Give Thanks - Kids Night In Review

Give Thanks - Kids Night In Review

*This post does contain affiliate links. I do make commission when any purchases are made using these links.

So many things to be thankful for this time of year, and not just around Thanksgiving. We moved a few months ago and we were lucky enough to have some family come visit and join us for Thanksgiving in our new home. My kids LOVED having some extra familiar faces around, and I enjoyed the extra help in the kitchen. Our November Kids Night In box arrived just after Thanksgiving, but that didn't stop us from talking about what being grateful meant. With two independent and strong willed boys, sometimes they need the reminder. If you missed out on the November box, that's ok! You still have time to get the December themed box - Winter Wonderland. The order cutoff is December 13th!

Let's jump right into the contents of this box. I barely have time to take note as my son excitedly pulls everything out faster than I can say "wait for me!"

What's Included:

Night In Itinerary

Included book - Thanks from The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Art Paper

Crayons

Water color set

Permanent marker

Plastic shovel

Seed paper

Watch Me Grow pocket greenhouse

Clothespin

Ziploc

Pretzels

Candy Melts

Sprinkles

I always tell myself, next month we'll get to the menu! But then my kids can't wait once we get the box and I end up not doing it. I really wanted to this month, and I still probably will because it was so cute and the perfect snack for my apple loving kids.

Give Thanks Themed Menu:

The menu this month went right along with The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In fact, it was a delicious fruit and veggie snack made to look like the Caterpillar himself! Using green and red apples, celery, carrots, and other goodies to make the caterpillar in a little garden. It really went perfectly with this theme, and it will be something we definitely try in the future.

Activities:

One of the activities was talking about gratitude, giving thanks, and paying it forward. The itinerary went through the acronym:

Gratitude
Is

Very

Easy

Thank others

Help others

Appreciate what you have

Notice your blessings

Know your gifts

Serve others

We then talked about family, friends, and objects we have in our lives that we are thankful for. Another activity was discussing how important it is to care for our Earth and planting seeds. We used soil from a planter, planted and watered our seeds. We hung them in the window and my son has been checking them every day! We talked about how plants help us to be able the breathe, rain fills up our rivers and lakes to give us clean water to drink. We always have to be thankful for these, and not take them for granted.

My son's favorite activity was making the Butterfly Gratitude Bag, and he ended up sharing with his little brother. After all, they are thankful for each other. Together, we melted the candy melts and drizzled it over the pretzels. We then added the sprinkles for a special touch. I can't say that there weren't any sticky fingers made in the process, that melted candy was pretty yummy! There was a lot left over, so we ended up using pretzels from our pantry and making candy coated pretzels for an extra snack for a later day.

The last activity was drawing, coloring, and water coloring a leaf. We then discussed what my son was thankful for, and wrote it around the leaf. What a great activity to create calmness and reflect on what's important.

My favorite part of each box is the included book. They are always such great reads that I don't mind adding to our book collection. The book this month was Thanks from The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, and if you love children's books like I do (hello former teacher!), you know that he's a great author and illustrator. This book was about saying thanks and being thankful for everything around us, to care for and be kind to all living creatures. Of course, it had the best illustrations.

If this sounds like something right up your alley and want to try out the December box, you have until the 13th to get yours in time, so click my affiliate link here: Winter Wonderland and use code NIBWINTER to save 15% on all plans!

*This post does contain affiliate links. I do make commission when any purchases are made using these links.

Children's Book Favorites: Christmas Edition

Who loves holiday specific books?? As a teacher, I tend to only put out our holiday books during that holiday, but it makes the books all the more special because they haven’t been reading them all year long. We have so many Christmas books, but this is the first time I am putting together a list of the books you can find in my kid’s reading area! If you have any favorites that I don’t list, I would love to hear them! Be sure to click on the links to read a little more about each book if they interest you.

The Littlest Elf [Brandy Dougherty] A cute story about a little elf who gets into a little trouble discovering what his special job is.

My First Christmas [Worthy Kids/Ideals Editors] A short Christmas board book filled with bright colorful pictures and simple words to teach the littlest of readers different Christmas themed objects.

Spot’s Magical Christmas [Eric Hill] Everyone knows about Spot the dog, this a cute little story to follow along on his magical Christmas.

Olive, the Other Reindeer [Vivian Walsh] When a dog, Olive, hears the song Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with the line “all of the other reindeer”, he believes he must actually be a reindeer and heads to the North Pole.

Llama Llama Jingle Bells [Anna Dewdney] No drama llama found in this childhood favorite. The same fun rhyme that you find in all Llama Llama books, just with a Christmas twist!

Snowflake Baby [Elise Broach] A lift the flap book that goes through baby’s fun day in the snow.

Eight Jolly Reindeer [Ilanit Oliver] A simple counting book that counts down as Santa’s reindeer fly up into the sky.

Madeline’s Christmas [Ludwig Bemelmans] If your child likes Madline, he/she will LOVE this Christmas version!

Memoirs of an Elf [Devin Scillian] Beginning on Christmas Eve, follow along with the Elf side to all things Christmas, Santa, and delivering presents. This was student favorite, it’s too fun!

Corduroy’s Christmas Surprise [Don Freeman] Who doesn’t love a Corduroy story?! In his story you’ll learn just what Christmas means to Corduroy.

The Polar Express [Chris Van Allsburg] A Christmas classic about believing in the magic of Christmas.

A Pirate’s Night Before Christmas [Philip Yates] Both of my boys love this book. Follows the classic rhyme from The Night Before Christmas…but with a pirate twist! Lots of fun!

Olaf’s Frozen Adventure [Disney] Obviously a favorite around here. If you love Frozen and Olaf, you’ll adore this book. It follows the same story line as the movie, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.

Little Blue Truck’s Christmas [Alice Schertle] Follow Little Blue Truck on a Christmas adventure, complete with a tree and twinkle lights!

I hope that some of these books will get added to your cart this year! We also have a few chapter books that aren’t listed, but we love those too. My boys do have their favorites that I will find them reading over and over, but they eventually make their way through the whole basket. We tend to add new books each year that the boys get for Christmas, giving them something to look forward to next year! Happy reading!

*This post does contain affiliate links, so if you decide to purchase after viewing my links, I may make a commission.