OREM -- It may not have been exactly like the first Thanksgiving, but for Dennae Adams's and Mikelle Smiley's kindergarten classes at Scera Park Elementary School, that's OK.

The food was still good, they all had their homemade Pilgrim hats and bonnets on, and they weren't restricted to just five kernels of corn for lunch.

Since 1962, when the school first opened, kindergarten classes at Scera Park have celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday with a special trip to the school's cafeteria. The event is even more special because this is the only time during the school year the kindergartners get to eat in the lunchroom.

"This is our culminating event," Adams said. "In kindergarten we spend three weeks on Thanksgiving, the Indians and the pilgrims. We cover it quite extensively."

The children learn about everything from the clothing of the day to what they ate and how they lived. They learn about Squanto and the other Wampanoag Native Americans helping the pilgrims farm, and about the Cornucopia, or Horn of Plenty, that represents the bounty of food that they had.

"We are trying to get across the idea of how blessed we are," Adams said.

One way the children learn that concept is by comparing what they have to eat to the five kernels of corn the pilgrims were rationed for each daily meal.

Cafeteria staff prepare a meal of turkey, mashed potatoes and gray, fruit, roll and butter, pumpkin pie and milk. Not quite what the pilgrims ate, but close. Their turkeys were wild and the pumpkin probably didn't have Cool Whip on top.

Five year-old Ellie Clark said learning about Thanksgiving is special.

"We learn ... how the Indians helped the pilgrims to have more food and then a time for Thanksgiving," she said.

Clark compared her modern Thanksgiving to the original celebration.

"I go to Grandma's. I like the pumpkin pie. We say one thing we are thankful for. I say a prayer at Thanksgiving for my blessings," she said.

Heather Clark, openly admits that her daughter has a renewed desire to learn more about the pilgrims in her.

"She's learned more about the history of Thanksgiving from school than she has at home. She's making me feel more excited about it," Heather Clark said.

Rylie Rhees, 5, said she learned about the first feast the pilgrims and Indians shared.

"At the first Thanksgiving 90 Indians came and it was three days long," she said. "Squanto was their friend and he helped them survive the winter. He knew English."

Rhees says she is also glad she has food to eat, especially turkey.

"I go to Grandma's house and eat turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing and corn, but mostly I eat turkey. It's my favorite. The Pilgrims ate wild turkey," she said.

Retired first-grade teacher Karen Rhees, Rylie's grandmother, said that while students are learning about the pilgrims history, they don't seem to be learning as much as in years past.

"When I was a girl I was taught about the pilgrims' journey, and their desire for religious freedom," she said. "I taught my first graders a lot. I taught about Squanto's life and Massasoit, their leader. I taught about how the pilgrims first went to Holland, and then left on the Speedwell, but it was taking on water so they went back and got the Mayflower."

Both the Rheeses feel that people are forgetting about why we have Thanksgiving.

"Every year Halloween and Christmas get closer and closer and Thanksgiving is shoved out of the way," Karen Rhees said. "That's the difference between now and when I was young. When I was young we celebrated Thanksgiving."

According to Adams, the children at Scera Park Elementary find the whole Pilgrim story fascinating.

"They're intrigued by what they learn," she said. "They're very attentive as you talk about the young children that didn't make it without food."

Related

• Scera Park show appreciation for teachers