Elementary students learn life skills at Thanksgiving Cafe

MAPLE SHADE, N.J. - An amazing group of fifth and sixth graders prepared a Thanksgiving feast to help a local café.

With the Thanksgiving holiday in full swing, FOX 29’s Bill Anderson decided to check out a café that is all the rage in Burlington County.

The students from the Steinhauer Elemetary School are boasted as the best part of NiLi’s Café.

The idea is to learn life lessons in the process that they can hopefully take with them when they're older – For Goodness Sake.

 “Today was our 6th annual NiLi’s Thanksgiving Feast,” explained Nicole Carfagno, teacher for the Multiple Disabilities Program at Steinhauer Elementary School.

The food at the annual café is delicious, the service is top notch and no actual money changes hand. However, each interaction teaches a great deal to the students and helps them become immersed in the working world.

The students research, plan, and then get to work to pull off a spectacular feast.

The point of the café is largely to prove to the children themselves and others that they can do this.

It was plain to see that all of the practice paid off. The children were super comfortable running their café, which their teacher says was dramatic change for some/

“I see those students who may be nonverbal starting to become a bit more verbal.  They’re starting to joke around appropriately,” Nicole said. “They’re starting to feel comfortable talking to others that they don’t know.”

The people in the Thanksgiving café were teachers and others that the students knew.

“I’m seeing more and more inclusivity of students and people with special needs and people with disabilities,” Nicole added. “That does make me feel proud and feel my kids have a time to shine.”

Thanks for the invite and to the kids continue to shine For Goodness Sake.