Harvest Hoedown

A preschool tradition has always been the annual Harvest Hoedown.  My partner in crime (aka the other preschool teacher)  and I decided that we would continue this tradition this year.  We went for the Tuesday before Thanksgiving because we were not starting a new unit due to the short week and we just thought it would be a fun stress free activity for the kids and parents to enjoy,

We had 9 stations set up.  The parents and kids were able to go to each station at their own pace.  We circulated and helped wherever needed.  The paras worked with the kids who did not have parents there.  The kids all started by readings book in my classroom ('Twas the night before Thanksgiving) and then went very the the other room for snack (our rooms are connected by the bathroom).  After snack they started stations.

We had pumpkin seed planting.

Corn Shucking (which was really getting corn off the cob).  This was a favorite as the kernels kept flying all over!

Fall I Spy (There was a poster that had pictures of all the things they needed to find.  This was a great sensory experience for some of my kiddos)

Turkey Cutting (These two handsome men are my husband and 4 year old son)

Fall Noodle Necklaces

T-shirt sponge painting 

Fall Investigate (The kids used magnifying glasses to check out leaves, sticks, etc)

We also had a play dough station and a coloring station.  I really was amazed at how smoothly everything went.  Our next "event" is the Christmas musical.  Do you do anything special in your classroom to invite the parents in?