Fiesta de colores

Friday was our last day focusing on Mexico, so naturally we had a FIESTA. Check out some other things we did in previous posts.  

We learned some of The Mexican Hat Dance. Smashed Cascarones. We tried Blue Corn Chips and Salsa Verde along with Tacos for lunch. Lots of happy memories made.

 I had seen Cascarones on Pinterest and wanted to share them with the kids but knew I had no time to make them. Last weekend I was attending a party and learned they had them at Walgreen's, so off to the store I went! 

Cascarones are confetti filled eggs (yes they are real eggs), that are a part of Mexican Easter celebrations. They are very colorful and were perfect for reviewing our colors in Spanish but mostly just wonderfully messy wild fun.

First our own heads!

Then our friends!

These two even held hands.

            

Even after three dozen eggs they were not done. They spent a good deal of time scraping the pieces of the floor and throwing them into the air.

They had confetti in their hair the rest of the day and smiles on their faces. :-)

Taco Casserole, Blue Tortilla Chips, Salsa Verde, Corn, Avocado

International Fairy Tea Party: September 20, 2013

I feel so blessed to be connected with so many educators and play advocates worldwide. I have nothing but Facebook to thank for it. Recently two inspiring forces came together to create a new play holiday around the world. As a lover of all things wild and magical I knew I could not pass this up.

Here is their story:

A quote from the International Fairy Tea Party Facebook Page

Once upon a time...Interaction Imagination and Fafu had an Idea. After seeing an old shoe beautifully made into a fairy house they started thinking. And you all can guess what their idea was can't you...let's make our own Fairy houses!!! But they then decided that wasn't enough, so International Fairy Tea Party was born. 
Their idea was to get as many children from all around the world to have their own parties, with houses for Fairies, decide what they would eat(the fairies) and so many other things...a day of all things Fairy. They had to then decide on a day...20th September(not long now) the Equinox. We have got so many countries, and so many children involved already....but we want more!!! You still have time to join this fun filled day, let us know what country you're from and we will put in on the map which will be posted here on the 13th(this coming friday) Please get the children involved and make the International Fairy Tea Party the biggest Fairy day....EVER......J & S

Here is our story: 

We didn't do much planning or prepping for the event. On Friday morning I told the children all about the special day and how many children all over the world would be celebrating. I asked them if we should prepare a tea party FOR the fairies or if we should pretend we were fairies and have our own tea party. I got a VERY enthusiastic "BOTH!"

We gathered up our newly arrived sunflowers and headed to the woods!

A couple children went to work building this fairy house and gathering food for the fairies' tea party. When they checked back later they were pretty sure that they had seen some real fairies flutter out, that were gathering nectar from the sunflower. 

If You See A Faery Ring

~ William Shakespeare

If you see a faery ring

In a field of grass,

Very lightly step around,

Tip-toe as you pass,

Last night faeries frolicked there

And they're sleeping somewhere near.

If you see a tiny faery,

Lying fast asleep

Shut your eyes

And run away,

Do not stay to peek!

Do not tell

Or you'll break a faery spell.

Then we went to work creating our jumbo-sized fairy house.

The fairies went off to play.

A little child, a limber elf,

Singing, dancing to itself,

A fairy thing with red round cheeeks,

That always finds and never seeks...

-Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The Little People

Dilys Evans

Just because

You can't see me--

Doesn't mean that I'm not there!

Actually I'm right beside you. 

Faery folk

Are everywhere...

This photo above may be one of my favorites. I used my zoom so I have no idea what was going on, but the look of amazement on their faces is priceless. Maybe they saw a fairy.

Fairy Picnic Lunch:

Peanut/Almond Butter and Jam Sandwiches

Carrots, Tomatoes, Green Peppers

Fig Newtons

Happy Hanukkah

Our Hanukkah Sensory Bin

Although none of the children in my preschool program this year are Jewish, someday they may be in a classroom with a child who is. When the teacher is pulling out the Christmas activities and a Jewish child in the class speaks up and says they celebrate Hanukkah, I want that to spark a memory for my preschoolers. I want my preschoolers to be the ones who raise their hand and say “I know about Hanukkah! We learned about that in preschool.”  I want them to be the ones to create a feeling of acceptance for their peers. I want them to stand up with that child and help their traditions be recognized.
It is very important for children to learn that there are other cultures and traditions in the world other than those that they celebrate at home. Hanukkah is a great way to expand this knowledge because it usually coincides closely with Christmas.  During the “holiday” season children can become very wrapped up in themselves. This is a great opportunity to open their eyes to the many different ways people celebrate.



The main character in The Only One Club, written by Jane Naliboff, realizes that she is the “Only One” in her class who celebrates Hanukkah. She is so proud that she starts a club, but many children who experience this may feel sad. 

A close friend of mine,  remembers her teacher as a child, centering the classroom around Christmas and making her feel very left out of the celebrations.  In many public schools, the teachers avoid holidays all together, some bring many cultures into the classroom, and some still focus solely on Christmas.

Hebrew Letters Shin, Nun, Hay, and Gimel can be found on dreidels;
which teaches the children that not all letters look like A B C

Potato Latkes are a traditional food served during Hanukkah.
Shredded potato that is fried in oil
and served with applesauce

Focusing on the number 8 and counting 1-8.

Sammy Spider lives in the home of the Shapiro family. Although Sammy is not Jewish,
he learns all about the holiday by watching from up above on the ceiling. There are
also more Sammy Spider books for the other Jewish celebrations.

From the book "The Story of Hanukkah"

Playing Dreidel is a great way to practice using those fine motor skills.
Children feel a huge sense of accomplishment when their practice pays off.

Happy Diwali

Although nobody in our current preschool community celebrates Diwali (the Hindu New Year and Festival of Lights), I decided this might be a great way to expand our knowledge of the diversity that can be found in a community.  It was a very "tip of the iceberg" approach, but the children seemed sincerely interested. If any of my information is incorrect, I apologize and please feel free to leave a comment. :)

At circle time, we were looking at the map of our imaginary town. I told the children that a new family had moved into "our town." This family was from India and celebrated a holiday called Diwali (pronounced Devali). I told them that I would like to make them cards for their special holiday and to welcome them to our community. We talked about how different families everywhere celebrate different things. One child added that some families don't celebrate at all. I explained that this holiday was about the goodness inside people.  The love and kindness that is like a little light glowing inside you (A very condensed version of good overcomes evil).

We then sang along with Raffi's version of This Little Light of Mine, 

We made cards with Diyas on them.

Image from http://www.peacetreeday.com/

Lights and sparkles are a major part of the celebration.

Our Diya cards.

Candlelight Lunch

For more information:

Slideshow of Diwali Photos from ABC News

NG Kids: Diwali