Storytelling and reading help build the skills for reading and writing later on in a child's education. Stories about Native American culture -- both fiction and non-fiction -- offer more than just a chance to read to kids. They also teach kids about history and social studies as well. Although many of the books that are written are stories about the first Thanksgiving, you should include other stories also. Books like "Grandmother's Pigeon," "Nanabosho Steals Fire" and "Star Boy" are examples of books that give fresh perspectives on Native American culture and life (see Resources).
To the Hopi Indians, the Kachina doll is the spirit of life itself. In traditional culture, Kachina dolls have been made of carved wood and represent important people or animals in this Native American culture such as the chief, the corn maiden, the sun or the clouds. Making Kachina dolls in a preschool class offers you a way to introduce this cultural tradition to your class in an art project. For a simple Kachina doll project you need a cardboard tube, tape, scissors, glue, a Styrofoam ball, and decorative objects like feathers, construction paper, yarn, beads and other items. Glue the Styrofoam ball onto the top of the cardboard tube. Cut the hair into pieces measuring 3 inches or so. Glue these onto the top of the ball to make the Kachina's hair. Cover the body with construction paper or felt as well as beads, feathers, shells, ribbons and other decorative objects. Paint a face on the doll with markers (see Resources).
Native Americans made their own decorative adornments like beads from clay, shells and other raw materials, which they used to decorate clothing items and belts. Use the bead to introduce a social studies unit on Native American bead making. Make homemade clay from cornstarch and divide it among your preschool kids. Have them form beads by rolling the clay into balls and poking holes in it with a shish kebab skewer. Once the beads are dry, ask the kids to paint them with acrylic paint and string onto cord to make necklaces. Use a standard cornstarch clay recipe for this project.
Art helps children better understand different concepts and teaches them about different cultures. A Native American-related art project like corn prints is simple enough for preschoolers to do, but instills in them the importance of corn in Native American life. To do a corn print project, gather corncobs with the husks removed, water-based paint and construction paper. Have kids dip their corncobs into different colors of paint and print their paper with the corncob. Larger pieces of art can be turned into place mats for Thanksgiving.