CAHAL kids learn about Thanksgiving … at HANC

Children in the CAHAL kindergarten class at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County have been learning about the Pilgrims who came to America aboard the Mayflower and the hardships they suffered on their journey.

The children experienced daily life in a Pilgrim village by reading library books, making their own butter which they spread on their Shabbos challah and crackers, and by watching videos from the living museum village at Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts. They were in awe of how sparse and difficult Pilgrim life was and how many chores the children had to perform on a daily basis. The class compared and contrasted the clothing, hair styles, foods and homes of the Pilgrims to those of the Native Americans as well as to those in their own lives.

In the spirit of giving thanks to those who help us, the children invited their therapists to a sumptuous feast on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Each child made a big white Pilgrim collar and hat as well as a Native American vest, which they fringed and sponge painted; a headband which they decorated with stickers in patterns they created, and a colorful wooden beaded necklace.

They greeted their guests in costume and escorted them to the tables which were laden with foods that each participant child brought for the feast. While they had turkey, corn, cranberry sauce, applesauce and potatoes, the favorite on the menu was the pumpkin muffins which they baked from scratch.

After entertaining their guests with holiday songs, the children changed costumes and walked throughout the school giving out pumpkin muffins to others who help daily, such as the principal, nurse, custodians, and specialty teachers in the school. To finish off the day of fun, they played “Duck, Duck, Turkey” and “Pin the Hat on the Turkey,” and then marched around with their kindergarten friends in the mainstream buddy class, sharing their songs to the beat of their Indian drums.