"How was Tanksween?"

My students asked me the day I returned to school following the short break I took to celebrate Thanksgiving in Baku. It took the fourth and fifth graders repeating 'tanksween' a few times for me to understand what they were trying to ask. Their blend of Halloween and Thanksgiving makes perfect sense from their perspective..they're both formerly unbeknownst American holidays (to them), they both happen around the same time of year, and they both involve pumpkins! By blending the names together, they had a 0% chance of being totally correct, a 100% chance of being half correct and most importantly, a 100% chance of me understanding their intention. I like their style. Plus, I was impressed they put together my three day absence from school with the holiday.

I introduced Thanksgiving at conversation club last week. I briefly talked about why we celebrate Thanksgiving, modern Thanksgiving day traditions, and of course, what type of food we eat. I emphasized that the most important part of Thanksgiving is for people to reflect on what things they are thankful for. As a little project, the younger students made headbands with "feathers" indicating the things they are thankful for. The older students traced their hands and feet, making "turkeys" to indicate the things they are thankful for. I told the older students I'd give a prize for someone who could write something that they are thankful for that no other student wrote. I decided the most original response was a toss-up between "my American pen pal" and "my clean air"!!

Here are some pictures from the younger students' Thanksgiving conversation club:

From the older students' Thanksgiving conversation club: