Holiday Happenings

This week has been very interesting. I've changed the routine a bit and we are studying holidays around the world in place of our usual literacy & Social Studies. My students seem to be feeling a bit more free to express themselves, and we've had several "bad word" incidents. On the positive side, I've seen students quizzing each other and me about the ABCs, reading out loud to themselves and each other, and writing a lot more. Today we made mkekas, the woven mats used in celebrating Kwanzaa. This is probably the largest, and most individualized, project to date, and many of my more diligent students did not know what to make of it. It took quite a while and a lot of helping and fixing of mistakes, but most of them are finally finished and they are so proud of themselves. The mats look great. Now it's time to plan the holiday party - yea! My students want to write a letter to the principal asking permission to "dress up" for the party instead of wearing their regular school uniforms.