Happy Holidays!

Posted on by

In Social Studies, we have been learning about various winter holidays celebrated in different cultures.  We learned about Kwanzaa and made mkekas, which are woven mats used on the table at a Kwanzaa feast.  We also learned about Hanukkah and practiced matching various Hanukkah symbols to their names. Next we learned about Las Posadas, which is celebrated in Mexico.  We made 3D paper poinsettias, which are traditionally associated with this holiday.  Then, we had the opportunity to learn about St. Lucia from our very own Ms. Svedlund.  Click here to read a post from last year about this special Swedish celebration.

Finally, we learned about Winter Solstice.  First, we read “The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice” by Wendy Pfeffer.  Here’s a description from Amazon: The beginning of winter is marked by the solstice, the shortest day of the year. Long ago, people grew afraid when each day had fewer hours of sunshine than the day before. Over time, they realized that one day each year the sun started moving toward them again. In lyrical prose and cozy illustrations, this book explains what the winter solstice is and how it has been observed by various cultures throughout history.

We noticed as we read that many winter solstice traditions, such as decorating with evergreen plants and decorating with lights, have been adapted to other winter celebrations.

We made lanterns to light the darkness of winter in our own way.  These lanterns are fun and easy to make.  All you need is:

a mason jar

tissue paper scraps

clear-drying mod podge

a flameless tea light

Students can use these lanterns as comforting night lights.

Happy Holidays!

We are movie-makers!

Posted on by

After learning about the concepts of culture, immigration, and heritage, the first grade students completed their first big social studies project of the year.  Each student selected a person to interview about that person’s family history.  We worked together to write and select interview questions, and then the students and their families got to work contacting their subject and conducting the interview.

We compiled each student’s research into a paragraph or two and practiced reading them.  The stories they gathered were fascinating!  One student’s grandmother grew up in North Dakota, but spent her middle and high school years in Ethiopia.  Another student’s grandfather worked closely with Ronald Reagan.  Yet another’s ancestors escaped famine in Russia by eating bread that had been secretly sewn into the lining of their coats!  Our class is so lucky to have several multi-lingual families, as well, who have lived in several different countries.  Once we were comfortable reading our paragraphs, each student was videotaped relaying the information they had learned. We also asked our interview subjects to send in pictures to accompany the interview information.

 

Today, we took a very special field trip to the Apple Store.  When we arrived, we were given fun Apple field trip t-shirts to wear. With the help of lots of parent chaperones and instruction from our favorite teacher at the Apple Store – Mr. Vanetti – we put together our video and pictures to make movies!  Next, we added maps that show the paths that our interview subjects took on their journeys.  You can see Mr. Vanetti setting up this element below:

Finally,  we added titles and music to make their projects extra special.

In the coming weeks, we will have a special celebration of our work in the form of a movie screening party.  At that time, students will also receive a flash drive bracelet with their own movie to share an enjoy.  Thank you to our interview subjects and parent helpers, and congratulations to our first grade movie-makers!

 

St. Lucia

Posted on by

We are finishing our unit about winter holidays from different cultures this week.  Yesterday, we were treated to a special lesson about the Swedish traditions of St. Lucia by our very own Ms. Svedlund.  Did you know that Ms. Svedlund has Swedish heritage and that she even speaks Swedish?

Ms. Svedlund shared that every year she participates in a celebration of St. Lucia with her local Swedish women’s group. She explained the themes of the celebration for our class, along with giving the reasoning behind the holiday:

Ms. Svedlund shared that the story of St. Lucia tells about St. Lucia bringing food to people hiding in underground tunnels in winter.  Her hands were so full of food that she wore candles on her head to light her way in the dark tunnels. For this reason, each year, one young lady is selected to play the part of St. Lucia in a procession.  She wears a crown of lit candles and walks slowly and carefully.  She is followed by other women, girls, and boys as they sing various songs.  You can see a procession and learn more here:

A traditional St. Lucia celebration includes saffron buns and cinnamon buns.  Ms. Svedlund was kind enough to bring some saffron buns to share with us!  They were received with mixed reviews, as saffron isn’t a common ingredient here, but most students gave them a try.

Ms. Svedlund also shared some pictures from her own St. Lucia celebration.  Can you find her below, with her daughter, Wren?

Finally, as we listened to a medley of St. Lucia songs, we created pomanders!  This is an easy holiday craft to make.  You will need:

oranges or mandarins (mandarins are easier to work with)

whole cloves

twine, ribbon, or string

To create these beautiful and delicious-smelling ornaments, simply press the cloves into the peel of the fruit in concentric circles or whatever design you like.  Tie your ribbon, string, or twine around, and hang wherever you like!  The cloves will help preserve the fruit so that you can enjoy your pomander for a long time.

 

Lucky the Leprechaun

Posted on by

Over the weekend, our classroom was visited by a leprechaun!  She left a mess in our room and a message on our board:

She also left a leprechaun treat for each of the students, and some fun St. Patrick’s Day activities to complete!

Our St. Patrick’s Day celebration was kicked off last week when we had some bagpipers visit us during Tecolote Tuesday.  They played different bagpipes from Scotland, Sweden, Spain, and of course, Ireland.  It was interesting to hear the differences between instruments from different countries. (Consider lowering your volume before playing these, as some of them are quite loud!)

Michael Katz

Posted on by

Yesterday, local celebrity storyteller Michael Katz came by!  Mr. Katz is a favorite visitor each year.  He tells stories from various cultures in engaging ways that allow the students to participate in the storytelling experience.  From Mr. Katz’s website: Michael Katz has been a storyteller since 1984 and has been featured at such illustrious locations as the openings of both the Los Angeles Getty Center and the Disney Concert Hall. MIchael is the host of the radio storytelling program Katz Pajamas heard on NPR station KCBX FM. He is one of the founding members of the national touring theatre company BOXTALES, and was the founding Artistic Director for the Flying Leap Storytelling Festival in Solvang, California. 

Here are some photos and videos from yesterday’s visit:

Thank you to Mrs. Brace for organizing this fun event!

Winter Solstice

Posted on by

Welcome back to the blog!  We were unexpectedly interrupted by the Thomas Fire and are so happy to be safely back together at school after an extended Winter Break!  This week, we are catching up on a few things I had originally planned to do in December.  This may shift some of our curricula slightly, but it is all so fun that I can’t bear to give it up.

We are wrapping up our study of winter holidays from various cultures.  Yesterday, we read, “The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice” by Wendy Pfeffer.  Amazon gives the following description: “The science, history, and cultural significance of the shortest day of the year: The Winter Solstice!  The beginning of winter is marked by the solstice, the shortest day of the year. Long ago, people grew afraid when each day had fewer hours of sunshine than the day before. Over time, they realized that one day each year the sun started moving toward them again. In lyrical prose and cozy illustrations, this book explains what the winter solstice is and how it has been observed by various cultures throughout history. Many contemporary holiday traditions were borrowed from ancient solstice celebrations.”

After learning about some different Winter Solstice traditions, including decorating trees or hanging up evergreen garlands, we made our very own Winter Solstice lamps to light up this dark time of year!  The students were given a mason jar, tissue paper squares, a sponge brush, and a cup of mod podge.  They worked carefully to glue the tissue paper in various patterns before coating the jar in mod podge for a solid finish.

  

Today, we added electric tea lights (which actually flicker!) to the jars, screwed on the lids, and watched the room light up.

Feast of the Seven Fishes

Posted on by

We are studying winter holidays from various cultures right now in social studies.  First, we learned about the traditions associated with celebrating Kwanzaa.  We made paper mkekas, which are woven mats used on the table at a Kwanzaa feast.

This week, Miss DellaValle taught us about a tradition her Italian-American family includes in their Christmas celebrations: the Feast of the Seven Fishes.  In this tradition, her family has a multiple course meal which includes… you guessed it, seven different types of fish!  Their menu changes yearly, but Miss DellaValle shared one example with us.

She also shared some photos of her family’s celebration throughout the years.  Miss DellaValle also brought a couple of special treats to share!

The first was some Italian stuffed bread that they always include in their feast.  She brought two varieties for the students to sample.

The second treat was a very special guest: her father, Mr. DellaValle!  Part of their family tradition includes a reading of “The Night Before Christmas” by Mr. DellaValle.  He agreed to visit our class and share his reading with us!

Finally, we made a fun fish puppet craft, in which we traced our hands and added sparkly details.

A big thank you to Miss DellaValle and her father for teaching us about the Feast of the Seven Fishes! We love learning about different traditions and holidays, so if you have one to share, please contact me!  We’d love to have you!

First Grade Movie Premiere and Multicultural Feast

Posted on by

Yesterday, we celebrated the wonderful projects the students made on our Apple Store field trip!  Families joined us, bringing special dishes to represent their own respective heritages.

After the students introduced their projects, we settled in for our movie premiere.  The movies included titles, music, clips of students talking about their heritages, pictures of their families and ancestors, and even maps showing where their families came from*!

An example of a map graphic used in our movies

After our movie premiere, we headed outside.  Each family introduced the dish they brought and explained its origins.  The students did a great job of trying a little bit of everything, and families happily joined in.

  

Thank you so much to our room parents for providing cups, plates, napkins, and utensils, and thank you to ALL of the families for supporting this amazing project.  Congratulations on a job well done, first grade movie-makers!

 

*Due to the personal nature of the movies, they will not be posted publicly.  The first graders each received a copy of their own movie to share as they see fit.  Thank you for your understanding!

Apple Store Field Trip

Posted on by

 

We have been learning about family history and heritage during the last two months.  To prepare for our culminating project, each student interviewed someone about their family history.  We used the interview notes to create a short passage for each student to read while we videotaped them.  Families then sent pictures to accompany this video.

Today, we took a field trip to the Apple Store!  At the Apple Store, we met up with several parent volunteers and a very special Apple employee…Mr. Vanetti!  It was fun to see the students’ reactions when they realized that we would be working with my husband on this project.

After passing out Apple field trip shirts to each student, Mr. Vanetti and the class discussed who is involved in making movies (actors, directors, editors, etc.) and what movies might contain (people speaking, pictures, music, etc.) before the students got started creating their own family history movies.  They arranged the pre-recorded video and the photographs I had received.  Then, they selected and added music, captions, titles, and maps showing where their families have come from.

At the very end of our field trip, Mr. Vanetti treated us to a special demonstration of a code-able R2D2.

We will enjoy a movie screening party and multi-cultural feast in a few weeks.  At that time, each student will receive a certificate of completion and a flash drive bracelet containing their movie.  Congratulations to all of the movie-makers, and a huge THANK YOU to all of the families that helped with all of the parts of this project!

(Side note: Field trips to the Apple Store are open to all teachers of all grade levels and subject areas, and they can be tailored to fit any project.  They also happen to be free!  You can click here for more information.)

Moving to a new country

Posted on by

As we lead into our studies of heritage, we are beginning to talk about how our families may have ended up where they are now.  To introduce this concept, we made a tally chart showing how many times we have each moved. (Cute side note: I had to clarify that I meant “moved to live in a new house” when I told the class we would tally “how many times we have each moved” as one student took the statement literally and responded, “Thousands!”)

Then, we talked about how many of us have ancestors that moved from other countries to our country, and how some of us have ancestors that have always been in our country.  We discussed how families who are moving to a new place today might fly on an airplane, but over 100 years ago, many people used boats to travel to new countries.  I introduced the book, “My Grandfather’s Journey” by Allen Say. It tells the story of the author’s grandfather as he immigrated from Japan to the United States.

After that, we watched a short Brainpop Jr. video about Ellis Island.  The students were surprised to learn how long the journey might take, and how little the immigrants were usually able to bring with them.

I asked the students to imagine that they were immigrants over 100 years ago and that they could only bring one suitcase to their new home.  They brainstormed things they might need to bring with them and things they might want to bring.  Then, they had to decide what to leave behind.  Many students wanted to know if they could bring their pets, and what they would do about their beds.  They also imagined making choices about what toys would need to be left behind.

Each student illustrated and listed what they would pack in their suitcase. You can see some examples below:

Kitchen tools, box of LEGOs, bucket of toys, silverware, toothbrush, and clothes

toothbrush and toothpaste, shirts, shorts, leash, computer, and phone

money, clothes, phone, toys, computer, and jewelry

Next week, we will begin considering various aspects of culture, beginning with food and clothing!