The hallways at Meadows Elementary on Friday morning were packed with excited, energetic spectators, quite similar to the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds on sidewalks along Central Park West in New York City during a crisp Thanksgiving Day.
And like those gathered in the Big Apple, Meadows students were ready to witness a colorful, festive and balloon-filled parade as the curriculum came to life with a holiday break on the horizon.
After the first-grade Roadrunners read the book “Balloons Over Broadway” –– a true story written by Melissa Sweet about puppeteer Tony Sarg, who in 1928 created the original large, helium balloons that famously float high above the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade –– teacher Amanda Wolff suggested the idea of pulling the book’s themes from the pages to the halls in the form of the Meadows Thanksgiving Day Parade.
So, the students went to work, fashioning their balloons for the big day.
“It was a collaborative, all-hands-on-deck effort” said Wolff, noting that some of the older students guided their younger peers through the project’s process, which emphasized passion for art, spreading joy, working toward a goal, and aspiring to be a positive influence.
The end result of the hands-on endeavor were creatively crafted souped-up balloons that featured papier mache, paints, stickers and other fuzzy accessories, perfectly capturing the essence of the larger-scale event.
“They really did enjoy putting these together,” Meadows Librarian Katrina Schoenrock said.
The first-graders’ classmates certainly had a hoot cheering on the procession as it passed through the school’s two-story campus.
Chants and wishes of “Happy Thanksgiving” greeted the parade’s participants –– some wearing turkey hats. Balloons waved through the air, and a few of the enthusiastic onlookers were lucky enough to get high-fives.
In fact, so much fun was had that the inaugural parade won’t be the last. That, indeed, is something else for which to be thankful.
“We are so excited to see it evolve,” Schoenrock said.
View more photos of the parade on the KISD Communications Flickr page here.
