MANSFIELD, Ohio — Preschool and kindergarten students at St. Peter’s Montessori School practiced their culinary skills while making a Thanksgiving meal during class on Tuesday.
With the help of the teachers and a few parent volunteers, the students made pumpkin bread, corn pudding, applesauce, trail mix and butter.
Tammy Kemerling, director of the Montessori, said this activity is a favorite among the students. “They love it,” she said.
She said while preparing the dishes, the students learned about the types of foods that the pilgrims and Native Americans ate and how those meals were prepared. They also made clay pots and their own pilgrim or Indian hat to wear for the day.
Around lunch time, the students were able to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
“A lot of them will taste something because they made it,” Kemerling said. “They had a hand in doing it, so a lot of them will try it–they might not like it, but they will at least try it.”
It seemed that none of the students were upset with how the meal turned out.
“Delicious,” student Anna Ryan exclaimed after taking a bite of the pumpkin bread. “[My family] always makes this kind of bread for Thanksgiving,” she said.
Seated nearby, fellow student Keith Pollock also said he liked the pumpkin bread, though one of his favorite dishes to eat for Thanksgiving, he said, is turkey.
Sisters Isabella and Sophia Deel had smiles on their faces, both sharing how much they enjoyed eating the meal and making it, too.
“I liked mixing everything together,” Isabella said.
