Talking turkey with tots
Young ones discuss cooking ideas for holiday
Put the preschoolers in charge of cooking today’s main course (i.e. turkey), and the results might surprise you.
“I would make a turkey that looks like a heart and put a little bit of rainbow sprinkles on it and rainbow designs,” said Lilly Bachman, who attends Ms. Denise’s class at Cornerstone Preschool on 5th Avenue.
The students in two of the pre-K rooms at the preschool
were making Thanksgiving rocks Wednesday morning and discussing the upcoming holiday meal with a reporter from the Yuma Sun.
“My dad would have to show me how,” said Bodhi Butcher. “My dad cooks our turkey in a big thing and then he puts them in the ground.”
Amanda Spanton said she would either smoke or barbecue her turkey, and that her family eats a lot of pie (even though she said she doesn’t like pie).
“I would cook it in the grill thing,” the five-year-old explained, and doing so would take about 30 hours.
Amanda’s favorite thing about the holiday is “eating turkey with my family” at her nana’s house, where she said about 100 people gather to give thanks.
Evelyn Sanders said her family puts up their Christmas tree on Thanksgiving Day, even though Christmas is still far away. Evelyn said her family would be eating “a lot” of food today.
Zoe Wolff, who was the special helper for a week, said that she was going to help make mashed potatoes and gravy and ham, and then maybe a turkey.
One of Bodhi’s favorite things to do is going to his grandma’s house, he said.
“At my grandma’s house I make sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies, and sugar cookies are kind of slippery cookies -- one of them broke apart,” he recalled.
Many of the children named traditional foods their family makes.
Bodhi’s family cooks “some candied yams,” while Oliver Montgomery’s family eats acai bowls from a local cafe.
“I eat the whole turkey wing,” he said proudly. When asked if that made him tired, the four-year-old replied, “No, I’m never tired.”
Oliver said if he could cook the turkey, he’d “put it in a big giant microwave” (so it would taste better and cook faster).
Roberta DeNise said she likes hanging out with her mom and dad on both days.
“Me and my mom cook it, but the food I don’t like is mac and cheese,” she said.
Roberta said her family puts the turkey in the oven for five minutes, and that she is “thankful for helping my mom and dad wash the dishes.”
Alyssa Laurenzana, who was painting her Thanksgiving rock pink, said “I cook everything. I like cookies and cupcakes.”