We’re busy getting ready for Thanksgiving in the Orange Class. I’m also busy getting ready at the Levine house. After hosting only my immediate family because of COVID last year, I’m back to having my extended family for the holiday. After 20 years of hosting, I have the schedule of preparations down to a science.

Earlier in the week I thought I wouldn’t have much to tell you about our activities this week, but of course, things happen. Some of our Thanksgiving activities are easily seen in photographs.

Your children have been practicing using scissors and this week I could see their progress. The children made feathers by ‘fringing’ both sides of a feather and then glued them to our large class turkey. It was very impressive to see them use the scissors independently and control the small cuts rather than cut all the way across the feather. On Thursday, the turkey visited Mrs. Rappaport’s class where her children added more feathers and on Friday, it visited Mrs. McGeachie and her children added even more.

This week the turkey on the left visited our class during Circle Time. It was the only turkey I had at school; the other two were at my home. We sang our Hello song the way anyone would sing to a turkey: Gobble gobble Turkey. Gobble gobble Turkey, etc. On Thursday I remembered to bring the other turkeys to school. But how was I to explain to the children why we now have three turkeys? In typical Mrs. Levine fashion, I pulled out the old flip phone I keep in my prop bucket for special phone calls and told the children a story like this: The turkey was lonely in our classroom so last night he took my flip phone, used his wings to open it and press the buttons and called his friends. He told his friends “gobble gobble gobble gobble come to the Orange Classroom, gobble gobble gobble gobble gobble I’m lonely and want you to visit me gobble gobble gobble gobble . It’s fun to be at school gobble gobble gobble gobble.” The children watched me and never doubted this story. The children on Friday who were not at school had not heard this story and I wanted them to hear it, too. I asked the children why we now have three turkeys and was expecting silence and I would repeat the story with my flip phone. But to my surprise, some of the children told the story about the turkey calling his friends on my phone! I did repeat the story with the flip phone for the benefit of the children who hadn’t heard it the day before. Wouldn’t you love to have an inside track to these 3-year olds and hear their thoughts? These turkeys have special names. They are (left to right) Turkey number 1, Turkey number 2, and Turkey number 3. I tried to trick the children by mixing them up, but they could tell the difference. Can you tell the difference between Turkey number 1 and Turkey number 3? I can’t.