TALKING TURKEY; TEACHING YOUNGER STUDENTS ABOUT THE HOLIDAY TAKES MORE EXPLANATION IN SIMPLE TERMS

Aashley Crocker and Lucas Helwege know little about Pilgrims and the Mayflower, but they know all about being thankful.

The children, both 3, are learning about Thanksgiving in their class at the Missouri Preschool Project.

Teaching Thanksgiving lessons is more than just reciting history and the significance of the holiday when the youngest students are involved. It takes more explanation and in simpler terms.

"We just skim the top," said Mendi Gragg, a teacher and director at the preschool. "We don't do as much about the first Thanksgiving because they don't understand the history and concepts."

But they like to read about fall and sharing and sing about turkeys.

Ten children, all age 3, sat in a circle on the floor to listen as Gragg read a storybook about "Giving Thanks."

Gragg reminded the children to be thankful for the sun and rain as she turned the pages of the book.

Lucas told the class he was thankful for Indians and for dogs. Ashley was thankful for her cat. Others in the group were thankful for moms and dads, brothers and sisters, grandparents and even their clothes.

But few of them were thankful for storms, even though they bring rain.

"We're not thankful for tornadoes, right?" asked one girl.

Usually not, Gragg replied.

Daily activities

The children at the Preschool Project have a lesson each day related to Thanksgiving in the weeks before the holiday. They baked individual pumpkin pies Monday to be served for a meal with their grandparents today.

"We talk a lot about turkeys and sharing and being friends with all kinds of people," Gragg said.

The children are a little older at Just Kids child care center, but their lessons are still simple.

"We just introduce what a Pilgrim is and why they were here," said Heather Fisher, director. "We don't go into detail because then they wouldn't understand and they'd get bored."

The lessons also involve activities about being thankful. One class made a box from construction paper to hold slips of paper that listed everything they were thankful for -- that lesson was a "little more elaborate" than just tracing their hands and drawing a turkey, Fisher said.

Just Kids will serve a traditional Thanksgiving meal to its students Wednesday for lunch.

Lessons about Thanksgiving get a little easier as the children get older.

Lessons not mandated

The public-school curriculum in Cape Girardeau doesn't mandate that Thanksgiving lessons be included, but lets each elementary school decide what will be taught.

Every classroom at Jefferson Elementary School does something different to mark the holiday, said Principal Mark Cook.

The kindergarteners have a feast of foods, and the first-grade class will re-enact the story of the Pilgrims gathering for a feast. Second-grade classes will make a friendship stew and talk about sharing and giving.

Older students in third and fourth grades will write thank-you letters and lists of things they are thankful for, while the fifth-grade class researched Thanksgiving customs from around the world to include in an alphabet book.

Teaching about Thanksgiving is easier with younger children because you can plan more activities, although they are usually more time-consuming activities, Cook said. "The older students understand the concepts better, and it's a matter of the different things you can do."