October 11 was Indigenous People Day, so we focused on the cultures of our indigenous neighbors, the Cherokee and Catawba. (Osiyo means hello in Cherokee.) We started by painting the pots we had made with the creek clay, which of course led to making even more creations! We learned how to play chunkey, a game played by tribes all over North America for hundreds of years. It is similar to bocce and was a lot of fun! We read a book called Water Protectors which is about the many indigenous- led movements to protect the environment (such as Standing Rock and Honor the Earth). So we followed their example and went on a trash hunt in the creek. Don't worry- the kids just pointed to the trash, I picked it up! Afterwards, Percy and Magni made up a game about picking up trash. We also read Fry Bread, A Native American Family Story. It includes a recipe for fry bread which i will include in the pictures. Finally on Friday, we met a TURTLE! A box turtle that came right up to the cottage area. It's very important to me that the kids not only love wildlife but also respect it by looking with their eyes not their hands. And guess what that wonderful turtle did? She went just to the other side of the fence and stopped so that the kids could really get a good look at her! Coincidentally, guess what many tribes call North America? Turtle Island! It was a perfect ending to the week.
In honor of the turtle, the next week we made a turtle craft. It was so beautiful, the kids were just painting and would suddenly begin singing together. Thank you to Ms Collette and Ms Kathleen for teaching the kids songs that they LOVE to sing!
I hope you have all enjoyed this magnificent fall break! See you soon!
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