Ella and her family sharing some of their Native traditions

 

Ella's family visited the class to communicate and share some of their Native traditions.  Their family is from the Ojibway Tribe.  The students learned that a Pow-wow is a gathering of Natives and Non-Natives together to celebrate and dance. Pow-wows occur all over Canada and the United States. Native music and dancing is very popular at Pow-wows. The drum beat in the music represents the heart beat of Mother Earth. In Native music the drum beat is very powerful. Men, women and children of all ages join in the celebrations.

 

 

Regalia and bead work are usually completely by the Mother.  It takes time and patience. 

  

Ella's tribal dance regalia

 

Ella's Mom's earing

 

Ella's Dad read the story 'I can't Have Bannock But The Beaver Has A Dam' by Brenda Wheeler.  A story that has been passed down from generation to generation.  The family brought in bannock bread for the students to try and  it was delicious!

 

 

 

Links to Curriculum Expectations:

 Personal and Social Development

3.3 talk about events or tell stories that reflect their own heritage and cultural backgrounds of others (e.g., traditions, birthdays, cultural events, myths, Canadian symbols, holidays)



The Arts
Music 4.2 respond to music from various cultures, including their own (e.g., folk songs, Aboriginal chants, songs in different languages)

Lebanon

Today, Dalida's Aunt Reema visited our kindergarten program, and she talked with the students about her heritage. Her family is from Lebanon. She told the students the story of Aladdin and Princess Jazmin. The students ejoyed dancing with Miss Reema and listening to the music she brought in.

Our cultural potluck was a huge success today, and the students enjoyed trying many new and different types of foods. Thank-you so much to all families that sent something in for us to share.

Continuing to Learn about Countries Around the World

Learning about countries around the world...

Jamaica and Trinidad

Ms. Palmer showed us the flags from where her parents were born.

Through discussion, the students compared the flags to the Canadian Flag.

At the art table, students were given opportunities to design their own flag that represents themselves and their interests.

Guyana

Aaliyah's grandmother and mother visited the Early Years program today and talked about Guyana, their native country. She showed us a picture of the Guyana flag. They discussed how Guyana is warm all year around becuase it is close to the Equator. They also talked with the students about the types of foods they eat in Guyana. The students also enjoyed listening to and singing songs that Aaliyah's grandmother used to sing when she was a child growing up in Guyana.

China

Ms. Lee talked with the students about life in China. She brought in many props such as a silk robe, a wok, a bag of rice, and chopsticks.

Earlier in the week, the students created a Chinese Dragon using a box for the head and a tablecloth for the body. Today the students had the opportunity to play instruments while other students were marching around wearing the dragon.

Italy

Mr. Romano came into the kindergarten program today to talk to the students about his family heritage. He shared stories with the students about his "Nona" and read the story "Strega Nona" to the class.

Dancing Around the World

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      As a part of The Arts in the The Full-Day Early Learning Kindergarten Program, we enjoy dancing together, listening to different songs and learning dances from around the world.

Greek Heritage
Mrs. Calfas brought in hand-made traditional Greek costume- 'Amalia' to show the students.  

She taught us a traditional dance called the "Kalamatiano".

Here are some of the other dances the students enjoyed today.

"Follow the Leader" by Soca

"The Limbo" 

Curriculum Expectations
Music
M4.2 respond to music from various cultures, including their own (e.g., folk dances, Aboriginal chants, songs in different languages)
Drama and Dance
D 2.1 explore different elements of dance(e.g., rhythm, space, shape)
D 4.1 express their responses to drama and dance (e.g., moving and making connections to their experiences with dance, by talking about drama and dance

Student's Voice
Savannah - "My favourite part was dancing to 'Follow the Leader'."
Lydia - "I liked to dance to 'Follow the Leader'."
Arial - "My favourite is the same as Lydia."
Kyiah - "I liked Soca."
Cheyenne - "I liked dancing with my hat today."
Alex - "I liked watching Chatyon and his mom dancing all dressed up."
Lucas - " I liked it when we held our hands together."



                                 

Celebrating our Cultures

Celebrating our Cultures

On Tuesday morning, the students were introduced to some of the traditions of some First Nations people. Mrs. Hegdepeth and her son Chayton discussed Pow-wows, their regalia and showed us three traditional dances. The students learned that a Pow-wow is a gathering of Natives and Non-Natives together to celebrate and dance. Pow-wows occur all over Canada and the United States. Native music and dancing is very popular at Pow-wows. The drum beat in the music represents the heart beat of Mother Earth. In Native music the drum beat is very powerful. Men, women and children of all ages join in the celebrations.Chayton, a fellow Pacer, was dressed in his Grass attire. The Grass Dance originated from Western Canada - the Plains. His outfit was to resemble the long grasses and his dance represented the grasses swaying in a Prairie field.

Mrs. Hegdepeth was wearing her Jingle Dress. Her dance originated from the Ojibway Native people in northern Ontario. The Jingle dance is a healing dance performed by women.

Their clothing is very meaningful and created using items from the environment. For example, the jingles are made of tin, curled soup lids. Mr. Hegdepeth puts a lot of time and patience into the bead work, and Mrs. Hegdepeth sews.The last dance performed together was called a Friendship Dance. This dance is typically a winter/ Christmas dance, and it is usually performed indoors when gathered with friends and family.Thank you to the Hegdepeth family for sharing their culture with us.




Stay tuned to learn about other cultures in our program.

Wednesday -Mrs. Calfas is performing and teaching a Greek Dance and Ms. Palmer will be showing us a Caribbean Dance for the students to practise while wearing their Caribbean hats that the students have made during centre time.  Ms. Murray will also be sharing some popular Canadian Dances.

Thursday - In the afternoon Mr. Romano will be sharing one of his favourite stories that discuss his Italian heritage.


Friday - Dalida's Aunt will be performing a Dance for us , and we will be enjoying a Cultural Potluck during the day.