Multicultural Celebration and Feast

In social studies, we have been learning about four different countries -- Peru, Ukraine, Tunisia and India.  On Tuesday, we had a multicultural day full of activities, guest speakers and a feast.

Our day started off learning some Ukrainian dancing with Mrs. Tubb.  Then, we learned more from Mrs. Fahrlander about Peru's nazca lines and did an art project using colored sand.  Our last activity was with Mrs. Braybrook, learning more about India.  We talked about the clothing in India.  Did you know that "juhmuh" means loose fitting clothing and that is where our word "pajama" came from?  Mrs. Braybrook showed us 2 saris.  We couldn't believe how long they were! 

Mrs. Braybrook also showed us a video about how to put on a sari.  It sure doesn't look very easy!

We then got to make mandalas, which can also be called "healing circles".  People from India sometimes make them out of sand in front of the door of their house to ward off evil spirits and show everyone that their house is clean and welcoming.  In this picutre, you can see one of our classmates working on her mandala.

We also had some guest speakers.  Starting from the left and going around the table, there is Kevin (from Nicaragua and part of the Canada World Youth Program); Mrs. Fahrlander (who isn't looking--she's not a guest speaker but one of our teachers); Esther (from Peru); Kate (from Nova Scotia and also part of the Canada World Youth Program); Avery (coordinator from the Central Alberta Refugee Effort).

Esther shared information and some videos from Peru.  Avery did a presentation for all of us at the end of the day about how we can all make a difference.  He shared the stories of different Canadians (Craig Kielburger, Ryan Hreljac, a girl from Sylvan Lake & some kids from Olds) and how they are making a difference.  Kate and Kevin told us more about the Canada World Youth Program and how they are making a difference through it. 

The highlight of the day though had to be the feast!  Each class brought food from one of the countries.  Our class had to bring food from India.  Check out all of the amazing food!



And here we are digging in!  It was so great to have some of our parents there to help!

We all took some time to think about the day and what we learned and liked about this experience.  Here are our thoughts...

Brady -- I liked dessert and the food.  The chicken was juicy.  The Ukrainian dances were fun.

Colten -- On cultural day, I liked the tasty food for the Indian section.  We ate downstairs.  I liked the chicken.  It was juicy.

Orion -- On cultural day, we ate Indian food.  We also danced a Ukrainian dance.  We also met a girl from Peru.  We couldn't understand her that well though.

Quintin -- Nazca lines are giant pictures that people made on land in Peru.  We got to make a nazca line with glue and then sprinkle sand on it.

Brooke -- My favourite part of the day was dancing.  It was so fun.  We got to be a tricycle.  Then we got to see someone from Peru.  It was so awesome!

Logan -- I liked eating because I got to try something new.  My favourite food was samosas!  They were spicy but good.  My favourite dessert was fudge.

Anthony -- I liked all of the food because I like trying new food.  It was fun doing all the fun dancing.  It was cool that we got to meet someone from Peru.

Scott -- My favorite part of cultural day was learning about Peru because the guest speaker from Peru told us about some interesting things about Peru that I think are cool.  I learned they have nazca lines.

Trystan -- I liked all of it because I got to try so many new foods.  I got to try new dances.  I got to learn new things.

Cooper -- I liked when we tried new food.  My favourite food was naan.  I learned to try new food -- you might like it, you might not.  Naan is a bread Indians eat.  Naan can be cut into any shape or size.

Zoe -- I liked eating other food at lunch time like cold fruit soup and coconut cake.

Summer -- My favorite part of the day was when we were dancing because I like to dance.  I liked it because dancing is fun.

Kira -- My favorite part of the culture day is dancing because you get exercise.  You get to know how to dance and try new things.

Jordin -- My favorite thing was dancing because it was fun and we learned something new.  My favorite dance was the first one we did.

Dominik -- The Ukrainian dance is my favorite thing because it was very fun.

Angus -- My favorite thing was trying new food.  My favorite food was perogies.  We tried different foods.  We tried new dances.

Hunter -- My favorite part of the day was the feast because it was delicious.  I sat with my friends at the feast.  When we were done, I was full.

Koby -- I like the great food.  It was delicious.  I liked the great activities there was.  I made coconut cake.  It was awesome.  I liked when I colored.

We were wondering...
What do you know about these countries?
Have you ever been a part of a cultural celebration?