Should we teach kindergarteners about The First Thanksgiving?

Painting by Karen Rinaldo, 1994

We all think we know the story:  In 1621, the Pilgrims who survived the first horrible year in America held a feast where they gave thanks for the bountiful harvest and the help they received from the local Indian tribe.

This is the story that generations of Americans have learned.  As a child, I did not even know the name of the tribe that joined the Puritans at the feast; it wasn't until the 1990s that I learned it was the Wampanoag.  And, until I did a bit of additional research for this post, I did not know that the Wampanoag were not actually invited to the feast. They showed up, prepared for conflict, when they heard the "exercising of arms" that was all the shooting of fowl for the feast.  Nor did I understand that it became a diplomatic meeting, of sorts, between the Puritans and the Wampanoags.  Also, it's not likely that any Native women were in attendance, and the Puritan women and children would have been kept busy cooking, serving, and cleaning up. As for it having been a feast of 'thanks giving," the Puritans fasted--not feasted--on such days.  Read more about it here.

So, given the latest scholarship, should we teach kindergarteners about "the first Thanksgiving?"    And, if we do decide to teach it, what is the best way?

I am in favor of teaching American history to young children.  I believe it is our responsibility as public school teachers to help unify a diverse nation.  It is also our responsibility to teach the truth, however.  So, what truths can 5 and 6 year olds learn about the event that has become known as "the first Thanksgiving?"

Here are the key facts I've shared with my students this year.  I created flipcharts on the interactive whiteboard for some of the information and I'm including some of these images here, as well.

• The Wampanoags lived by the Atlantic Ocean.  They built wetus, grew corn, hunted and fished.  They moved to a warmer place in the winter.  You can read more about how I taught about Native Americans in my previous post.
• The Pilgrims left England because the king would not let them go to their own church.

• They crossed the Atlantic ocean in the Mayflower.

• Half of them died that first winter due to the cold and sickness.
• The Wampanoags were troubled to see the Pilgrims settling on their land.

• But the Wampanoags were kind and saw the Pilgrims were suffering.  They helped the Pilgrims grow crops.

• In the fall, the Pilgrims had lots of food growing in their fields and decided to have a harvest festival.  They also wanted meat at their feast, so they hunted.
• The Wampanoags heard all the "noise" of the feast, and the men decided to check it out. (Note: Here is where I decided to avoid the historical facts surrounding potential warfare.  Better to learn about that a few years further in their education.)  When they arrived and saw there wasn't enough food for everyone, they went out and hunted for some more meat to bring to the feast.
• The Pilgrim women  and children did all the cooking, serving, and cleaning up.
• The feast lasted 3 days.  Between meals, the Pilgrim men and Wampanoags tried to talk about sharing the land.  This was not an easy problem to solve.
• The men also had races with each other.

I shared these books with my class.  Again, there is a scarcity of well-written, historically accurate books for this age level.  Given how very enthusiastic my students have always been about learning history, I wonder why more has not been written?

We made Pilgrim hats, bonnets, and collars.  There are many ideas of how to do this on Pinterest.  Here are pictures of my very simple projects.

Everyone makes a collar from white 12" by 18" construction paper.
I draw the lines and they cut it out.

I draw the biggest possible circle on 12" by 18" brown paper.  I draw and cut out the center inverted "U" shape.
The boys cut the big circle and glue a construction paper rectangle 'hatband' at the bottom of the pre-cut center.

The girls cut on the lines then I fold it up and staple it to look like a bonnet.  I add two 18 inch lengths of cloth ribbon.

Before Thanksgiving, we re-enacted the harvest feast/diplomatic summit of the Pilgrims and Wampanoags.  The kindergarten girls baked and served real cornbread to a few kindergarten boys dressed as Pilgrim men.  More of the boys represented the Wampanoag men because there were more of them present at the feast in 1621.  When the Wampanoags arrived wearing their beaded necklaces, they turned back to the "woods" to pretend to get some more food.  They then joined the Pilgrim "men" and were served cornbread, too.  After all the males were served, the Pilgrim "women" ate and cleaned up.  The "men" gathered in a circle to discuss the problem over land.  Then, they held a foot race (baby steps across the classroom floor.)

I loved the reactions of the kindergarteners!  There was some good, critical thinking happening.  Some of the girls were a little frustrated by having to wait to eat their cornbread.  Some wished they could sit with the boys. We talked about how girls have choices nowadays but they didn't always.  At first, the boys were a little frustrated that they couldn't work out the land problem.  Someone finally suggested sharing the land and living together would be nice. ( If only.... ) The boys really enjoyed the foot race and were happy when it was a tie between Pilgrims and Wampanoags.

Someone once told me that kindergarteners won't remember what I teach them but they will remember how I made them feel.  I hope this year's class will feel that history lessons are interesting and worth learning.  It's all about planting seeds in kindergarten....