It doesn’t take long to understand that the Thanksgiving holiday revolves around two things: one being family and the other being food.

In fact, in Wednesday’s edition we took a light-hearted look at how to cook your Thanksgiving turkey by offering the suggestions of local school children.

Through their cooking tips, the children give us a glimpse of what they see happen in the kitchen each year or how they would approach handling the holiday feast if it were up to them.

“First you put it in the microwave. You push the button. Wait for 5 minutes. Then you get a plate and eat it,” said Florence Bowser Elementary student Carter Beasley.

While Beasley offered the hi-tech approach of using the microwave, another used a more conventional approach.

“First you put in the oven. Then you wait for 5 minutes. Then you take it out and put it on the table. Then you eat it,” fellow Florence Browser Elementary student Michael Cuesta said.

Aside from the health concerns of a tremendously undercooked turkey this year, the insights offered by children are amazing. They see everything, even if they do not fully understand it.

This season, the level of need by so many of our neighbors is great. We have families who are struggling for one reason or another, to one degree or another.

Local charities are stretched and their resources are tapped. Weekly meal missions are helping more and more who cannot go out, and food banks are seeing people from neighborhoods and parts of society they never dreamed would call on them for help.

Local churches are doing everything they can in their local communities, helping the sick and the financially strapped.

And that is where we all can help. Giving to local charities, food banks and churches is important, not just during the holidays but also all year long.

The spirit of giving is especially strong this time of year, and what better way to pass on the lesson of helping one another to our children than by showing them how it works in action?

They may not understand why someone needs a few non-perishable food items this holiday season, but it is a lesson that can never be taught too early.