Over the past few weeks, the kids have revisited our Native American Stations which have been furnished with new learning experiences. At one station, the group chooses one of the many Native American folk tales we have read to bring to life and perform. Groups have had countless legends and pourquoi tales to choose from for their performance to the whole group.
One station invites students to make clay animal fetishes inspired by those done in the Southwest by the Zuni tribe. The children choose an animal they admire or are inspired by as the subject of their small hand-held sculpture. They share why that particular animal is special to them, such as graceful movement, strength, speed, patience, etc. - qualities they may wish to tap into themselves.
This time around at our movement station, the kids are tasked with a daily chore for Native American women and girls - grinding corn into flour to make cornbread each day. Using stone and wood mortars and pestles, the kids smash open kernels of corn and then grinding them down into something like a powder (some kids got a finer grain than others). All the while, kids sing a traditional song as the Native Americans themselves would have done to pass the time doing such a mundane task. While we advised them not to actually use or eat their small sample of ground corn, the experience is a powerful one.
At our math station kids are doing the very painstaking work of weaving on bead looms. This is very tricky work and a lot of patience and steady handwork is needed to complete even a few rows on the loom. A good deal of frustration tolerance is needed for success at this station, but the pride of the kids as they complete rows of beads is evident!
Finally, there are new games at the games station to test their skill as well as shrewdness. One is a Native American version of rock, paper, scissors called Tillikum. The symbols for this iteration are fingers down (water), fingers up (fire), and fingers flat (earth). Water puts out fire, fire scorches earth and earth absorbs water. The kids had fun having mini-tournaments of this game. There were also guessing games that involved hiding a rock in one hand behind your back and having your opponent try to correctly determine which hand the rock was hiding in.
Our musical station invites students to create their own instrument. Having shown the kids some examples of authentic Native American instruments (drums, rattles, shakers), they use the resources we have available to us (namely, recycling materials, colorful tapes, sticks and paint pens) to craft an instrument of their own. Each group has then used their instruments in a drumming circle incorporating the chant they learned at this station in the last round to perform in front of the group. Traditional Native American drum beats include a strong, steady beat, such as a heartbeat rhythm.
Enjoy the pictures below. They are just a preview of what will be at the showcase!
