Click on the wreath to listen to a pretty Thanksgiving midi file.

Click on thumbnail to view PNG, right click to save.  Transparent background.  One small, one large.

I created Thanksgiving clipart for you all to use. Click on each thumbnail to download the full-sized PNG image. I’m not sure exactly why the background is showing up black here (probably due to WP’s thumbnail creator) but the images will have no background (transparent, so you can add your own) when you download them. Have fun creating your own Thanksgiving images with this clipart. Personal use only, please.

Thanksgiving Graphics by Valerie

A Kids Heart Thanksgiving Clipart

Epson’s Creative Zone - Autumn Graphics

Martha Stewart’s Thanksgiving Clipart Place Cards

Sherman ISD Thanksgiving Clipart

Most of this is old hat (incorporating everyday things into real life learning opportunities) to seasoned homeschoolers but it never hurts to re-introduce…you may learn something new. *smile*

Thanksgiving Day: Lesson Plans in the Kitchen

Turkey Appetizer

Printable Thanksgiving Banner - change the order to read “Giving Thanks”

Thankful Journal

Gratitude Journal

Thanksgiving Ideas Galore

Thanksgiving Ideas for Children

Thankful Thought #6 - Children

Thankful to be Catholic

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Thankful Heart Thanksgiving Card

Homeschooling Carnival - I am Thankful Edition

Our Thankful Forest

Flickr.com’s Thankful Cluster of Photos

You Are 94% Thankful

You’re an incredibly thankful person, and everyone around you feels very appreciated. You inspire people to be more optimistic, forgiving, and grateful.

How Thankful Are You?

The twins scored 69% and Michael, my pessimist…35%.

Some beautiful Thanksgiving ideas can be found at the French Garden House.

Check out the “Giving Thanks” posts at There is No Place like Home.

Beauty Tips for Ministers offers up Thanksgiving Ideas and Manners.

Sur la Table has a wire tree with strawberries dipped in chocolate ornaments and this wonderful Wilton Giant Cupcake Cake Pan…and Michael, if you are reading this, I want this cake pan along with the Dyson, okay?!! *smile*

Elizabeth at Real Learning shares an amazing Christmas book find in Serendipitous Christmas. I’ve already added it to my Amazon wish list.

Terri’s Pumpkin Spice Cake sounds delicious!

I love to look at “pretty blogs” and Bella Pink Cafe always offers great eye candy and decorating ideas.

During my time in Texas, many years ago, I had a wonderful friend, Kristin. Though we’ve lost touch, I always remember with fondness and thankfulness how she and her family always made me feel welcome, especially during the holidays that I couldn’t go back home for. Her momma, Helga, worked at a lighting store and her Christmas tree was decorated in tiny white lights and hundreds of chandelier crystal drops…the most stunning tree I’ve ever seen. Chez Fifi has a smaller version…very pretty!

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~
(1803-1882)

often go awry.

I just want to document here that I will never again try to plan a pleasant leaf peeping trip to Viriginia’s Skyline Drive…at least not with Michael and the boys. We spent about 10 hours in the car, most of it trying to get there (Washington D.C. traffic is horrendous) and then, get back (did I mention that D.C. traffic is horrendous?). To just clarify what Michael and the boys thought about it, well, when Michael takes photos with his camera (the expensive Nikon which takes much prettier photos than my little Sony) he places them in a directory for me, usually with a descriptive name so I can quickly find them. When I went to look this morning to see if he had a chance to upload the photos I found them under the folder name of “Incredibly Long, Painful Trip to Skyline Drive to Look at Dead Leaves.”

I guess that says it all.

The boys turn thirteen tomorrow and I have so much to do! Connor and I finished up shopping for the party favors yesterday. Today is the grocery store plus I have to clean…though I’m not sure why I have to clean when dozens of teenage boys will descend upon my house to trash it tomorrow! Maybe I should wait until Friday to clean. *smile*

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Thanksgiving Printable/Craft Links

• Thanksgiving Planning Calendar
• Garland of Gratitude
• Pilgrim Hat Centerpiece
• Thanksgiving and Fall Crafts for Kids

Just ran across these two great crafts (with detailed instructions) for older children and wanted to share before I move on and they become lost in my vast bookmark file.

Velvet Acorn with Oak Leaf

Pinecone Poultry

Since we picked a peck or more of apples last Friday and I have no desire to can anything, I’ve been trying find some good recipes. In this month’s Rachael Ray Magazine there is a recipe for Caramel Apple Layer Cake…I made it yesterday and it is absolutely delicious. My sister, Honey, came over yesterday and offered me $20 for the cake but after a few bites upped it to $50…and I think she was halfway serious. *smile* Click on the photo to get the recipe.

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To take advantage of the abundance of apples in the house, Quinn and I will do a little theme study on apples, again. *smile* He won’t eat a raw apple but thankfully applesauce is one of the few foods he enjoys. I’m going to set him up to the table with some peeled apples, his knife, a cutting board and I’m going to try to coax him into cutting the apples in small pieces for applesauce. For more ideas…

Little Giraffe’s Apples

Tooter4Kids - Apple Theme

Alphabet Soup - Apple Activities

First Grade Themes - Apples

I made a little apple-shaped book on the computer and printed it out in yellow, red and green cardstock.  On one page we’ll do the “use your five senses,” on another write (and learn) an apple fingerplay poem and on the last page, since we have some apples with the leaves still attached, we’ll draw (well I’ll draw) the cross-section of an apple and label/talk about the fruit, stem, leaf and seeds.  You can find apple printables here, here and here.

The twins have been diligently working toward trying to finish up their Calvert school work by the end of December so they can start 7th grade in the new year (we homeschool year round so our new year always starts in the actual new year and not in September).  It’s been awhile since I’ve given them anything really fun to do and since they did such a wonderful job on their Thanksgiving lapbooks last year, I think we’ll do a Christmas lapbook this year.

I made this delicious, rich potato soup yesterday…very easy.

4 cups of peeled, diced Yukon gold potatoes
4 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup of water with 1 vegetable or chicken bouillon cube dissolved in it
1/4 cup of minced carrot
1/4 cup of minced onion
1/4 cup of minced celery
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
a nice splash of heavy cream
Jane’s crazy mixed up salt
pepper
cayenne pepper

Shredded cheddar and chopped chives for garish

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven and cook the carrots, onion, garlic and celery until soft. Add the flour and cook for about a minute. Add the potatoes and broth, water with the bouillon cube in it and bring to a boil. Cover, gently simmer until the potatoes are soft. Using a potato masher, mash some of the potatoes. Break the cream cheese into small pieces and add it to the soup. Let sit for a moment and then stir until melted. Add the cheddar cheese and the splash of heavy cream. Season with salt and peppers and garnish with chives and more cheddar cheese.

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I haven’t posted much lately…we’ve just been so busy! Sharing a few autumn photos.

We took a trip to Boyds Bear Country in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Quinn playing in the apple orchard.

The twins made a rope swing to play on down by the water. It’s hard to see but at the top of the photo you can see the huge beam that it’s attached to jutting out. The beam was used to lower boat motors into the wooden boats that Mr. Lloyd (original owner of my house) and my Daddy built many, many years ago. Our long term goal is to remove the boat railway and build a nice, solid bulkhead straight across our property.

Daddy and Quinn at Cracker Barrel.

Cade and Connor playing checkers at Cracker Barrel. Look at the top graphic on their website (also taken at a Cracker Barrel) to see how much they’ve grown.

The covered bridge on Jericho Road in Historic Jerusalem Mill Village.

Some pretty autumn scenery…soon all the leaves will be gone.

I have to finish up getting ready for the twins big 13th birthday bash on Thursday evening but I’m hoping to fit a drive up to the Skyline Drive sometime this week.

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A Child’s Calendar
November
~ John Updike ~

The stripped and shapely
Maple grieves
The ghosts of her
Departed leaves.
The ground is hard,
As hard as stone.
The year is old,
The birds are flown.
And yet the world,
In its distress,
Displays a certain
Loveliness—