In anticipation of the upcoming holiday, we read The Very First Thanksgiving Day. I made my preschool daughter a simple puppet template related to the traditional first Thanksgiving dinner with the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags. Although she is young, playing with First Thanksgiving Story Puppets is a nice start to understanding the meaning of the season as we imagine the historical event together.
The Very First Thanksgiving Day by Rhonda Gowler Greene shares the story of the Pilgrims with just the right number of words and bright, beautifully illustrated pages. As the playful cover illustration of children playing suggests, the pictures have a child-like innocent quality to them. That is not to diminish the facts of oppression to the Native Americans, which is a fact I don't want to be ignorant of, but rather a focus on the fact that for the children in Plymouth colony, there certainly were many reasons to celebrate and rejoice at that autumn harvest.
The text of the story loosely follows the pattern of "This is the house that Jack built," with subsequent pages repeating key elements from previous pages. Thus, by the end, we've heard a number of great details about the Pilgrim's travels and their delight at the fall harvest. I love the connections to children and regular old village life shown in the illustrations.
Our First Thanksgiving Puppets busy bag was pretty simple to create, using some basic tools and printing the puppets template on this page.
Here are the tools necessary:
I chose the cut out all the items and laminate them before assembling the dining table template. I guess you don't have to laminate them, but I did to prolong its life.
Then, I used the box cutter to cut slits where the puppet can "stand." I chose to do some slots on the hill and some in front of the table, so the people could walk up to the Thanksgiving gathering.
I used the hook-and-loop tape dots to put many options on the table and ground for where the food, baskets, and pitcher could be stored. Of course, the little pieces of food needed the other half of the dots.
For the people, I used some packing tape to attach them to the craft sticks. You could also use hot glue to attach them if they want too.
Frequently throughout modern history, the Wampanoag people have been disrespected during the holiday season. Children "act out" the first Thanksgiving, using incorrect food, incorrect terms for the people, and definitely incorrect costumes. We don't actually know what may have happened all those years ago, but we do know that the people who were already living in America had already been diminished by disease and were struggling to survive, much as the pilgrims who arrived in the new land were struggling to survive in their new home.
Tradition tells us that as these two distinct groups worked together, they were able to have a successful and satisfying meal together. They were grateful to have food to enjoy during the harvest and thankful for their continued ability to stay alive! What a blessing that both groups were able to get along in this era, since in many eras of history they did not.
I feel that portraying this event through puppets with historically accurate clothing and food (to the best of my knowledge and ability) is a more fitting tribute to this feast of gratitude than acting with costumes would be for young children. I don't intend to diminish either group's heritage, and I also don't want to disrespect the tradition of giving thanks for a bountiful harvest and for food to sustain us. I feel portraying the people of the "first Thanksgiving" as puppets does an okay job of finding appropriate balance.
By placing the puppets in front of the scene or by putting the craft sticks through the slits, you and your little one can talk about and imagine the yummy feast! The characters are children, again emphasizing that for the families gather, it was a time of rejoicing and being grateful for all blessings. Retelling familiar stories such as these with imagination play is an important skill for preschool-aged children to develop. So, even though it seems simple, don't underestimate the impact of imagination play and story retelling.
My daughter loves it. Even when it not yet Thanksgiving she'll pull out her Thanksgiving puppet "friends" to play with them. I think it is safe to say this is a great addition to our holiday "busy bag" this season.
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See what else I've created for this season over at the shop.
Imagine the First Thanksgiving by retelling the story with these free printable puppets of Pilgrim and Indian (Wampanoag) children.
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