The Pilgrims and the Indians

 

  One of my favorite projects for primary grades has been the Pilgrim and the Indians using the classified section of the newspaper for the black and white pilgrims.

                          Click to enlarge!

These didn't fit too well into the scanner, but I think that you can get the idea of what they look like.  These samples were done by older children, but this idea can be adapted to Kindergarten.  We spend a lot of time talking about the Pilgrims and what kinds of clothing that they wore.  We do tell them that they did NOT just wear black and white like so many people have thought.  There are several good books for children.

I would recommend that an adult trace the patterns on the newspaper and then have the children decorate them before an adult cuts them out.   The newspaper tears too easily for little hands!  We mounted them on the yellow construction paper and cut around them. We had each child write a story (or dictate) telling us what they remembered about the Pilgrims.  These stories are at the bottom of the page using regular writing paper that was a bit smaller than 8 1/2 x 11."  The pictures and story paper was then put on the blue construction paper  backing paper (12x18.)  These look so cute on the bulletin board.  Sometimes we have the children just make one pilgrim.   

Click on pictures to enlarge.

  This is a black and white picture of the sample above showing the story below.

 

  Another cute idea for Pilgrims is making them using a paper plate.  I am not sure where I found these, but they are not my original idea.  If anyone knows, please let me know and I will give credit.

                                 Click to enlarge.

The cheapest kind of paper plates were used for the boy and girl Pilgrim.  The girl uses only the paper plate.  The boy uses a paper plate for his face and collar.  The hat and buckle was made using construction paper.  The hat brim is a bit wider than shown.  The scanner cut off the outside edges. 

 

 

We have a Thanksgiving Feast each year and the children dress up as a Pilgrim or an Indian.  The patterns that we use are a bit difficult to fit here, but hopefully these pictures will give you some ideas of how to do it. 

Click on the picture to enlarge the collar that both the girl and boy Pilgrim wear. This was made with a 12x18 piece of white construction paper.  The corners were rounded and a slit made in the center front. The neck hole was cut out of the center to fit.  Yarn ties were used at the neck to hold the collars on.  See pictures below.

Pilgrim Girls' Hat

  Using a 12x16 piece of white, construction paper fold the bottom up about 2 1/2 inches for the hat brim.  Then cut a notch in the center as shown.  Do not cut it out.  The notch is folded in and the two sides over the notch and then stapled down to make the hat.  This part will be at the bottom (back of neck) when it is worn.  Pieces of white yarn were stapled on each side and used to tie the hat on the girls.  They look very cute!

 

Pilgrim Boys' Hat

The boys' hat is made using black construction paper with a white band and yellow buckle.  A sentence strip of tagboard was used as a headband to hold the "hat" on.

                   

The Indian Costumes

Both the girls and boys wore the same costume.  The vest was made using a full-size brown, paper grocery bag.  I have to study it each year and usually have a parent help me figure it out!

                                             Click to enlarge.

Each child paints pictures and we write an Indian name that they have chosen on their vest.  The headbands are made with colored construction paper.  Sometimes we use real feathers for the headbands. 

Below are some pictures of the children at our last year's annual Thanksgiving feast.

Indian Pasta Necklaces

 

Click on the photo to enlarge.  We made our pasta necklaces using Coloration Liquid Watercolors.  We find that they are easier and have more vibrant colors than the food coloring.  We put the pasta in a zip lock bag, add a few drops of watercolor and shake!  No alcohol is needed. 

The little medallion is courtesy of Nora at www.littlegiraffes.com   Thanks Nora! This was made using construction paper and is looped over the necklace and stapled or glued. There is a blank line on the reverse side of the medallion for the child's Indian name.  Click on the pattern below.

        

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