For the second year in a row, I had the honor of being invited to Mrs. Leach’s kindergarten class at Centennial Elementary for their Thanksgiving Day celebration.
When I got there, I read them Turkey Trouble, an illustrated book about a turkey who is determined to avoid being the main course during Thanksgiving dinner by dressing up as different farm animals. There were about 25 students in the class, and I think I did a good job of reading to them, although Mrs. Leach pointed out that I am not very skilled at holding the book. She correctly assumed they do not teach that in law school. I hope to improve that for next year. Once I finished reading to the students, I opened it up to questions, but mostly they just wanted to tell me things – such as what they were for Halloween, or that they have a dog. There were actually no questions. It was adorable.
I then stayed for part of their lesson, where they were learning to write, and I helped them color their Thanksgiving Day books.
At their lunch time, I got to sit down and join their Thanksgiving feast. One of the students noticed I didn’t have a piece of pie. He disappeared for a moment, and came back with a slice just for me, which he then decided to eat when he realized I was too full to have any.
I was not the only adult helping out for the Centennial Thanksgiving – members of our armed services and members of the Street Soldiers organization were also there to help. It was a true community event.
Our work with Centennial is one of the most gratifying things I do outside of the law. These students have so much cheer and energy, and I love being even a small part of their early education. I want to thank the school and students for being so welcoming to us. We wish you, your family, and our entire community a very happy Thanksgiving.
