“Okay, boys and girls,” Miss Nell said to get their attention. “It’s time for Circle Time to begin.” When they were all settled she said, “Who can tell me the holiday that is coming up?” Several hands went up. When his teacher pointed to him, Brian said, “Halloween?” Everyone else laughed and said a big loud, “No!”

As she flipped her hair back, Katie said, “Brian, everyone knows she’s talking about Christmas!” The class cheered, “Yea!” and “Presents!” It took Miss Nell a minute to get them calmed down. She said, “No, I’m not talking about Christmas.”

“Come on guys think hard. I’m sure you know it.” Miss Nell looked hopefully at Tyler and then at Jerome. She felt certain that one of them would know. Tyler raised his hand and said, “Election Day?” Before Miss Nell could respond, Jerome shouted out, “I know, it’s Turkey Day!”

Miss Nell said, “Well, yes, most of us eat turkey on this day but it’s called….” She waited a moment for them to respond and when they didn’t, she answered it for herself, “Thanksgiving!” The students were still looking at her like they didn’t know what she was talking about.

Then Miranda said, “Oh, I know the day you’re talking about! I help my mom make a pumpkin pie!” Brian said, “Yeah, my mom makes pumpkin pie, too. I think it’s because we get hungry from watching a lot of football.” Aleisha asked, “The football that comes on after the parade?”

Katie asked, “Are you guys talking about the day that the newspaper is really big because all the stores are having huge sales? My family eats pumpkin pie on that day, too.”

Miss Nell could not believe her ears. No one was saying anything about the Pilgrims or the Mayflower or more importantly not one word was being said about being thankful.

As Miss Nell sat there in disbelief listening to the children talking among themselves she noticed that Tyler had his hand up. She said a silent ‘please’ before she called on him. Tyler said, “Is anything actually celebrated on ‘Thanksgiving’ or is it just a day that we watch a lot of TV and eat a lot of food?”

Miss Nell smiled as she said, “I’m glad you asked!” She walked over to her desk and picked up a book. She opened it up to read and they all settled in for a story. And what a story it was! They sat and listened with wide eyes as she read to them a story about people called ‘Pilgrims’ and a boat called the ‘Mayflower’. It all took place when the United States was referred to as the ‘New World’.

When she finished reading she said, “So you see, we really do celebrate something special on Thanksgiving!” Miss Nell then said, “To honor that first Thanksgiving, we are going to spend the rest of the day doing Thanksgiving activities!”

The class cheered, “Yippee!” Miranda was so excited she clapped her hands while her teachers explained the special centers that they were going to have.

Everyone had a fun time and there was lots of chattering and giggling to prove it. The children made Pilgrim hats and cornucopias. They also drew pictures of the Mayflower. They even acted out the story of the first Thanksgiving by pretending they were Pilgrims.

The children were surprised that the day had passed so quickly. As they got ready to go home, Miss Nell reminded them that Thanksgiving is a very important holiday even though it’s not celebrated by getting a lot of candy or a lot of new toys. She concluded by saying, “Today, as you leave, I’d like for each of you to name one thing that you are thankful for.”

“Because being thankful is the reason we have a holiday called ‘Thanksgiving’. Right, Miss Nell?” Miss Nell smiled as she said, “Tyler, you are absolutely correct!” Miss Nell was standing at the door but before she opened it to dismiss them she said, “Happy Thanksgiving!”