After hearing an adaptation of the Mohawk Thanksgiving address, second graders shared what they are most thankful for this year.

With our Thanksgiving holiday coming up next week, Second Grade Teacher Ms. Barkhouser wanted to offer a gift to the second grade class and set the intention of giving thanks to the natural world and all of the ways it sustains us. She chose to tell an adaptation of the Mohawk Thanksgiving Address, as a seed for the children's work next year, when they will spend several months working with the traditional stories of the Haudenosaunee. It will sleep within them to be reawakened next year.

As part of this lesson, the teacher read the book "Giving Thanks" by Chief Jake Swamp. Readings of the book are available on YouTube if you would like to explore the Mohawk Thanksgiving address.

Following the reading, Ms. Barkhouser drew a large sun and asked the second grade students to offer what they are thankful for, adding each as a ray of light coming from the center. She was amazed at what they came up with, nothing trivial, such as toys/candy, but items of nature and family, inspired by the reading of Chief Jake Swamp’s book.

Want to learn more about the Waldorf approach to second grade? Visit our second grade page: https://www.waldorfschoolofbaltimore.org/lower-school/grade-2