Preschoolers Share Story of Thanksgiving [Video]

They marched into the room, adorned in paper vests and paper feathers, looking for familiar faces in the crowd, but bravely heading to the front to be part of the "Fabulous 4's" story of Thanksgiving.

The preschool students of the Blaustein Early Childhood Center at the performed their annual Thanksgiving show Thursday, entertaining parents and grandparents with the story of Thanksgiving and songs about turkeys and Indians.

"This is a culmination of a unit learning about Thanksgiving," said preschool director Linda Weiss. "It is a lot of fun and a way to promote the community."

The play was followed by a "feast" with cupcakes, cookies, vegetables and other goodies prepared by the parents and the 22 preschoolers themselves.

"This makes the children feel good, and they are learning about the topic and the social aspect of performing in front of an audience," Weiss said.

Weiss said the students learn a great deal during the Thanksgiving unit, including about religious freedom, a topic more advanced than one would normally expect for 4-year-olds.

And the children had the chance to say during the performance where they can pray, naming churches, synagogues and mosques, among other locations.

"They learn we are all a big community and lucky to be in America," Weiss said. "I think they understand the word freedom."

The play was directed by preschool teachers Jackye Feagan and Stacey LaRue.

Feagan, who has been hosting the program since she began teaching at the JCC seven years ago, said she started preparing for the program in October, but the children picked it up right away.

"We started this on a Monday, and the class could have been ready by Friday," she said. "I try to bring it down to their level, and they learn from pictures and writing words."

"They are learning history, and about different civilizations, cultures and religions," she added.

The performance itself was all about fill-in-the-blanks and answering questions about the Thanksgiving story, as Feagan prompted the students.

"When we ask what they are thankful for, we want to make it interesting and exciting for the children, enough that they want to learn," she said, adding that the children made their costumes themselves, as well as making a teepee that was set up in the middle of the room.

And parents were proud of the work their children had done.

"It is amazing watching them progress through the year," said parent Melissa Burns, whose son Jace was in this year's play, and son Kade participated last year. "The fact that they can get 22 children to do as well as they did is a testament to Jackye's work."

Elaine Uhl, whose grandson Daniel was part of the performance, said she was proud that all the kids knew their lines.

"They were fabulous," she said.

But for Jamie Feinstein, whose daughter Alexandra was in the play, he was impressed by the fact of the performance itself.

"This was the first performance where they in sync, on cue and focused on the teacher," he said. "These kids at 4 years old get exposed to so much, and I am proud of all of them."

That exposure, Feagan said, is particularly important for the children's development, especially in being able to perform in front of an audience.

"The most important thing they can do is if they can stand up and perform, and have that self-confidence," she said. "We tell them how much we love them and that they can do anything."

"The children can read and be smart," she added. "But if they can't tell what they know, what good is it?"