While I’m not originally from the USA, embracing Thanksgiving with my family has been one of the special joys of my American life! I’ve always considered how wonderful it is to have an annual holiday that makes us pause to just be thankful. What a wonderful segue it is between the beauty and activity of the fall and the busyness of the holiday season.

We may be thankful for the many heritages and stories to be found in our country. We may be thankful for provision of basic necessities, good health or majestic nature that we so often take for granted. We may think about those we love and who feature in our daily lives, or perhaps we give thanks, too, for those in leadership or in active service far away from their homes. We might think about a favorite food, or be reminded of the seasonal, native foods that we enjoy that our indigenous communities have cultivated and revered for hundreds and hundreds of years. We might give thanks for education, favorite places, memories, safe travels…the list goes on!

I hope you enjoy this season of thanksgiving with those around you.

I am thankful for YOU, my amazing students & families, who give me abundant joy as we go on Spanish aventuras together! Doy gracias por ustedes.

¿Por qué das gracias? What are you thankful for?

Song:

• Doy gracias por (I’m thankful for)…to the tune: ‘London Bridge is falling down’

  Doy gracias por mis amigos, mis amigos, mis amigos

  Doy gracias por mis amigos, muchas gracias

  I’m thankful for…my friends, my friends, my friends…thank you very much

  …mi familia …my family

  …mi comida …my food

  …mi casa…my house…

Accompanying books & games:

• Download our little book of thanks (“mi libro de gracias”) to color and read at home!

• Download our dice game to play and sing at the Thanksgiving table!

• Read Gracias, Thanks by Pat Mora

  You can read and ask “Que hay?” (What is there?) and practice the words we’ve learnt:

  • Hay niños/niñas…there are boys/girls

  • Hay un árbol….there is a tree

  • Hay hojas….there are leaves

  • Hay mariposas…there are butterflies

  • Hay libros…there are books

  • Hay una mamá…there is a mom

  • Hay música…there is music

  • Hay animales…there are animals

  • Hay comida…there is food

  • Hay familia…there is family

Did you know that harvest celebrations a bit like our Thanksgiving have occurred around the world for thousands of years? We went to Peru this week and discovered a special harvest dish from the Andes mountains, called la pachamanca.

This ancient - and sacred - dish, named so in the Quechua language, is baked with hot stones in an earth oven, a method used since Incan times! La pachamanca features some of the ingredients that may be found at our Thanksgiving table - like corn, potatoes, beans and poultry! WOW!

The Quechua tradition of giving thanks to Mother Earth for its provision is still very much alive today, and seems a very fitting cultural aventura for us to have this month as we enjoy our own harvest celebrations.

I love making these connections between our traditions and those of others around the world!

• Watch a video of la pachamanca being made in the Andes, using an earth oven!

• See a modernized version of this dish made by a Peruvian at home!

• Color the flag of Peru

• Explore the Andes Mountains more with the book: Up And Down The Andes. Click here to check it out. Use the code INSPIRE25 for a special class discount!

• Watch a funny video short that illustrates la gratitud

• Say thank you in Quechua! = sulpayki (pronounced: sool-pay-ki),

¡Gracias! Sulpayki!