Craig — Tuesday was full of the Thanksgiving spirit in Moffat County schools, as many of them marked the occasion with special activities to teach kids about the history of the holiday.

Kindergarten students at Sunset Elementary School donned construction-paper costumes for a Thanksgiving feast Tuesday afternoon featuring turkey meatballs, cornbread, pumpkin pie and cranberry jelly the students helped to make the day before.

“We’ve been learning about how people lived in the past, about their food, their clothes,” said kindergarten teacher Amy Jones. “We’re learning all about what Thanksgiving means.”

Kindergarteners in Nicolle Smith’s class at Sandrock Elementary School also got hands-on experience with the food of the pilgrims, though they took a different approach.

“I gathered a bunch of foods that the pilgrims might have eaten, so we tasted them to see if we might be able to eat like pilgrims,” Smith said. “Then we graphed what we liked.”

The students even made their own homemade butter using cream, a small jar, a marble and lots of arm strength to shake the cream until it turned into butter. The homemade butter spread on crackers was a favorite among students along with yellow apples, while tart, raw cranberries ranked as their least favorite.

Sandrock’s second-graders were the stars of the show Tuesday afternoon for a series of Thanksgiving plays they performed for parents and family members.

“The first play was about when the pilgrims crossed and found the land that we’re on now,” said 7-year-old Makylee Ott. “The pilgrims taught the Native Americans to hunt, fish and make soap, and then they were good friends.”

Second-grade teacher Shawn Steele explained that the plays offered students an opportunity to build fluency by practicing speaking in front of an audience.

Over at East Elementary School, fourth- and fifth-graders earned enough points for a “read-in” through the Accelerated Reader program, which allows students to test comprehension and keep track of all the books they’ve read. Pajamas, blankets and pillows completed the picture as students curled up with a favorite book for quiet reading time Tuesday afternoon.

Finally, Ridgeview Elementary School students stayed on task this week in order to make the most of instructional time, Principal Amber Clark explained, while Maybell School and the new Moffat County Shared School invited parents and family to join in their own respective holiday feasts.