Day 13: Celebration

Monday was Martin Luther King day, and we wanted to celebrate it in a meaningful way.  Our Ancient African Kingdoms class was nearly complete, so we decided to display all of our projects for the semester

Half of the kids set up a display of their folktale, their scrapbook, their final project, and a project they developed for their Spanish class, which also takes place on Mondays.  The other half of the kids and the twenty-four guests walked around to each station to ask questions, learn more about Africa, and to admire the work.  After an hour, we switched

There were posters and power points, talking drums and masks, homemade dolls and hand-stamped cloth, and reports and paintings, cat mummies and forged products, and fabulousness all around.  After the presentations, we gathered to talk about the process, of both making and presenting the projects.  Here is some of what we heard from the kids:

 

I was scared at first, but then it was fun.

I made some mistakes, but then it came together.

I didn’t think it would take so long to finish.

And from the parents:

I love how supportive all of the kids were to one another, asking great questions and complimenting each other’s work.

I learned so much that I didn’t know before.

I saw how much kids can do if we give them the time to do it.

After sharing for a bit, we sat for a moment in silent gratitude for the kingdoms of ancient Africa, for the work of Dr. King and others who gave up their lives for justice and peace, for the parents who make our class possible, and for the kids who worked so hard to make the day possible.  And then we ate.  Delicious, delicious food from a variety of ancient and modern African cultures.

There are days when everything feels right.  This was one of them.