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A feast fit for pilgrims

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River Place Elementary School Kindergartners dressed up and pretended to be pilgrims at their Thanksgiving feast.

Building up to the celebration, Karen Lohman's class of 20 Kindergartners learned why the pilgrims came to America in the 1600s. They also learned about the early-American way of life and hardships.

“We also talked about how the Native Americans helped the pilgrims survive such as [showing them] how to farm the land, how to build a home, how to hunt and fish,” Lohman said.

The class decorated Native American vests and headdresses with symbols and feathers, and everyone even had a papoose.

“We also talked about the customs and traditions, and why they are important,” she said.

The class compared times between now and then. Modern Americans dress, build homes and acquire food much differently than the early settlers did. But many parts of the first Thanksgiving feast remain similar including giving thanks and eating turkey, pie and potatoes and sharing time with family and friends.

In the weeks leading up to the holiday, the kindergartners enjoyed painting a turkey out from their handprints, singing turkey songs and decorating a turkey feather with the help of their families to put on the “perky” turkey in the hallway.

They also made mini pumpkin pies where they measured the ingredients, mixed them and poured them into their very own mini pie shell. They ate the pies for afternoon snack.

“When children are involved in hands-on, interactive lessons, it becomes so much more meaningful and memorable to them. It is a real-life experience for them,” Lohman said.

She hopes her kindergartners gain a profound understanding that Thanksgiving is more than turkey and football. “But that they will appreciate the history and not take the simple things in life for granted,” Lohman said.

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