Local schoolchildren celebrate the holiday
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on November 27, 2014 1:34 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Billy Rowe, 7, tells the story of his turkey who, disguised as a dinosaur, escaped being caught for a Thanksgiving meal Tuesday at Brogden Primary School.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Zion Peacock, 6, right, takes a big bite out of a turkey sandwich during a Thanksgiving feast held Tuesday in Toni McCance's first-grade class at Brogden Primary School.
Students in Toni McCance's first-grade class at Brogden Primary School were on a mission.
A turkey-saving mission.
Their assignment was simple -- enlist the help of their families to come up with a clever disguise for the popular Thanksgiving main course.
If successful, their turkey would escape that fate.
The class prize would be a Thanksgiving feast, featuring the unlucky bird that was not disguised well enough, Mrs. McCance said with a laugh.
The leftovers in reverse, or turkey sandwiches, were a treat for all the students after sharing their stories.
Omar Vann, 6, had disguised his turkey as Turbo the snail.
"I used crayons and color," he said of his drawing. "I put a No. 5 on it. He can go fast, so he won't get eaten for Thanksgiving."
"I researched it and it exists," Mrs. McCance said of the cartoon subject.
Ava Smith used cotton balls and paper for her snowman-themed turkey.
"I know it will not be eaten before Thanksgiving because snowmen do not taste good" she said.
Classmate Israel Manzanares felt pretty confident that his turkey would also avoid being the main course.
"Flash can run fast," he said. "Flash will not be eaten for Thanksgiving dinner because he has armor."
"And who wants to eat armor?" his teacher asked, evoking no raised hands among her students. "Neither do I. It will break your teeth."
Stephanie Herrera produced a drawing of an airborne princess turkey.
"I gave her a colorful hat -- purple and blue," she said. "She will not be eaten because she can fly."
Batman was the centerpiece of Reyly Perez's drawing.
"My turkey has a cape. He has a belt," he said. "He will not be eaten because he has a fast car."
Billy Rowe opted for a dinosaur disguise for his turkey.
"I gave him lots of spikes and a name, Spikeser," he said. "I know he's not going to be eaten for Thanksgiving because his spikes are special and he goes, 'Roar. Roar.'"
Teachers were asked to cast their votes for the best disguise, Mrs. McCance said.
"Not their favorite, but the best," she said. "And we had a tie."
It came down to Ava's snowman entry and that of classmate Johanna Flores, whose submission was virtually covered in leaves.
Johanna, 7, credited her mom with coming up with the theme.
"We got leaves from my mom's flowers and we got crayons to color it," she said, adding that her father and 4-year-old sister also helped make it a family project.
The turkey was virtually invisible beneath the cluster. Its body was also converted into a brown camouflaged trunk.
The entry wound up winning the "most disguised" title, Mrs. McCance said.
"So, of course, we awarded her with a certificate and some candy," she said. "The best prize ever for a 6-year-old."
And then, Johanna shared her entry.
"I think my turkey will not be eaten for Thanksgiving because people do not eat trees," she read, drawing a unanimous "thumbs up" across the room.
"And it makes a lot of sense," classmate Billy Rowe said.
When she held up the drawing to illustrate her assignment, her classmates applauded.
"Good job, Johanna," David Grandy said.
As lunch approached, Mrs. McCance asked the class what they were going to have.
"Turkey sandwiches," Christopher Hernandez replied.
"Where do you think the turkey sandwiches came from?" Mrs. McCance asked.
"From Turkey," someone shouted.
"A turkey that didn't get disguised," another student quipped.
And then their teacher summed up the activity.
"We like turkey, but we don't eat turkey trees or Turbo turkeys or snowmen turkeys," she said.