At Tenafly Chabad Academy, in preparation for Thanksgiving, the third grade students visited with their neighbors, the residents of Family of Caring, in Tenafly. Over the last few weeks in their writing class, the children developed and wrote Thanksgiving-themed essays that answered the questions “If you could invite anyone to your Thanksgiving feast, who would you choose and why? What would you serve? What questions would you ask?” After several weeks spent working on this assignment in which they used graphic organizers to generate ideas, which they then turned into outlines and finally three-paragraph essays, the children were ready to read their finished pieces to their audience, the residents of Family of Caring.

The residents then gifted the students with snacks for their Thanksgiving meal. In addition, the third graders entertained the residents of Family of Caring with Hebrew and English songs of gratitude and appreciation, infusing the home with a sense of the Thanksgiving spirit.