EVERETT — Do you know what sound a turkey makes?
“Cock-a-doodle-doo,” 6-year-old Charley informed us. “Hello, I’m turkey!”
On the Monday before Thanksgiving, students and teachers at Jackson Elementary jittered with excitement for the long weekend. A blue poster hung in the hallway: “GNOME for the holidays.”
Handmade turkeys with googly eyes lined the classroom walls. On the orange-and-yellow feathers, students wrote what they were thankful for: mom, family and “my house.”
Most kindergarteners don’t know the traditional story of Thanksgiving just yet. At this age, it’s all about gratitude, what it means to be thankful, and of course, the turkeys, teacher Kayla Blair said.
The Daily Herald sat down with kids from three Jackson kindergarten classes to ask hard-hitting questions about the holiday.
What are you learning about Thanksgiving in class right now?
Emmae, 6: “What I’m learning about is that Thanksgiving has turkeys.”
Soliana, 6: “Making turkeys. We’re making them with feathers, and Thanksgiving pictures, and feathers.”
Thomas, 5: “Making turkeys with paper.”
Emmae thinks about a a question during an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Do you know the story of Thanksgiving?
Madalyn, 5: “I don’t even know what it is. But I do know you get, like, food.”
Stormie, 5: “No.”
Eli, 5: “Yeah.”
Atlas, 5: “Uh, I don’t know.”
Berkeley, 5: “Um, I actually forgot.”
Bennett, 5, wearing a Minecraft shirt: “Sure. I think the creepers are watching the turkeys just get killed.”
Madison, 5: “I’ve never been to Thanksgiving before. I’ve never been there.”
Charley, 6: “Thanksgiving is where, like, everyone eats delicious food.”
Atlas ponders a question during an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Do you know what a pilgrim is?
Soliana, 6: “It’s where you have something. Important stuff.”
Soliana takes a moment to think about her response to a question during an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How are you celebrating Thanksgiving?
Stormie, 5: “For Thanksgiving, we are making pie, even our dad is going to grill.”
Atlas, 5: “By having fun.”
Berkeley, 5: “How we usually do it, we put our decorations up and get cookies out to everybody.”
Bennett, 5: “Bringing turkey.”
Brooklynn, 5: “Having a big turkey. But if a real turkey were alive, it would have a baby.”
Madison, 5: “I’m going to see my brother tomorrow. I’m really excited because my brother lives really far away.”
Eli, 5: “A new picture. And it’s going to go, ‘Pa-ching!’ That one’s going to be pretty. And it’s going to be Mother’s Day tomorrow.”
Brooklynn answers questions from reporter Maya Tizon during an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How old are you?
Eli, 5: “I’m 5.”
When did you turn 5?
Eli, 5: “On my birthday. Seventeen years.”
Eli fields a question during an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?
Madalyn, 5: “Turkey.”
Stormie, 5: “Turkey.”
Eli, 5: “Chocolate.”
Atlas, 5: “Like, turkey.”
Berkeley, 5: “Cookies.”
Bennett, 5: “Bacon.”
Brooklynn, 5: “Just turkey.”
Madison, 5: “I don’t know. I don’t know what’s there.”
Ridayna, 6: “Carrots.”
Emmae, 6: “Bacon and BBQ and ham.”
Ridayna listens to a question during an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
What is the grossest Thanksgiving food?
Stormie, 5: “I can’t remember.”
Eli, 5: “Um, mud.”
Atlas, 5: “Crab. The crust of the crab. I like the meat of the crab and the turkey, but I don’t like the shell of the crab.”
Berkeley, 5: “Crab.”
Bennett, 5: “Ice cream with grass in it.”
Madison, 5: “I do not like mashed potatoes.”
Charley, 6: “Uhhhhh. Pie.”
Emmae, 6: “I don’t like to eat peppers.”
Soliana, 6: “Potatoes and broccoli.”
Berkeley answers questions during an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Have you ever seen a turkey before?
Charley, 6: “Yeah. On a farm.”
Charley plays with her penguin hat as she answers questions during an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. Charley does not own a turkey hat. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
If a turkey could speak, what would it say?
Madalyn, 5: “I don’t know.”
Stormie, 5: “Gobble gobble.”
Eli, 5: “He’s going to say, ‘I’m going to be in trouble.’ And I’m going to cook him.”
Atlas, 5: “Hello.”
Berkeley, 5: “I don’t know.”
Bennett, 5: “I think it would say ‘gobble.’ Only ‘gobble.’”
Brooklynn, 5: “G-A-A-AHBLE.”
Madison, 5: “Uh, hi?”
Emmae, 6: “Bok.”
Stormie laughs at a question during an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How much can you eat?
Madalyn, 5: “Like, this much.”
Madalyn answers questions during an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Do you help cook?
Madalyn, 5: “I used to.”
Soliana, 6: “Yeah, I help cook the turkey. You fry it.”
Stormie, 5: “I don’t, like, cook. I watch.”
Eli, 5: “Yeah. I make some eggs, and some fish, and some hot dogs. For Mother’s Day.”
Bennett, 5: “I help making pancakes.”
Brooklynn, 5: “I don’t know how to cook.”
Madison, 5: “Sometimes.”
Charley, 6: “I’m not going to do the whole thing. I cooked a pancake before.”
Madison heads back to class after an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
What are you thankful for?
Madalyn, 5: “I’m thankful for my mom, and my friends and my family and my brothers.”
Stormie, 5: “For my dog and my mom. Because I have a chihuahua. Her name is Chi Chi.”
Eli, 5: “I’m thankful for my mommy and my daddy.”
Atlas, 5: “Happiness.”
Berkeley, 5: “I’m thankful for my puppies.”
Bennett, 5: “When my dad gives me something I like, like a toy. But also I donated some. I got way too many on my Christmas list.”
Madison, 5: “Being kind and being nice.”
Thomas, 5: “Blippi. My mom.”
Emmae, 6: “I’m thankful for going to gymnastics.”
Bennett answers questions during an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
What does it mean to be thankful?
Bennett, 5: “Be kind, be safe, be respectful to your classmates and teacher.”
Brooklynn, 5: “Be kind, and be loved and help others. That’s all the things I know.”
Madison, 5: “Being kind.”
Charley, 6: “I like when my mom gives me kisses.”
Emmae, 6: “It means to be very, very good.”
Who else do you love?
Thomas, 5: “Nana. Tacos.”
Thomas shrugs in response to a question during an interview with the Herald on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, at Jackson Elementary School in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.
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