Thanksgiving Feast for Southdown School Kindergarteners
Thanksgiving came a few days early for Southdown School kindergarteners who enjoyed a veritable feast, singing songs and filling themselves with slices of turkey and all the trimmings several days in advance.
The youngsters earlier studied about the origins of Thanksgiving in America, taking an in-depth look at the natives that the first settlers found populating this new land and how the two groups came together nearly four centuries ago to share a common meal.
The Southdown boys and girls memorized and rehearsed humorous and fun turkey-themed songs. The songs were later performed for family members and friends in the school gym, which was specially decorated for the occasion. The students also played an authentic Native American lummi stick game.
Long tables were arranged in the gym and adorned with handmade placemats in preparation for the feast. Then the youngsters, who were wearing traditional Thanksgiving costumes which they made themselves, dived into a feast of turkey and all the works as served up by the food service staff.
Kindergarten teachers made sure the event was an educational one, crafting lessons about the foods, dress, customs and culture of the early American settlers and the Native Americans that lived here for hundreds of years prior to the arrival of the Europeans.
Another aspect of settler life that teachers and students focused upon had to do with the never-ending hard work that was common throughout the period.
"The Pilgrims didn't have many opportunities to take it easy, yet they didn't hesitate to consider themselves very fortunate," Principal Michelle Marino said. Hence a day was set aside to "give thanks" and come together with others.
Like Thanksgiving in America, the Southdown kindergarten feast is a tradition at the school and Mrs. Marino hopes it continues many years to come. "The children absolutely enjoy it," she said.