Schools

Learning feast

Kindergarten students experience Thanksgiving from the kitchen to the table.

By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE, Times Correspondent
Published November 22, 2007

EAT: Kolby Lonigro (far right, in the Pilgrim hat) watches as his family, Joe, Holly and brother Troy Lonigro, try out the Thanksgiving meal Nov. 14 that he and his kindergarten classmates prepared. Margie Yurtinus, who now teaches at Challenger K-8, has been doing the dinner for 28 years.
	[Ron Thompson | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Ron Thompson | Times] RUB: Kindergarteners Cassandra Hanley and Makenna Messaris spread butter on one of several turkeys the class prepared for roasting. [Ron Thompson | Times] CUT: Alexander Voisinet cuts celery sticks with a plastic knife for a relish tray. [Ron Thompson | Times] MIX: Left to right, kindergarteners Laura Flynn, Kolby Lonigro and Joshua Carollo mix filling for pumpkin pies.

SPRING HILL - Kelli Gill had to think about it for a few minutes, but she was able to resurrect a couple of memories from her early school days. After all, at age 26, kindergarten was a long time ago for her.

It was almost Thanksgiving, and she was in Margie Yurtinus' class. Mrs. Yurtinus had the children fix a big turkey dinner, with a little help from some grownups. Gill was 5.

"I remember sticking my hand in the turkey," she said.

Gill has much fresher memories from Yurtinus' most recent turkey dinner held recently at Challenger K-8.

Yurtinus, 58, is still teaching kindergarten and putting on her now-famous Thanksgiving dinner.

She has been having her students make the traditional feast for 28 years, when she started at Moton Elementary. Later, she transferred to J.D. Floyd, then Westside Elementary, then Suncoast Elementary, and has been supervising the cooking most recently at Challenger.

Gill was attending the most recent dinner as an aunt. Her sister, Erin Messaris, has a daughter, Makenna, in Yurtinus' class.

Messaris was at the school the day before helping with the preparations as one of the grownups. Twenty years ago, Gill's mother was there helping, too, when Gill was in the class and, later, when her brother was there.

The children had a lot to do to prepare. The day before the dinner, the students in Yurtinus' and Joanna Mullins' classes were as busy as elves on Christmas Eve. Next door to them, a new teacher at Challenger, Jayneen Mann, was also giving the dinner a try.

Yurtinus had children at tables all over the room attending to different chores. At one, the children were smearing butter over the skins of the big birds.

Elsewhere, some were breaking eggs and tearing bread for stuffing. Some stuffed peanut butter into Bugles corn snacks and dipped them into colored cereal to resemble cornucopias.

Some jobs were more mundane, though still necessary, such as rolling plastic wear in napkins and securing them with student-made napkin rings.

Some chores were tasty, like sprinkling miniature marshmallows over smashed sweet potatoes. A few of the sugary puffs were lost in the process.

The children learned how to peel hard-cooked eggs for deviled eggs and how to roll ham and cheese for an appetizer tray.

Vegetables were chopped for a relish tray and, of course, the children made that part of Thanksgiving that is second only to the turkey in popularity: the pumpkin pie.

Yurtinus does this every year, she said, because "the children cook everything. I would never do this if the children just brought things in."

She has worked many lessons into the event. "We've done a really intensive unit on Native Americans," she said. She also incorporated writing, language and math.

There are other benefits, too.

"It's a great community involvement. It brings parents into the classroom," she said. The project also includes community businesses. Publix, Wal-Mart and Winn-Dixie donated to the dinner. "They've been very gracious," Yurtinus said.

Kim Hunnicutt, 35, is the mother of Haley Ann, a student in the class. Hunnicutt's mother taught with Yurtinus at one time. "I did, too," Kim Hunnicutt said.

Student Hayden Kimbrough, 6, seemed to have picked up a few cooking tips while she was working.

"I'm learning whenever you cook, you have to wash your hands," she said. "Then when you cut, you have to let grownups help you."

Carolyn Lipphardt, 5, was helping prepare the cornucopias and pointed out the importance of including turkey on the menu. "You have to have turkey because it's part of the feast food," she said.

Joe Lonigro, 44, was on hand as a grownup assistant. His son, Kolby, is in the class. He seemed impressed with the industriousness of the children.

"Each kid seems to be enjoying it so much, and they're excited about Thanksgiving," he said. "They're determined to do whatever we ask them to do."

After all the food preparation was completed, the room had to be cleaned and readied for guests. Tables were covered with decorated heavy paper.

Even the children were decorated. Some came to school on dinner day in costumes. Others wore headdresses or Pilgrim hats.

Jim Hanley attended the dinner with his daughter, Cassandra, 5. She had helped the day before with the stuffing, rolling ham and cutting vegetables. Her father was impressed with her budding food-handling skills.

"My son's a really good cook, and it's good to see her getting started in it," he said. "And she loves turkey."

Kelli Gill has long been impressed with the butter they have at the dinner. It isn't store-bought. Like everything else, the children make it. Heavy whipping cream and salt are put in a container and shaken for a long time to make the creamy spread.

"I love the butter," Gill said.

[Last modified November 21, 2007, 20:25:01]