Thanksgiving in London

Celebrating Thanksgiving here was destined to be different than it is at home. First, I had to work both Thursday and Friday! Of course we knew we couldn't eat with our families so we had to find other ways to celebrate. We decided to spend Turkey day cooking and do the feasting on Friday. During school on Thanksgiving day I made Cranberry Bread with my students. It baked in the kitchen while the class did a final rehearsal of their Thanksgiving assembly. The assembly would be performed in front of the whole school and most of their families on Friday morning. The children had made Indian head bands and Pilgrim hats to wear and they looked just like American kids ready for the holiday. After school I went home and we made stuffing, turkey, more cranberry bread, apple crisp and gravy for our feast. The next day, Friday, Brian reheated it all, made green beans and a garden salad and brought everything to school so we could eat with the staff at St. Michaels. It was fun to share with everyone, we even had a toast as we ate together in the staff room. The kids did brilliantly in their assembly and were eager to try their cranberry bread with their families. I think the children and teachers were surprised that the holiday involves no gifts and is really just about families being together and being thankful for what they have.
We finished the day Friday by jumping on the tube and meeting Andy and his family in Covent Garden for dinner. We met Andy and company again Saturday for a tour of London's steps, most famous churches, double decker busses, and lots of laughs. All in all a fun filled holiday weekend!

St. Michael's Children Send Flat Stanleys to US and Canada

After reading Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown, 29 children from St. Michael's Primary School in Wood Green will be sending "Flats" to spend Thanksgiving in the US and Canada. The children created Flats that look like themselves from paper and are sending them along with personalized letters to new friends that live across the pond. The class has been learning about Thanksgiving and will perform a class assembly on 25 November for their parents and the rest of the school. Meanwhile back in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ontario many eager families and classrooms are awaiting their English guests. The Flats will return home to England with letters, stories, pictures, and maybe even souvenirs in early December. The connection between the countries was made by their teacher Paula Hayes of New Jersey who is teaching in North London this year as part of Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program. It is hoped that everyone involved will learn more about those who live on the other side of the Atlantic.