Powwow - 2013

All of the hard work paid off to produce a memorable day for all of our kindergarten students and parents to remember. We learned a lot about our Lenape tribe and will never forget them.
Powwow Kindergarten 2013 on PhotoPeach

Powwow Preparation - Getting Dressed

A lot of work went into preparing for the actual Powwow day. Our Room Moms Mary Garrard and Christa Hancock saw to every detail from crowns to shoe covers. We appreciate all of their hard work and preparation. These are pictures from the morning of the Powwow before we went outside.
Powwow  Preparation on PhotoPeach

How to Make Chocolate Pudding

 How to get children's attention?  Make chocolate pudding. In Writer's Workshop, we have been learning about "How To" writing.  Students have been writing on such topics as "How to ride your bike,"  "How to brush your teeth," "How to get ready for school," and "How to play soccer."  All of these are written in "steps" -- Step 1, 2, 3 and 4. They are also learning transitional words: first, then, next, finally."  Today, we used a shared experience, "How to make chocolate pudding" as our "How to".  First we wrote what they thought the steps would be, wrote it down and then went over it as it was written. For instance, Step One - Put the milk in the pudding. Well the packet of pudding was opened and the milk was getting ready to be poured in.  "Oh no," they shouted.  "But that's what it says."  So we learned that directions have to be specific if you are going to teach someone how to correctly do things. Afterwards, all eyes were on the pudding and of course shared with the class. Also, they couldn't wait to write about it so they can teach their moms how to make it.!!

Pow Wow Preparation - Learning About Our Tribe -- Lenni Lenape

 For the past week, we have been learning about our Native American tribe - the Lenape.  They are from the northeastern region of the United States - primarily Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware. The Lenape men were hunters and did what they could to protect their families. The Lenape women were farmers. Both the men and women were story tellers, artists, and musicians.

 

 This week we read a traditional Lenape story called, "Rainbow Crow."  This is the story of how a crow saved a forest full of animals during a terrible snow storm. The crow was once a beautiful bird. During a relentless snowstorm, the animals of the forest asked him to fly to the Great Sky Spirit to ask for the snow to stop. It got burned by the fire he received to melt the snow. However, if you look closely at its black feathers you can still see traces of its rainbow color.

Homework this past week was to research our tribe and dress the cut out accordingly. The students shared how they made their Lenape person and also wrote about it in a "How To" piece in Writer's Workshop. The following are their creations...

 

Literacy Characters - Our Fall Centers

Here are a few pictures of our book characters dressed up for our Fall Literacy Parade Day and Centers.  It was a wonderful experience for the children to walk through the halls of the school cheered on by older students who remembered how much fun it was when they did the same thing not so long ago.