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Annual Events Calendar
September
Personality Bags/Bolsas de Personalidad: Each
child is encouraged to bring a bag containing three things for sharing
which represent his or her interests. We make a huge chart describing their
individual interests for the school community to read. This is a way to
learn about them and to validate who they are.
My Summer: At the beginning of the
school year each child brings in photos or items that have something to do
with his or her summer. All the
summer memories are displayed on our social studies table and children can
share their experiences during their small group time.
October
Nuestras Familias: Each child is encouraged to bring photos of his
or her family to display, along with a description of the family in the
child's words. All the photos of all
the families are viewed together in a main part of the school.
Rosh Hashanah: To celebrate the Jewish New Year, children bake Challah bread, dip
apples in honey for a sweet new year, and write a wish list. Sometimes parents present a special
group.
Halloween Celebrations: Art projects, music and stories with the
central theme of Halloween are explored with the children. Children, teachers and parents work
together to build a Fun House decorated with children's original art work,
filled with the sounds of their voices recorded on an audio tape, in the
school's stage area. We keep the
lights on so that the children can admire their work and feel safe. These
activities culminate with an in-costume parade, accompanied by live music,
around the block with the children, teachers and the children's families.
November
Dia de los Muertos: This is a Pre-Colombian holiday celebrated in Mexico and in parts of Latin America that honors the dead in a festive way. We encourage children to bring in a photo
or special item of a relative, friend or pet who has died. This is a good time to talk about
lifelines, memories and traditions.
Children bake pan de muerto
and take a field trip to Encantada Galleria to view a Dia de los Muertos
exhibit.
Friendship Soup: For our Thanksgiving celebration, we honor the contributions of
Native Americans through our storytelling project. We also ask each child to bring in a
vegetable for our Friendship Soup which is prepared by the children with the
teachers. We add stones to the soup
as illustrated in the very old tale Stone
Soup. We serve the soup in a Friendship Circle on the floor where the children, parents and
teachers hold hands and think of the people who take care of them. The
children take great pride in this cooking and sharing activity. Children
also help in making Original Pumpkin
Pie in a pumpkin with healthful ingredients.
December
Chanukah, La Posada, Kwanzaa, Divali, Winter
Solstice: Nonreligious
presentations of holidays that celebrate light as days get shorter in
winter are central to group time presentations in December. Parents in the school community are
essential to these presentations.
Winter Celebration: To conclude the fall semester, the school
prepares for a winter celebration which includes creation of stage sets and
costumes, dramatic storytelling and music.
The children's work culminates in a winter performance of their
stories to live music on the school stage.
The Winter Fairy makes an appearance to present a book to each
child. The event is concluded with a
pot-luck lunch provided by parents and teachers.
January
Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday: In
conjunction with Black History Month, the children celebrate Martin Luther
King Jr.'s birthday with the retelling of the Rosa Parks story, discussion
of important contributions made by African Americans and activities that
help children understand civil rights.
February
Lunar New Year Celebration: To celebrate the Lunar New Year, children
collectively make a dragon, cook vegetarian wontons, and participate in
special group presentations about Chinese New Year. The celebrations culminate in a Red Day
parade around the block, in which children take turns carrying the dragon.
Valentine's Day Party: Children
exchange cards with friends and teachers through the Buen Dia Mail Box and
bake healthy snacks.
March
Mentor's Day: Children
celebrate Mentor's Day by bringing in photographs and stories
about people who are important mentors in their lives. This is an opportunity for children to
share the different kinds of work people around them do and how it is
important to them. These photos and
stories are displayed for everyone to read.
April
Earth Day: The Earth Day celebration is an opportunity for the children to
learn about the environment around them, and to learn how and why they need
to take care of it. The highlight for many children is the collective
Pollution Tank--an aquarium filled with water and garbage that the children
find on their way to school during the month. This activity raises their awareness of
litter, the need to recycle, and the effect of pollution on our water
system. Throughout the year children
use the designated bins for recycling and composting.
Spring Egg Hunt: Children create baskets
from recycled materials, and fill them with healthful foods.
Me Books: This is a small booklet individualized
for each child with statements about name, age, height, weight, address,
fingerprints, names of friends and a string attached to the page signifying
how tall the child is.
Slide Ranch Field Trip: Each year, the children take a day field trip
to the Slide Ranch, located along the coast of California. This is an opportunity for the children to have
an experience on a sustainable, organic ranch--complete with goats,
chickens, ducks, compost worms, and an organic vegetable garden.
May
Cinco de Mayo Celebration:
Parents' Appreciation Breakfast: In lieu of Mother's Day and Father's Day, we
celebrate all parents in the Parents' Appreciation Breakfast. In preparation, the children sew or paint
aprons to wear while serving breakfast to their parents. They also write or draw menus, prepare
and cook food, and set and decorate tables.
The children are enthusiastic to wait on their parents, and feel so
proud to be able to serve the food.
June
Graduation: Every year the school year
concludes with an elaborate graduation ceremony for all the children. In addition to receiving diplomas, a
collection of their stories and drawings and a long stem rose for
graduation, the children put on a performance for their parents and
relatives. The sets and stage props
are designed by the children based on their ideas. The children are encouraged to perform
stories that they have previously dictated to a teacher, accompanied by
live music. The stories, written
down exactly as the child tells it, are directed and edited by the
child/author.
Birthdays:
Children's birthdays are
also celebrated at school. Each
child is encouraged to bake his or her own cake at school. There are always many enthusiastic
helpers on these occasions. These
cakes are made with low sugar content and sometimes have cream cheese
toppings with individual decorations such as leaves. Children are encouraged to give a book to
the school for all to enjoy, rather than bringing individual gifts for
classmates.
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