Talking Turkey: Kids share Thanksgiving thoughts

BRISTOL, Va. – Kindergartner Emmanuel Keister likes turkey.
And so do his classmates Eli Hess, Margaret Frazier and Emily Page in teacher Maxine Duff’s class at Washington-Lee Elementary School in Bristol, Va.
Eli, for one, knows the true meaning of Thanksgiving: “It’s about being friends with everybody and spending time with your family and friends.”
And, of course, being thankful.
“I’m thankful for my Batman collection,” Eli said.
Now, of course, everyone knows Thanksgiving originated in the 1600s with the Pilgrims – a group who, of course, came over on a ship called The Mayflower.
If Eli Hess could go back in time, that’s where he would be – sailing with the Pilgrims.
“I would like to ride with the dolphins,” he said.
Another thing: He wants to empty the chamber pots.
Who were the Pilgrims?
Well, Betsy Ross was one – and so was Helen Keller, according to Sarah Countiss, a pupil in teacher Holly Rolen’s third-grade class at Washington-Lee Elementary School.
Whether any of that is correct, school principal Mike Braswell still tries to stress the significance of the day.
“It’s a big holiday,” Braswell said. “There are no gifts. But people talk about family traditions.”
For first-grader Chance Holt, Thanksgiving usually means a three-hour drive to Tennessee to visit relatives.
Chance also cooks the family’s turkey, he said. “My mom taught me when I was 4. My mom has to help me a little bit, baking it. And my mom has to make the gravy.”
Chance’s teacher, Amy Herndon, makes a big deal out of the Thanksgiving at Washington-Lee Elementary, she said.
And so does second-grade teacher Jessica Lee Kestner.
“We talk about the settlers coming over from England,” Kestner said. “And the children like to tell you what they’re thankful for.”

HOW TO COOK A TURKEY

THANKSGIVING TURKEY – RECIPE #1
From Sarah Countiss, a pupil in teacher Holly Rolen’s third-grade class, Washington-Lee Elementary School, Bristol, Va.:
1. Catch one. “Maybe in Africa.”
2. Clean it.
3. Cook it. “Put it in the stove and then pull the bones out of it.”
4. Cut it and eat it.
Serve with green beans, mashed potatoes, Pringles chips, spaghetti noodles, French fries, plus a sundae – chocolate and strawberry-butterscotch, with a cherry on top.

THANKSGIVING TURKEY – RECIPE #2
From Spencer Bramlette, a pupil in Rolen’s third-grade class, Washington-Lee Elementary School:
1. Ask mom and dad for some money to buy the ingredients. Then, ride a scooter to the grocery store and carry home the turkey in a backpack.
2. Put the turkey in the oven and start cooking it “at 40 or 30 degrees for an hour and a half.”
3. Use a baseball mitt to get the turkey out of the oven.
4. “Take the guts out and put the stuffing in.”
5. Do not eat the turkey “until the people start coming.”
Serve with corn, bread, mashed potatoes, pizza and spaghetti.