The history of Thanksgiving was a little murky to grade-schoolers in Everett and Snohomish. For what they didn’t know, imaginations easily filled in the gaps.
They do know their favorite parts of the holiday: family, giving thanks and hunting down sweets.
Happy Thanksgiving from Rebecca Milles’ second graders at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, and Jennifer Morgan and Andrea Pedersen’s first graders at Cascade View Elementary School in Snohomish.
What do you do every Thanksgiving?
Kyleie O’Rear, 8, Everett: “We get little turkey costumes for my brother. We get lots of turkey shirts. One turkey eats another turkey on one shirt.”
Serena Garcia, 7, Everett: “Last year at Thanksgiving, we played pie face. So you spin the wheel, and you crank it, and then the plastic hand puts whip cream in your face. This year, I’m going to a pie show down. My mom, she doesn’t like whip cream, so I want to do it against her.”
Temians Jibke, 7, Everett: “I eat turkeys.”
Sylvia Anton-Erik, 7, Everett: “I want to let you know something. My birthday is the day before Thanksgiving.”
Aiden Martinez, 8, Everett: “I forgot where I go, but I go and get turkey before Thanksgiving.”
If you could eat anything on Thanksgiving, what would you eat?
Kyleie O’Rear, 8, Everett: “My mom’s sweet potato pie. She always makes that every year, like two pies. My dad always eats most of them, so that’s why she makes two. So one whole pie for my dad and the other pie for my sister, my brother and me and my mom.”
Brayden Van Hook, 7, Everett: “Chocolate chip cookies.”
Sylvia Anton-Erik, 7, Everett: “Cake.”
Mylan Williams, 6, Snohomish: “Only the purple stuff (cranberry sauce) because I don’t like turkey or stuffing. I’ve tried it and it’s yucky because it’s gross.”
Do you help your family cook Thanksgiving dinner?
Serena Garcia, 7, Everett: “No, I didn’t ask yet. I’m even strong enough to hold a watermelon. I can hold a frozen turkey.”
Kyleie O’Rear, 8, Everett: “My dad calls me his chef. After we make dinner, he says, ‘Thank you my chef.’ ”
If you were to cook the turkey this year, how would you cook it?
Marleigh Merino, 7, Everett: “This is what my mom does, she puts her hand in where the head goes and she puts in the stuff. That’s what I’d do.”
Paityn Skouras, 6, Snohomish: “I like to cook it with cookie eyes.”
Camden Byrd, 8, Everett: “Putting lots of bacon on it. I would put the turkey on the inside and put bacon around it.”
What does a turkey look like?
Madisyn Layouni, 7, Everett: “It’s brown. It has little turkey legs and a tummy and actually, you cut off the head, so it has a neck, and that’s all.”
Jayden Davis, 7, Snohomish: “It has a big face and something coming out of his nose.”
Mylan Williams, 6, Snohomish: “It has feathers and when it’s scared or happy its feathers go up, and it’s fast like a dog.”
How does a turkey act?
Serena Garcia, 7, Everett: “If you take them out of the freezer, they feel cold. But a real turkey, the bird kind, they go gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, and they wiggle.”
Emmitt Burpee, 6, Snohomish: “They’re cranky.”
Camden Byrd, 8, Everett: “It runs around. But if you’re crossing it, it starts to chase you.”
What does a turkey sound like?
Noah Matthews, 6, Snohomish: “I can only make a wolf one and a cow one.”
Why do people celebrate Thanksgiving?
Briah Nigh, 7, Everett: “To celebrate love.”
Madisyn Layouni, 7, Everett: “Because they want to celebrate how people discovered America.”
Camden Bryd, 8, Everett: “Because of the veterans.”
Addison Cruze, 6, Snohomish: “Because of the Indians and pilgrims becoming friends.”
Tanner Herman, 6, Snohomish: “Because people have died sometimes and we eat turkey.”
Aiden Martinez, 8, Everett: “So people can help others.”
Kyleie O’Rear, 8, Everett: “I heard of a story last year when I was in first grade. I think it was the pilgrims. They came over and one guy helped them cook corn and that’s why they call it Thanksgiving.”
Noah Valley, 8, Everett: “Because they like chickens.”
How long do you think people have been celebrating Thanksgiving?
Camden Byrd, 8, Everett: “About five centuries.”
Gillian Paje-Smith, 6, Snohomish: “A week.”
Mylan Williams, 6, Snohomish: “Five years because I’m six.”
What are you thankful for?
Noah Matthews, 6, Snohomish: “I’m thankful for my home and the ocean.”
Joshua Kerby, 8, Everett: “What does thankful mean?”
Izmena Rodriguez, 6, Snohomish: “Usually, my mom says she’s thankful for having five girls. I’m thankful for my baby sister.”
Tanner Herman, 6, Snohomish: “I’m thankful for my friends. At recess, they say yes I can play all the time.”
Temians Jibke, 7, Everett: “My dad. I care about him.”
Caitlin Tompkins: 425-339-3192; ctompkins@heraldnet.com
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