalf of children. It was a day unparalleled previously. All this that you're about to see? It was the hard work and absolute dedication of teachers and the administrators who support them. It happened. Here's the evidence at the beginning of the day. There were three tables in the school library, each stacked with 3 such piles of books. Trust me. That's a LOT of "Tall Giraffe." More than I had ever seen in any one place at any one time. EVER!

The picture below is the last picture of the day. Reconstructed just before the busses pulled in, because the one taken earlier had been out of focus. There she is. Smiling ear-to-ear. That's THE Mrs. V and a group of her kinder-kiddos that's approved to be on the internet. 

Our little group is gathered in front of the "Tall Giraffe" quilt that they had constructed, in anticipation of my arrival. We're all 'signing' the sign for 'wonderful.' It was in fact a WONDERFUL day. 

You have to back in time to last summer for our first connection, the connection that begins the story's foundation. Heather (Mrs. V) was in attendance at the annual "I Teach K" conference in Vegas, where I had the honor of giving the opening keynote. We had the opportunity to meet 'up close' at the Tuesday evening bloggers & teachers soiree. Heather came bounding over to introduce herself and express her appreciation for my contribution to the conference. 

We ended up seated at the same round table, as the festivities of that evening got underway. I learned at that point that she teaches outside of DC. We have a daughter in the greater DC area. We're coming to DC in November for NAEYC. See where this is going? That's how you start connecting the dots. Basically? I invite myself to Heather's school. 

At one point in the evening's fun, I won an Erin Condrin planner (highly sought after teacher goodie) and I promptly pass my certificate on to Heather, knowing it would be put to much better use on her desk than mine. That was July.  

To say that the library alcove storytime space was awash with giraffes is yet another understatement. 

Each of the nine classes invited to participate had created their own giraffe craft rendition. 

Several different classes presented their work in a finished 'quilt' collaboration. 

Yet even within the topic of giraffe quilts, 

each class' finished project was uniquely their own. 

Every square inch of wall and window space was covered. Top-to-bottom. Left-to-right. The picture above shows one of the three walls that encircled us. 

Once that space was all used, then the individual preschool giraffe pieces, built on a paper plate base were displayed by taping them directly to the library books themselves. Ingenious, no? 

You have to know that seeing a 'Tall Giraffe' affixed to the Sendak classic below, made my heart do a cartwheel. Such an incredible juxtaposition. 

Yesterday, I got to BE the Wild Thing! 

The song in Mp3 format is available for immediate digital download purchase. 

The picture book version needs to be shipped. 

Both are available at our Early Education Emporium as well as Teachers Pay Teachers. 

~~Click pic below to go to TpT~~

And of course I have a Pinterest board dedicated to all things giraffe!

More needs to be added to this article, once I get a few more of the several hundred pictures edited. The earliest that I see that happening is much later this weekend, but I wanted you to see firsthand the triumph unfold in something close to real time. 

In real time, we are about to go on a Washington DC Metro adventure. 

. 

Our booth is all set up for NAEYC. 

Now let this year's fun begin!

Our presentation is FIRST thing tomorrow morning. 

Thursday at  8:00 a.m.

At some point I hope to 'process' all that has happened. 

I attempted to explain it to a little ol' lady in the parking garage of our lodging, who innocently asked about my festive attire and I found myself choking back tears 24 hours after the fact as I tried to explain. 

My words are inadequate. 

My emotions are all over-the-map.