Thanksgiving:
Prayer, Pilgrims, Native Americansby Amanda Bennett
Thanksgiving is an important holiday in our family. For a number of years, I have been using the month of November to prepare myself, our children, and our home for a season of gratitude. It struck me that since we were emphasizing the holiday and our preparation for it to such an extent, why not do a unit study on Thanksgiving?
Last year we used the Thanksgiving unit study from Steward Ship and enjoyed that very much. We will probably use it again in the future. However, this year we're going to try Amanda Bennet's study. Here are some of the things that made me choose it:
- Excellent outline of the unit with helpful information about the history of Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims, the Indians, etc.
- Wide range of suggested activities that were neither too ambitious nor too trite, but help focus on the aspects of the holiday I find most important
- Extensive resource lists that include suggested books, videos, Internet sites, etc.
- Lots of room for notes!
- The history portion of the study includes the Reformation and thus will make an excellent transition from our celebration of Reformation Day to our preparations for Thanksgiving
Looking for books to accompany your unit study about Thanksgiving? Here are some of our suggestions.
Christmas:
History, Prophecy, The Nativity
by Amanda Bennett
This is the first year that we're going to do a prepared unit study for Christmas, although I've put together my own units in the past. We will use the final section of Amanda Bennett's Thanksgiving study to transition into our Christmas unit. As a family, we usually try to begin decorating our home before the first Sunday of Advent, which usually means that we are quickly taking down the Thanksgiving decorations and replacing them with the Christmas ones on Thanksgiving weekend.
In addition to the same type of format and features found in Amanda Bennett's other studies, here's what I think we'll find especially meaningful and enjoyable about this unit study:
- The emphasis on the historical setting of Jesus' birth
- The focus on the true meaning of Christ's birth as found in Scripture
- Activities that will enhance our celebration as a family
- A section on the history of the holiday itself
How to Create Your Own Unit Study by Valerie Bendt
Unit Study Idea Book by Valerie Bendt
The two resources have been enormously helpful. I bought them years ago and they gave me the courage to put together my first unit study, which was probably one of the most exciting adventures we'd had in family learning up until that point. Anyone who wants to create their own unit studies or get ideas for them would benefit from these resources.
