Thanksgiving Parade Comes Early at Primrose

There was no need to wait for Thanksgiving Day to enjoy a parade for some parents at Primrose Elementary School. On Friday, kindergarten students, led by teacher Alexandria Jasek, marched through the hallway, holding aloft balloons they had created of Pikachu, Spider-Man, Bluey, Mario, turkeys, cats, and more.

One of the Spider-Man balloons was created by Benjamin Manzi.

“He’s super awesome and he gets the bad guys,” Benjamin explained.

Amalia Del Castillo made Pikachu, her favorite Pokémon, “because he has electric power.”

Lyla Morgan made Cakey the Cat from Gabby’s Dollhouse.

“I like when she puts the sprinkles on the cake,” she said.

The event capped a lesson that began with the class reading the picture book Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet. It tells the story of the puppeteer who invented the first giant balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Each student then planned their balloon on a planning page and material request form, indicating the color balloon they wanted and asking for supplies such as construction paper, string, and googly eyes.

“The goals were for students to learn the importance of brainstorming and planning, gain more insight on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and also to utilize their creativity,” Jasek said.

Many parents attended the celebration, which turned into a showcase once the parade reached the cafeteria. Students crossed the cafeteria stage one at a time while Jasek called out a description of the balloon being displayed and its trimming. When Tierney O’Donovan marched across the stage with her cat balloon, for instance, Jasek said, “she even wanted to make her cat extra cute, so he’s winking.”

Afterward, Tierney told why she’d chosen a cat for her project.

“It was cute, and I like cats,” she said.