Thanksgiving Synonyms and Smoothies

Aw, the life of a busy teacher trying to keep it all together, enjoy this wonderful weather outside, and trying to still find time to plan for the holidays coming up.

In the midst of this fall-filled craziness, I wanted to share with you 2 Thanksgiving inspired concoctions that I've sort of made my own.

First: Thanksgiving Synonyms

This is my bulletin board right now. I love it, and I love how easy, fast, and inexpensive it was to do...not to mention extremely rewarding for the kids.
So.......

* I stole 18 paint strips from the store (hey, they're free and there was no sign about limits....but I still had my husband stake out just in case...hehehe).
* I wrote a base word at the top of each strip.
* I explained to my students that synonyms are a lot like paint strips: they're different shades of the same color...or different words with the same meaning. Each student had to write 2 synonyms below the base word and then switch with another student and then write 2 more synonyms for their new base word. (They could not use a word that had already been written.) Each student switched a total of 3 times. It was a blast to see what they could come up with!

*After I had all of my synonym strips, I made a quick cut out of a turkey, and then stapled the strips around the turkey to make them look like feathers.

Easy as pie!

Mmmm...speaking of pie, here's my next wonderful discovery.

Second: Thanksgiving Smoothie

I love pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes.....lots of things pumpkin. Have you seen pinterest lately? I'm not alone in this pumpkin obsession. However, I decided that I don't want to get myself into holiday overeating trouble this year. I know that I am going to eat way too much of way too many bad foods on Thanksgiving Day. I also know that most of the gifts I will receive around Christmas time will be coated in chocolate. I will balance myself out....I will...but I also wanted to start cutting back on the carbs that are so tempting to indulge in this time of year.

Solution? Smoothies. It's very helpful to replace breakfast and dinner with a nutritional smoothie. (Don't skip meals, though, and I do have a regular lunch.)

When I came across this pumpkin pie smoothie, I about died of excitement. If you are really a pumpkin lover, you'd appreciate its deliciousness.

Ingredients: 1 frozen banana, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1/4 cup canned pumpkin, 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk, 3-4 ice cubes, and I added 1/2 cup of this tasty iced coffee. (Caffeine is often vital in my day.)

Directions: Ummm.....blend it. Then pour. The end.

I've heard that whipped cream on top is good, too, but I decided to drink it plain.

Happy Thanksgiving Prep Days everyone! I hope to bring some more holiday themed ideas on here as the holidays whiz passed us.

May YOUR heart be filled with joy this week and next!