South of the Border
Bienvenidos --Welcome
Hola! I am so excited that you have decided to explore Mexico with me this summer! Our class is loaded with projects that will enhance our learning as we find out about Mexican customs and traditions from its exciting history. Some of these hands-on projects will be messy, so you are welcome to bring an over-sized shirt to wear. Our extended day will be an all-day baking experience at the high school, so be prepared to bring your appetite. Until then, plan to meet me at the border, grab a passport, and off we'll go. I can't wait to meet you! Mrs. Siqueiros
June 11th Hola! I am posting this on the 12th because I was not able to access the internet yesterday. Day One was fantastic! The students remembered what is expected in the classroom (with occasional reminders about talking out of turn) They asked really good questions and made awesome observations. We read a legend about the symbol in the center of the Mexican flag and made our own Mexican flag folder to keep our papers in until the last day of Project Seek. I showed them our "work table," which consists of Mexican toys and games. We began our daily journal and recorded about what we had learned.
June 12th Hola! Today we began making our pinatas out of papier mache and balloons. The first layer is done! Our story for the day was a Huichol Indian legend called "The Journey of Tunuri and the Blue Deer." We talked about the Huichol Indians and their custom of making God's Eyes when a baby is born. We learned about the 6 colors that are used and the significance of each color. Each student made their own God's Eye, which will be on display during Open House. It was frustrating at first for some, but the project was completed successfully by all students. Our day ended with journaling about the Huichol Indians. Hasta manana!
June 13th Hola! Today was another busy day. We continued our study on the Huichol Indians with a beaded mask project. We added another layer to our pinatas. Our story for the day was a Maya legend called "People of Corn," which served as an introduction to the next empire in Mexican history that we would study. The legend explained the importance of weaving. The students also learned that the Maya traditionally dyed cloth using natural ingredients. Your child should be able to tell you what surprise ingredient we used to dye our fabric! We also began making our own backstrap looms for weaving on Friday. Hasta manana!
June 14th Hola! What a day! The students learned some interesting facts about customs and styles of the Maya. They found some of the styles pretty interesting -- you might want to ask your child about them! We also worked on our pinata and finished weaving our backstrap looms. Pictures of these activities will be in a slideshow on Open House night. Our story for the day was a Maya legend called "The Hummingbird King," which explained how the quetzal bird came into existence. This was followed by one of the most challenging activities we have done so far: Maya math! We started learning the system (based on 20 instead of 10 like our system and moving vertically instead of horizontally) with beans to represent ones, sticks to represent fives, and the shell to represent zero. The Maya were some of the first groups of people to use zero as a placeholder in math. I was so proud of how much thinking each and every student did to translate our Hindu-Arabic numerals into Mayan. We then used the following website: https://maya.nmai.si.edu/maya-sun/maya-math-game. to test our skills. A few students asked for this website so they could try it at home. Maybe they can show you what they learned. I was so proud of them!
I am looking forward to seeing your child again on Monday -- enjoy your weekend. Hasta lunes!
I am looking forward to seeing your child again on Monday -- enjoy your weekend. Hasta lunes!
June 17th and 18th Between a sick cat and dog-sitting, I have not had the chance to update on a daily basis. I apologize. On the 17th, our daily story was "The Rain Player," which told about the Maya ball game, Pok a Tok, and the Mayan rain god, Chac. We watched a video about natural Mexican earth clay and made our own pottery. We continued to work on our pinatas. On the 18th, we began to learn about the Aztecs, whose powerful civilization followed that of the Maya. Our legend was about the Aztec version of the ball game, called tlachtli, played by a peaceful Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl, and the Aztec rain god, Tlaloc. We talked about the importance of corn to the Aztecs, and this became the focus of the remaining day activities as we used the metate, an ancient grinding stone, to grind corn and made our own authentic corn husk tamales with corn flour. We began an anthropology project to learn more about Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztecs.
June 19th Today we sampled our tamales along with Mexican soda. We finished our murals of Tenochtitlan and discussed the importance of their special "floating gardens," called chinampas. This was the earliest form of hydroponic gardening. Our daily legend was once again about the peaceful Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl, and how he brought corn to the Aztecs. We looked at Aztec picture glyphs and talked about their special books, called codices. In the computer lab, we used a website called Mexicolore to look at the Aztec year signs and played a game of locating them in the in pictures.
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET: June 20th is our long day. At 9:10, we will board a bus to the Pine City High School to make pan dulce (pan--bread; dulce--sweet) and learn about the important role of the Mexican baker in daily life since early times. Please send a snack and bag lunch with your child. We will return to Pine City Elementary for a 2:30 dismissal. Thank you!
June 19th Today we sampled our tamales along with Mexican soda. We finished our murals of Tenochtitlan and discussed the importance of their special "floating gardens," called chinampas. This was the earliest form of hydroponic gardening. Our daily legend was once again about the peaceful Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl, and how he brought corn to the Aztecs. We looked at Aztec picture glyphs and talked about their special books, called codices. In the computer lab, we used a website called Mexicolore to look at the Aztec year signs and played a game of locating them in the in pictures.
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET: June 20th is our long day. At 9:10, we will board a bus to the Pine City High School to make pan dulce (pan--bread; dulce--sweet) and learn about the important role of the Mexican baker in daily life since early times. Please send a snack and bag lunch with your child. We will return to Pine City Elementary for a 2:30 dismissal. Thank you!
June 20th Another busy day! When the students arrived at the elementary building, we began by watching a video about the traditions of the baker that are still carried on in the small villages of Mexico. Ask your child about it! At one point during the day, we played a game based on this tradition at the high school. After viewing the video, we boarded a bus and headed to the home economics room for our baking day. We made pan dulce mexicano (sweet bread), which is a yeast bread that we kneaded and formed into shapes after waiting for it to rise two times. We also made a cinnamon topping for the bread and talked about the flavors and shapes used to make different breads from the basic dough. We played our baker game, guessed the meaning of Spanish sentences based on pantomime, prepared Mexican hot chocolate, and learned a Spanish song about cho-co-la-te (ask your child about the pronunciation of this word in Spanish). Before we returned to the elementary school, we had the chance to sample the pan dulce and the chocolate. We were so busy we didn't have time to write in our journals or read our Quetzalcoatl legend for the day. We will need to catch up on these and other activities on Friday. Hasta manana!
June 21 Hola! Today we received a very pleasant treat from Henry, who visited El Burrito Mercado yesterday. If you ever have the chance to visit this Mexican market on the West side of St. Paul on the Cesar Chavez Blvd. section of Concord Street, I'm sure you will enjoy it. It has been a field trip destination for our class in the past, but construction has prevented us from going there the last couple years. Henry brought us Mexican pastries -- thank you Henry! Our legend for the day was about the Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl, and how he brought chocolate to his people. We completed our Mayan codices with a review of their number system. We completed a puzzle of the Aztec sun stone and put the final layer of papier mache on our pinatas. Next week, we will be decorating them and filling them with candies. We are looking forward to giving you a tour of our room this Tuesday, between the hours of 5:00 and 7:00. !Hasta lunes!
June 24th Today we learned about the Day of the Dead as it is celebrated in Mexico. Your child learned that the two days (November 1st and 2nd) are both joyous and sad. Although families mourn the passing of loved ones, the belief is that they have passed on to a better life. We discussed that one way to celebrate the occasion is by wearing skeleton masks, and we began to make our own. The day passed quickly, as we also attended the play performed by the "Sing It, Act It, Shake It" class and cleaned up after snack for the "Strike It Rich" class.
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET: Project Seek will hold its annual Open House from 5:00 -- 7:00 tomorrow night. During this time, you are invited to visit your child's class and attend the plays performed by "Shakespeare for Kids" and "Sing It, Act It, Shake It." In the gym, you can purchase snacks (including sidewalk tacos and hot dogs) from the "Strike It Rich" class, view a slide show featuring all Project Seek classes, and collect your child's Project Seek participation certificate. This is an excellent opportunity to visit other classrooms. Hope to see you there!
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET: Project Seek will hold its annual Open House from 5:00 -- 7:00 tomorrow night. During this time, you are invited to visit your child's class and attend the plays performed by "Shakespeare for Kids" and "Sing It, Act It, Shake It." In the gym, you can purchase snacks (including sidewalk tacos and hot dogs) from the "Strike It Rich" class, view a slide show featuring all Project Seek classes, and collect your child's Project Seek participation certificate. This is an excellent opportunity to visit other classrooms. Hope to see you there!