Kids News November

Welcome to Greentrike’s monthly, kid-oriented newsletter!

Kids News is a place where caregivers and children can learn together in a way that’s interesting and understandable for everyone. Each month we’ll talk about holidays and other special events, share playful facts and trivia, keep you in the loop on upcoming events in the community, and make recommendations on books, activities, and so much more.

Holidays and Other Special Events

Native American Heritage Month

Celebrated every November, Native American Heritage Month celebrates the lives and cultures of Native Americans, Native Alaskans, and Native Hawaiians.

What does Native American mean? American people moved from other places in the world to come to America, but Native Americans are people whose families have always been from this land. Native Americans have different traditions depending on the place they’re from, and are often grouped into tribes, which are communities of Native Americans who share the same traditions.

There are five tribes right here in Pierce County! The Nisqually, Puyallup, Squaxin, Muckleshoot and Steilacoom Indians were the first settlers in this area.

You can even visit Tacoma’s Fort Nisqually Living History Museum to see what it was like over 200 years ago when it was used for farming and selling fur. Many different people lived and worked there, including Native Americans and Hawaiians, people from Scotland and England, and other American settlers.

Check out the map below to see the locations of the five tribes in Pierce County!

To learn more about Native American Heritage Month, check out these resources:

Día de los Muertos | November 1 – 2

Also known as Day of the Dead, this joyful two-day festival celebrates those who have passed away with parties, food, and activities. You’ll see lots of happy-looking skeletons, masks, and dolls during Día de los Muertos, as these are common ways for people to celebrate life and remember their loved ones.

This tradition started in Mexico and is celebrated today all across Latin America, which is made up of Central and South America.

The Disney movie Coco is a great way to introduce the traditions of Día de los Muertos to kids.

To learn more about Día de los Muertos, check out these resources:

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Thanksgiving | 4th Thursday of November

Thanksgiving is day of giving thanks, and spending time with our families. We usually build traditions around this time, or activities and events that repeat every year. Do you like to eat a certain food on Thanksgiving? Paint or make certain crafts? Go somewhere special on this day?

Definition of family: Thanksgiving is a time spent with family, but a family can be so many things! For some people, it’s parents and their children. For others, it’s an aunt, grandfather, or other caregiver who takes care of children. And for other people, family is their closest friends. The important thing to remember is that each person has a family, even if it might not look the same as yours.

How can you give thanks?

Notice– Ask questions to figure out what you have to be thankful for. Who takes care of you and does nice things for you? What are you grateful for? Who makes you laugh and smile?

Think– Now that you know who and what you have to give thanks for, take some time to think about it. Do you think you should tell that person thank you? Do you think you earned what they gave you?

Feel– After noticing what you have to be thankful for and thinking about it, focus on how you feel. How does the person or thing you’re thankful for make you feel? Does it make you feel happy? Why?

Do– For the last step in giving thanks, we do something! Is there a way you can show how you feel about what you’re thankful for? Do you want to say ‘thank you’ or give a gift to a person you’re thankful for?

To learn more about the history of Thanksgiving, check out these resources:

Military Family Month

Every November, we take time to say thank you to the military families in the United States for their service. People in the military defend our country and make sacrifices every day in order to do that.

Be on the lookout for a post on military families later this month, where we’ll talk more about what they do, and how we can each show our appreciation.

Giving Tuesday | November 30

Giving Tuesday is celebrated across the world as a day to do good things! You can volunteer your time, donate, or speak up about something that matters to you to kick off the holiday season with love and generosity. Be on the lookout for a blog post all about Giving Tuesday later this month!

Game Time!

Two Truths and a Lie

Can you figure out which one isn’t true?

Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside.
Horses and cows sleep standing up.
Slugs don’t have a nose.

Guess That Zoom

Can you figure out what the bigger picture is?

Trivia

Do you know the answers to these tough questions?

Which animal is the biggest in the world?
What do you get when you freeze water?
How many colors are in the rainbow? Bonus point if you know which colors they are!

*Game Time answers can be found at the end of the blog post!

Play at Home

This at-home programming highlights areas of development from the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) that are enhanced and supported through playful learning! It also includes book suggestions, songs, and crafts.