Thanksgiving Bulletin Boards: Turkeys, Pilgrims + Cornucopias!

THANKSGIVING RoundUP! 

Welcome to November! The march to the end of the year has begun in earnest now. The Halloween hilarity is neatly organized, packed away and now all attention shifts to turkeys and beyond. We are at this minute sitting at gate 108 and departing momentarily for Dallas and NAEYC 2014! 

I thought you'd appreciate if I dug around here and got all of the Thanksgiving ideas into one MASSIVE RoundUP. My way of pitching in to help! 

I just learned from Pinterest, that the above image is one of my most repinned images from my website. I better lead off with it, right? CLASSIC!

THANKSGIVING  {Fall} Bulletin Boards + Classroom Doors Across America!

WELCOME! You found me! Wait till you see all of these goodies I've gathered for you. 

I am seriously counting my blessings! I've been telling my regular readers about my week of author-illustrator school visits across Ohio last week. Now I'm back in Florida and sorting through my memory cards. I snap hundreds of photos during my adventures to share with you here. I get to see excellence in education with each of my school visits. 

My analytics tell me that you LUV LUV LUV when I share bulletin boards and classroom doors from my travels. Today you get some of each!  

Let's get started with an absolutely PHENOMENAL 'door' decoration with a floor-to-ceiling handwritten poem entitled, "The First Thanksgiving." This incredible work was displayed between two adjoining classrooms, so technically I guess what you see is a 'wall-decoration' or 'display.' 

In an oh-too-quick conversation with the teacher who created this display, I learned that she's had the poster-board cutouts FOR.EV.ER. She thinks that she may have received them from her own mom at mom's retirement. They are from the way-back machine. I like them! They have an air of historic authenticity, which is lacking in today's ubber over-cutsie-fied clip art versions. Let's hear it for generations of moms who teach and share their best finds with their daughters. 

Here's the first half. 

Does anybody memorize anything any more? 

I'd nominate this poem for those late primary peeps of yours. 

Speaking of Pilgrims.... here's a beauty I saw last year in Texas. 

Worth repeating! 

Pilgrims as paper plate Kinder creations! 

I know you want to see those up close, too! 

Let's segway briefly to some clever 'fall' bulletin boards while I'm searching memory cards. 

OWLS? 

Did someone say owls? 

And some additional 'new' FALL bulletin boards...... 

Perhaps you've seen something similar to this next decorated classroom door on Pinterest? 

It resonates with me. It also makes me smile from ear-to-ear. 

Are you following me on Instagram? 

I posted this Scarecrow Door decoration in that network last week. 

BTW: the door opens INTO the hallway, despite my Instagram friend's insight to the contrary. 

*In this picture the door is just slightly open, so you can see how the 'hat' is divided. 

*This next one is the image I had on Instagram and the door is closed completely. 

Now that we've taken a tangent for scarecrows, 

you HAVE to see these clever cuties. 

I learned each child's photograph was an 8x10" version in order for the hat to fit. 

Get ready. Everybody say, "Awwwwwwww."  

*This next photo is extremely out-of-focus, but the only one I took in my haste. 

I apologize for the poor quality, but thought that it was worth including so you could see how they were used to decorate the hall space just outside the classroom door.  

I had an earlier RoundUP of all things Scarecrow. 

Click on the picture below, to go back in time for those ideas. 

Now let's get back to Thanksgiving, with this too cute TURKEY Bulletin Board! 

Notice the sweet photographs used for 'turkey' personalization. 

It's not Thanksgiving without a Cornucopia. 

Here's a couple of bulletin boards on that theme. 

Now for some turkey-theme bulletin boards from my earlier blog articles. 

Here's a TUBBY Turkey. 

THINK BIG. SUPER OVER-SIZED! 

This THANKFUL Bulletin Board took my breath away. 

I saw it a couple years back during a visit to a Tampa school. 

Take a look at how the feathers have been personalized by preschoolers. 

These Pilgrim-Turkeys were the door decoration in Texas last fall!

Winner. Winner. Turkey-Dinner!  

I know that you were lured here with Bulletin Boards + Doors for bait, 
but here are a couple of oldie-but-goodies, 
perfect for the season. 
Worthy of a rerun and a pin! 





NEWSFLASH!!!! 
I just had another pre-Thanksgiving school visit. 
The bulletin boards were bountiful and beautiful. 
Rather than have yet another Thanksgiving Bulletin Board article...... 
I thought I'd just stick them here at the end of Part 1.

Welcome to Part 2!!!! 
Look at this 

WINDING DOWN: While I'm going through my pictures, I thought I'd go ahead and include these next 'random' bulletin boards with the rest. You never know what will inspire you! 

I realize that Veteran's Day has passed on the calendar, but I have heard from a number of schools that some are still having their school programs yet THIS week: today, tomorrow and even Friday, due to scheduling realities. 

I've had three recent Veteran's Day articles, filled to the brim with patriotic inspiration.

You still have time to purchase and download my digital version of 
"Red, White and Blue." 

Facebook Fanpage Insight! Use "Red, White and Blue" for Thanksgiving Performance! 

Last year I had a mini-RoundUP of Christmas themed bulletin boards. 

Start your engines! 

I am the author-illustrator of 3 picture books! 
My picture books are also published by my own company,
which means they are only known by those who have 'met' me. 

Will you help introduce me to others? 
Every pin will help circulate this article to 'new' readers. 
I'm soooooooooooo grateful for your pin and support! 

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. 

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. 

BLOGGING SECRETS REVEALED! 

At L-O-N-G Last..... You've found the source for answers to your gnawing questions!

• Are you considering starting a blog because you've been reading a brilliant one where the author never ceases to amaze you, all while making everything look so incredibly clever and easy-peasy lemon squeezy, where she turns cornhusks into must-have designer handbags, while baking gluten-free organic bread for her brood of bright eyed children wearing handknit sweaters she lovingly creates from the neighbor's plastic bags?
• Are you a teacher about to launch your own blog because you've been reading that one where your peer has spray painted the book bins to match her pencil holders that she snazzed up from last summer's garage sale with the ribbons coordinated to her bulletin board borders, because their test scores are over-the-moon and all the teachers on her team synchronize and color-code their lesson plans while the supportive principal literally does cartwheels celebrating their every innovation and it seems just like your classroom -- only you have better craftivities you could share? And sell?  
• Have you heard the  rumor,   urban myth,  fairy tale,  NEWS that there is actual, foldable money to be made in blogging? 
• Are you starting a blog because you've seen several hundred ebooks proclaiming to offer insight into fortune-building through blogging? 
• Do you have an original idea to bring to the world and you're convinced blogging is the way to go?
• Have you been blogging for weeks, months, years and you can't figure out 'HOW THEY DO THAT?'  

YOU'VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE! 

I am about to pull aside the heavy curtain in OZ and take you behind the scenes.
WELCOME! Consider this my tell-all. All names have been changed to protect the innocent. A few disclaimers: Your mileage may vary. Call before midnight. Limit one coupon per customer. Just do it. There are no guarantees implied or inferred from my limited yet ubber sweet experience. Rinse and repeat. 

***If you want some seriously funny disclaimers from around the web, go to this one first and this one next and if you are seriously procrastinating on your real life lesson plans or laundry or NAEYC handout and you're more of a visual person then check this one for further giggles.  

Let me start right off by confessing that I am a blogger without a clear-cut niche. {BTW:This is NOT a good thing. Do NOT follow in my footsteps down this slippery slope.} As a picture book author/illustrator I'm sharing my process, my travels, my joy. That kinda covers the waterfront. I am also technologically challenged. 

Defining your niche from the word 'go' is without-a-doubt your first soul searching mission. Are you an educational blogger? A kid blogger? A lifestyle type? Wrestle that down first. You want to have your people *find* you and if YOU'RE not certain who that might be, it is exceedingly more difficult for everyone involved. 

I'm a creative-type with a camera, some original ideas, a tribe of seven grandchildren sprinkled across the US and a burning desire to have people {{{FIND}}} me! For Pete's sake there are folks with a series of videos on 'How Animals Eat' that go viral... where people imitate lizards as they eat. And whales. And flamingos. Just sayin'.  Yes, there is room on this planet for the likes of both the Pet Rock and even the Chia Pet, but should it be so blan%kity-blan*k difficult to get actual worthwhile ideas out to people who would appreciate finding them? I digress.

Thus begins the legitimate blogger's quest for an audience. 

UPcycle/Repurpose/Reuse! These bottles started my brainstorm!

First of all you have to have an idea. The gist of blogging is to continue to create original content over time, to build up an audience -- to share your glib humor and insight, wittily bantering ideas and images in the hopes of generating additional followers and interest through a unique blend of originality, sincerity and cyberpower. 

First step: 'paint' the inside of the clean & dry salad dressing container.

Case Study. The entire crux of this particular article arose from a set of salad dressing bottles from my Floridian stainless steel fridge coupled with my time invested at.... you guessed it: Pinterest of course, the bloggers playground. I had seen a pin where plastic bottles were UPcycled by painting them and repurposing them as Young Sumo Wrestling Bowling Pins! {MUST click to see..... since I didn't ask permission for use of the image, I'm just sharing the link. Worth your time. Promise.}

A big part of blogging is the timeliness of your article. You have to be just enough ahead of the calendar that your readers can implement your novel concept in their real life. So I rinsed my salad dressing bottles and awaited my next interaction with my WonderPeeps. You see. I am at a genuine disadvantage when it comes to having immediate access to 'model-children' to use as photographic 'props.' 

I have heard of real-life bloggers going to the lengths of opening their own school to have access to children-to-interact. I have eavesdropped on child-bloggers considering the 'need' of having another baby in order to continue their early childhood blogging process. I on the other hand await patiently my seasonal visits to our progeny, with doo-dads in hand. And so it was that I flew into central Ohio with empty salad dressing containers {that passed airport security screening} coupled with my loosey-goosey notion of turning them into a pair of turkey centerpieces. Let the fun begin! Start gathering up all the flotsam and jetsam to create something original upon arrival . 

***ATTENTION AFFILIATE LINK SHOUTOUTS!***

As you can see by "Little Red's" expression, she totally has my genetic predilection for polka dots! Her mama-bear is so clever to have their own set of "Do-A-Dot" markers on location, so I didn't need to tote those up north. Who can pass up the opportunity to make a parade of circles with IMMEDIATE shazam?   Do A Dot Art Marker Rainbow 6-pack


You'll see in the photos below that our turkey feathers were created from what I will call 'stiff felt.' That's kinda like a technical term. First time I'd used it with the Peeps. Tricky for them to cut independently, even though they are now five. They were SUPER psyched to be allowed to use the BIG scissors! We learned it was easier to cut around the whole traced outline first and then cut out the specific feathered pieces. We did indeed use the 12 by 18" size. If you're going to replicate this concept with a whole classroom of kiddos, you'll want to have some extra adults on hand. Unless you have have more patience than Job. Not easy for them, but they enjoyed the challenge.
CPE EZ Stiffened Felt - 12 x 18 inches - Pack of 25 - Assorted Colors

{Yup, that's one way of making pennies at a time while blogging! Insert an affiliate link to a product directly into your article. Hope that the reader clicks through and purchases a snowblower while shopping on your affiliate link. Go ahead! Pick up your Do-A-Dots and Stiff Felt.... It could start snowing at any minute! Don't ya need a snowblower? Or a new camera? Truth-in-Advertising: The way I blog, this is NOT a get rich quick scheme. I have YET to get enough pennies coralled to get paid the first penny. Apparently there's a threshold for checks. LOL. Maybe with snowblower season just around the corner? Still learning.} 

Blogging by its very nature is a visual medium and certainly tapping into the muscle of Pinterest is dependent on visual reference material that can be shared (Pinned, tweeted, G-plused). Having a 'good' camera is important. Taking a GAZILLION photos is imperative. Photos can be cropped and edited and doctored and given new points of reference when assembled into collages. We used my daughter's GREAT camera for these shots. She took many of the action shots, as my hands were involved in the supervision of the scissors.

Mr. Eyelashes had a BALL with the craft tape. Do you have an ever growing collection of Washi Tapes? So much fun! They give such an instant shot of pizzazz to a project. Especially exciting if your participant is not of the extreme craft mentality. Here's a set with polka-dots! 

Japanese Washi Tape: Polka-dot 8 Pack 

After my wonders completed their painting-of-the container, the cutting and then adorning of their tail feathers it was time for them to catch the afternoon bus to kindergarten. [Is Ohio the only place on earth still offering half-day kindergarten? Seems so retro. Especially to attend in the afternoon-only.] So 'finishing' the turkeys fell to me. BTW: at this point we have at least an hour invested in the crafting process. 

So happy to report that my daughter Sarah was getting into the nonsense. She dove into the recycle bucket to locate 'hat' bases for our gobblers. While looking around she also found some bits and pieces for extra adornment. It was ALL HER idea to cut up the flyswatter for the turkey girl's apron. She also gets extra credit for the concept of using the 'bendie-straws' to secure the turkey limbs in place! {So it would seem that part of the success in blogging lies in having a 'team' of brains, hands and materials available to jump in at a moment's notice.} 

We have NO idea what those 'cores' are that we used for turkey arms and legs. They were perfect and just sitting in her project pile of 'good' trash. Neither of us remembers gathering them up. Can't tell you where to get something similar. Sometimes magic happens. They were skinny in overall width and yet the cores were 'thick.' All around JUST what Martha Stewart would suggest..... if only we knew what they were? We left them long for the legs and cut them in half for the arms. We then added silk leaves for feet. And the piece de resistance? The little balloons for turkey 'gobblers!' Sarah also supplied the mantle for the photo shoot! 

Well folks, there ya have it! At least that's the beginning. Have a good idea. Take a gazillion pictures more than you think you'll ever need. Crop up the photos. Make some collages. I use a combo of the collage function in Picassa, immediately after I download pictures and of course I have the premium version of Picmonkey -- where the heavy lifting gets done. Made this image there/Picmonkey this morning to share from my FB page. I'll give away a file there tonight, to someone(s) that shares their fave 'teacher-quote.'

Once you have your craft created and your article written and yes that is likely to take at least a couple of hours, then its time to begin the WORK of blogging: getting the article CIRCULATING. You've got to invest time in the social network circles. I've made a handy little checklist of my process for your edification. 

The truth about my making progress in the blogger world? Making friends with other bloggers! There are behind the scenes groups on Facebook and Google+ and no doubt Twitter as well. Bloggers are amazing at helping one another sort out the nuances and tech developments. My other suggestions? Perhaps you could shop for a spouse with a dual degree in html coding and marketing. That would be the berries! In the meantime, I have begun to get checks from Google for my banner ads, which just flabbergasts me.... and I intend to learn more about that over the coming year. So I have indeed made my first foldable money from the enterprise of blogging itself!! YEAH! Progress. 

Really, though? I lured you here under the pretense of telling you about my picture books. I travel the country sharing my songs that are their text. Teaching the sign language to support them and singing and dancing with the small crowd as well as those that LUV them, is the highlight of my career! All of my picture books are available at TpT, our Early Education Emporium and directly from my website. Tell your friends! 

My newest adventure is designing SKYPE visits to places far and wide, that are beyond the scope of my physical travel. Last week I was in Omaha, Nebraska with a class of Kinder-kids! And yes. I have as much fun as the kiddos! I have oodles of time available this winter to make that cyber connection with your class. Start thinking of the possibilities. 

*Last year right about now I wrote up this tongue-in-cheek article based on the differences between their turkeys through the eyes of a research scientist. I've had a regular reader tell me that its her favorite article of all time. Of course she teaches kindergarten, so she "get's it."