By Sarah Nagem
snagem@salisburypost.com
Who says learning can’t be delicious?
Some students at Salisbury Academy had a tasty history lesson last week. To enhance the first-graders’ lessons about Pilgrims and the third-graders’ lessons about Native Americans, the classes gathered for an early Thanksgiving feast on Nov. 19.
And they learned some things in the process, and here are just few of those nuggets:
– Their turkey came from Harris Teeter, but those attending the original Thanksgiving hunted and gathered their dinner.
– Thanksgiving is about spending time with loved ones.
– The Pilgrims and Native Americans learned to work together.
– And 9-year-old Drew Shelby’s mom makes the best corn on the cob, mainly because it’s buttery and has parsley sprinkled on it.
The early Thanksgiving dinner for first- and third-graders is a tradition at Salisbury Academy.
“It connects the children with each other,” said Sharon Agee, a third-grade teacher.
Thirty students gathered in the gym, the younger ones dressed in Pilgrim hats they made themselves. The older students wore buckskin cover-ups over their clothes to look like Native Americans.
Ethan Stafford, an 8-year-old third-grader, really got into his costume, accenting with an arrowhead necklace.
“Hand-me-down from my uncle,” Stafford explained. “I just wore it because I heard a lot of Indians wore necklaces.”
Students enjoyed food donated by parents ó turkey, cornbread, cabbage, blueberries and more.
“My favorite part about Thanksgiving is you get to have turkey and food,” first-grader Jessica Jensen said.
But Jensen said something else is special about turkey day.
“It’s when you get together with your family and have a great time,” she said.
Third-grader Kathryn Morrison recited the original Thanksgiving story with no trouble at all.
The Pilgrims sailed for months on the Mayflower to come to America, she said.
“They finally got to land, and they met the Indians,” Morrison explained. “The Indians taught them how to grow (crops), and they had a big feast.”
And there you have it.
The day of the feast, Shelby wanted to make sure his peers didn’t miss the chance to try his mother’s corn.
It really is good, he said.
Diane Fisher, who was recently named the academy’s head of school, said activities like the Thanksgiving dinner are important.
“We like for children to experience things,” Fisher said. “We feel like it will mean more to them.”