The Recorder on March 26, 2026
MONTEREY — Making maple syrup is quite a process. Helpfully, Shelley Thomas’ preschool students at Highland Elementary have shared their descriptions of how to do it.
• Go in the woods with Easton, Landon, Momma and Dada. We found a jug in the woods. We found a maple syrup tree in the woods. It hides that water. It falls down. The wind blows and it just falls down! I heard snap, snap, snap and I run! I heard a mouse. Make a hole with a bang, bang that you shoot. I put white stuff in the pan. We make fire at nighttime. Walk down the stairs, go out in the middle and walking in the road and hop down the hill. My dog hops down. Put the pan in the fire for weeks. It’s maple syrup! Put maple syrup on just ice cream. My momma helps make doughnuts. She makes all of them. She put them in the box. She sells them for $5, $4 and $3. I help her!
Allison, age 4
• Go to my home. I go to McDonald’s and get maple syrup. I bring it home. I put it on ice cream! Go to a party and find syrup. I go to a sugar camp near my home. Margo’s sugar camp. My mom and grandad and Nana and baby and Aubrey and Lissa come. Annie, age 3
• My momma and (Melissa) go with me to the woods. Levi and Mason come with us. Mason’s mom lives far away. Up on the mountain, trees grow tall. I fell down and hit my head and it bled. My big brother took care of me. I cut the tree and I saw maple. It tasted like candy. I put it all in a bowl. I’m gonna drink it. I put it on the cooker and add butter and sugar. Cook it until it sprinkles. I eat it all because it’s yummy. I put maple syrup on a hot dog. It tastes so good! I put it on waffles. I eat thousands of waffles! I love them!
Autumn, age 5
• I go in the woods. It is tall! Shoot a hole in the tree. Water comes out of the tree. Put it in a bucket. Take it home. Cook it five minutes in fire. Put it in bottles. Put it in my kitchen. I eat pancakes. My mommy makes them. Mommy makes eight pancakes. I eat them all!
Colby, age 4
• I find a maple tree at my house. I know it’s a maple tree because it has maple leaves. They are green. They have five points. With a drill, put a hole in the tree, in the front. Maple syrup comes out of the tree. It’s frozen. We’ve got to put it in the refrigerator because it’s icy. Our neighbor is going to cook it for a long time. My bike is green and it goes super-fast. I ride my bike over to his house. The maple syrup comes from his house. He cooks it in his house. His house is white. My dad is silly. He’s the Maple Man. He does the Maple Festival. He makes everyone be nice to each other. He makes maple syrup at the Maple Festival. A lot of people come here because they want pancakes. I put syrup on waffles and pancakes. There is a lot of popcorn at the Maple Festival. It’s maple popcorn. Curly grandma was here and she looked in the classroom. She saw our sugar shack and said you’re making syrup! She saw my teacher.
Corbin, age 3
• My mom takes me in the woods. Look for a maple syrup tree. It has a lot of water. My mommy takes me there. Make a hole in the tree with my finger. A lot of water comes out of the tree. Put the water in my red bucket. Nothing else. It comes out maple syrup. I put maple syrup on pancakes. I like pancakes. I eat a lot of pancakes. Mommy makes the pancakes. I put butter on my pancakes. I put a lot of syrup on my pancakes. I got a dump truck at the Maple Festival.
Isadora, age 3
• You put syrup in the tree. Then get a bucket. Get a chain saw and go zzz, zzz and make a hole in the tree. Get a bucket and the syrup comes in there so I can roast it. You get fire and you make fire and do it with sticks and you rub it around the fire. And you get a syrup thing and you put it in a syrup container. You put butter on your pancake and syrup and you eat it. I eat ten pancakes. I love all of them! I lock the chimney and I lock the door, even Mamaw and Pawpaw can’t get in. They will eat all my pancakes!
Kylie, age 5
• My mommy grabs a hammer and goes into the woods. Then finds the tree and hammers it. She finds the biggest tree. It has the most syrup. Then put that bucket on that hook. And that water comes out of the nail into the bucket. You put it in that building (points to sugar shack on paper she made out of popsicles sticks). You have to make fire and have to get it hot. You just have to put it on fire. It makes maple syrup. You have to bring it in the house. You have to put it in a baby jug. Put maple syrup on pancakes and waffles. I eat two waffles. Sawyer just eats pancakes not waffles, because he can’t. He has no teeth. I stick my finger in his mouth and he can’t hurt me. He got one tooth now. My classmates make maple trees. Put your hand on the paper. Mrs. Thomas, you drew on my arm. Then I cut my arm. Glue it on the paper. I paint my face at the festival. Rainbow cat!
Lainey, age 3
• Go to Mammy’s house to find a maple tree. She has ten maple trees. I know it’s a maple tree because I saw it. The leaves are purple. Drill a hole in the tree. Collect the sugar water in the bucket. Mammy collects all the sugar water. She puts it in the fire. She cooks it for five minutes. It turns into maple syrup. I put them into jars. We make sixteen jars. I don’t usually eat maple syrup because I don’t like it. My momma puts maple syrup on pancakes. She stacks them up! She puts lots of maple syrup on them.
Luella, age 5
• I go to the farm to find a maple tree. Look at the leaves. Maple leaf has five points. Put a bucket next to the tree. Put a hole in the tree with a thingy. Maple water comes out of the tree. Catch it with the bucket. Put in fire. Cook it for 10 minutes. Taste it. It’s done when it tastes like maple syrup. Put in a pretty bottle. I put maple syrup on pancakes. Daddy makes the pancakes. He makes one pancake. We go to the festival and eat pancakes!
Nova, age 5
• Go in the woods to find a maple tree. Nobody goes with me. I’m brave! Look for the tallest tree in the woods. The leaf is rainbow color. Screw a hole in the tree. I’m going to use my grandad’s tractor. Hit all the sugar water out into the pan. Boil it outside in the stove. It’s that many minutes! (While showing 10 fingers on his hands). It blows up and maple syrup goes everywhere! Pick up all the maple syrup. I send it to your house (pointing to Mrs. Thomas). I come to your house and pour it on ice cream.
Ryan, age 4
• I get a big pickup truck. I take it to the store. I get two pickup trucks. I get chicken nuggets and spaghetti. Find a maple syrup tree from the store. Buy the tree. Put it in my big pickup truck. Take it to the dumpster. Got a lot of trash! Go home. Put syrup on the tree. Use a seesaw to make a hole in the tree. Maple syrup comes out of the tree. Put it all in the bucket. Put it in my pickup truck. The pickup truck gets stuck. The dozer gets it out. Put the bucket in the oven. Cook it for a year. I’m going to drink it. I put it on my pancakes. My dad makes pancakes for me. He makes five. I make pancakes with my dad. I put syrup on Colt’s pancakes and on Sissy’s pancakes. They eat a lot of pancakes! For the deer, I buy a pickup truck.
Tucker, age 5
• Mommy, Daddy and Diva go in the woods with me. Look for a squirrel in the tree. Shoot it. Shoot a hole in the tree. Sugar water comes out of the tree. Put it in dump truck. Dump it in the fire. Cook it! Oh, my gosh! Look, Mrs. Thomas! What’s happening? Maple syrup! Mommy makes bread for breakfast. Presley puts bread in Mommy’s truck.
Will, age 4
• My family goes with me in the woods. I pick flowers for my mom. We pick the biggest, baddest tree! I’m super strong! Look at the leaves. Look for five parts. My daddy chopped it up! Put the sugar water in a jar and throw all the stuff in the fire. 100 maple trees, that’ll make enough for waffles. That’s the end of my story.
William, age 4