When it comes to Thanksgiving, grade schoolers don’t fuss too much about the particulars.
They’re foggy on the Pilgrims and Indians, can’t say why we watch all that football, and as far as the turkey goes, well, it could just be magic. They do know one thing, though. They know what makes them thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving from the boys and girls in Michelle Josephsen’s first-grade class at Monte Cristo Elementary in Granite Falls, Doug McNeill’s third-grade class at the same school, and Heather Dolan’s second-grade class at Serene Lake Elementary in Mukilteo. (See a video featuring the students here.)
Tell us about the turkey
Step one: Getting the turkey
Carsten Marsh, 6, Granite Falls: “We go in the forest and we have like a box, so we have a big rope that goes all the way up the tree. And my dad, he pulls the tree down with his truck and then it catches the turkey.”
Step two: Preparing the turkey
Christian Marsh, 8, Granite Falls: “Take out the skeleton. And you have to cut off the head, and then you cut it in pieces and put it in the pot.”
Step three: Cooking the turkey
Autumn Howe, 6, Granite Falls: “Usually you’re going to have to put a little flour in with it, and then eggs in the meat … and then we add a little more stuff in it. Then we put it in the oven and it bakes for 24 minutes.”
Step four: Prepping the turkey for the table
Taylor McCaughan-Schireman, 6, Granite Falls: “Put it in the refrigerator to cool it down, because it’s always like burning and stuff.”
How did those Pilgrims and Indians meet?
Brandyn Roberts, 8, Granite Falls: “There was this one king that was really bad, so they (the pilgrims) sailed over to … where the Indians lived. And the Indians taught the pilgrims how to, like, set up crops and plant different vegetables. The Indians and the Pilgrims became friends and they had a fiesta … and it became a tradition to do every Thanksgiving.”
Keely Nash, 8, Granite Falls: “These two guys went to some island and they found some Indians and they helped their tribe and stuff, so they brought Thanksgiving to celebrate that day of meeting the tribe. They had a little celebration with fireworks and fires.”
What makes you thankful?
Cierra Flint, 8, Granite Falls: “That we all get together.”
Cobi Stancik, 7, Mukilteo: “My dog. I had my dog since I was in first grade.”
Brooke Erlandsen, 7, Mukilteo: “My friends. They make me feel better when I’m sad.”
Gabriel Borstad, 6, Granite Falls: “Toys.”
Shannon Dimitroff, 8, Mukilteo: “I’m thankful for my friends at school and at home.”
Gage Junkers, 7, Mukilteo: “I’m thankful for God. He gives us food. I like the food he gives us.”
Chris Hartl, Mukilteo: “Legos. You can build almost anything out of them.”
Leo Powell, 8, Granite Falls: “Nothing in particular.”
What do you do on Thanksgiving?
Taylor McCaughan-Schireman, 6, Granite Falls: “We bring over friends, we give them presents and stuff, then we eat and then we do some games, and then dessert, and there’s a lot of things. I can’t go over all of them, because there are so many things.”
Lorelei Alexander, 8, Granite Falls: “Stay out of the way, ‘cause there’s not much I can do. I usually just clean.”
Jacob Tolbert, 8, Granite Falls: “I eat, like, Jell-O, and go to my Grandma’s house.”
Tully Scott, 8, Mukilteo: “We eat a lot of food and then we watch a movie.”
Justin Baker, 7, Granite Falls: “We usually set up the table and make the dinner and invite some friends over. Then we eat and play some games and have dessert. Then my friends go to their house.”
Kaydin Wall, 7, Mukilteo: “I pretty much do the same thing, but go up to my cabin, up in the mountains.”
Josh Davis, 9, Granite Falls: “Usually I’m off playing games with my cousins.”
Ally Hatfield, 8, Granite Falls: “It’s just a little bit noisy, because we play a lot. We play Guitar Hero and stuff like that.”
Fernando Alvarez-Lopez, 7, Mukilteo: “We eat a lot of food and, and, and … my dad takes me to the zoo.”
Explain the wishbone thing to us
Gage Junkers, 7, Mukilteo: “First you have to take it out of the turkey and shave the rest of the turkey off and you have to, like, let it dry for a few days, and when it’s dry, you crack it.”
The menu
Parents: Take note. We asked kids what they love to eat and what they don’t.
Love it: Turkey, chicken, ham, salmon, pumpkin bread, mashed potatoes, gravy, Jell-O
Hate it: Broccoli, green bean casserole, corn cooked in the oven, stuffing, onions, little green beans.
Wish they could eat: Pizza, hamburgers, popcorn.
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com
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