Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Happy Kwanzaa



I think that the children were amazed that there is another Holiday celebrated that they didn't know about! I explained that this one was a lot like thanksgiving and Christmas put together. It was a nice review of harvest, and families.

We learned a new art skill, "Rubbings". Our small motor skills were put to the test when trying to hold the crayon on it's side, and rub hard across a cardboard with lifted grooves. This is a great, and fun skill to practice at home. In case you weren't sure what the rubbings were, it is the special Kwanzaa Mat called the Mekeka. The Mekeka holds the Kinara and candles along with the fruit of the harvest. An ear of corn represents each child in the family. I of course just explained the candle, the colors of red black and green, and corn to the children. Kwanaaz is a big enough word to say, let alone understand all the meanings.

For snack, we again took turns practicing our pouring, and stirring skills in the kitchen. This time, since we had just talked about the meaning of the corn, we decided to make corn bread. Another big hit with the children.

After we celebrated Kwanzaa, we settled down to practice our Christmas songs. The children were real excited to sing some familiar songs! We played a fun human pointing game to pick the favorite songs. Don't be surprised if the children start spinning each other around on your computer chairs, to stop and point to an item in front of them. The kids loved this singing game!!

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