Happy Spring!

I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break.

It is that time of the year when we actively start planning and preparing for International Night which will be held on May 18th. This year our classroom is representing Asia. Over the past month, we have been reading books about Asia and looking through our Asia cultural folder to find inspiring ways to transform our classroom into glimpse of this very exciting continent. The children have already been generating ideas for different things they would like to create in the classroom including The Great Wall of China, an unusual rock formations landscape from Turkey and all kinds of animals. We have already been working on flags from different countries in Asia and the children have remarked on some similarities and differences between the various flags and the kinds of emblems and motifs used in the flags.

One of the most important discoveries the children made as we looked at the puzzle map of Asia, is how many of our friends have some connection to a country in Asia. Some have grandparents who live there, some have parents who used to live there. Some of us have lived there or visited there at some point in our lives. Some of us are connected to the continent through language and the arts. For a primary child, finding personal connections is an amazing way to learn more about a new place. It makes the culture we are learning about become more meaningful to them. If you have any stories, connections or anecdotes related to Asia and would like to share them with the children, please let us know. The children love to hear stories, see pictures, experience art and learn new words and songs.

We can always use volunteers for International Night. If you would like to help set up on the day of the event, help with crafts during the event or clean up after the event, please check in with our classroom parents, Christina and Ninah. They generously volunteered their time and skills setting up our classroom for the event last year and have some amazing stories to share.

We look forward to sharing this fun event with all of you.

Archana