The Great Turkey Takeover

This week, I had the opportunity to work with our 2nd grade students and staff as we dove into the three-hour "Great Turkey Takeover," a festive and engaging unit that covered essential academic skills while celebrating the spirit of the holiday. We started in the cafeteria as a whole grade for an introduction to the day.

The highlight was a thrilling STEM challenge: students worked collaboratively to design and engineer protective structures on the farm, using critical thinking and problem-solving to ensure Tom the Turkey would be safe from an upcoming storm.

The students also practiced real-world financial literacy with "Turkey Math," tackling budgeting and money counting as they "shopped" for Thanksgiving feast items. Tying everything together, the students demonstrated true appreciation through a dedicated gratitude practice, crafting personalized thank you notes to show our deep thanks for the hard work of our school staff, including our custodians, office team, nurse, and curriculum coordinators.