Today I’m grateful for turkey feathers and mini Moanas.

11.26.2024

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While it’s true that teaching requires a great deal of planning, there’s also something to be said about a bit of last-minute inspiration as well. About 20 minutes before school today I decided that my Kindergarteners needed one more turkey activity to properly send them off to Thanksgiving break. We’d just finished our part-part-whole math unit yesterday, so a ‘making ten’ turkey fit the bill perfectly.

The problem with last-minute ideas is that they don’t prep themselves. Thankfully I had Ms. Candice in my corner, comin’ in clutch copying and preparing oodles of turkey feathers this morning while I taught phonics. Come math time, the kids each made a turkey ten-frame and then cut and glued to their hearts’ content.

Our turkeys turned out really cute and, more importantly, helped funnel some of the pre-holiday energy into something productive. The best moment of the day though, came late in the afternoon when we were finishing up our turkeys. I often play music in the classroom to help set a certain tone or to help curb the talking on a particularly chatty day. Such was the case this afternoon. In order to finish their turkeys before the end of the day, I needed the kids to focus on cutting rather than conversations. Cue the Moana soundtrack.

Now if you’ve never had the pleasure of being in a room with a group of 5 and 6-year-olds when Moana comes on through the classroom speakers, let’s just say that the immediate synergy of sound and the eruption of joyous singing is unparalleled. I had twenty-some kids proudly belting out every word of “How Far I’ll Go” in unison and happily cutting turkey feathers without a care in the world.

The day before a school break always tends to be a bit crazy. And today definitely had its crazy moments. But, it also had a few magical ones – thanks to a little last-minute inspiration, a whole bunch of turkey feathers, and my mini Moana singers.