Rob Aptaker Visit

Rob Aptaker came to visit the 1-2s! He is a remarkable man who has spent lots of time living with and among different Native Peoples to learn their culture, traditions, songs, stories, language and way of life. We were very lucky to have the opportunity to learn from him in person and in a hands-on way. Rob brought lots of artifacts with him: tools, skins, instruments, baskets, toys, games, natural resources, and more to teach the children about the life of Native Americans in this country from hundreds of years ago. The kids also got the opportunity to handle and even try out many of these materials. 

After his initial presentation, the kids got to rotate through stations of artifacts.  Rob himself taught the students how to make their own string from sticks of dogbane (which does grow around here). The first challenge is to crack and scrape off the stiff outer bark to get to the strong and flexible fibers inside. Rolling and twisting the fibers into string took some practice to get the hang of, and we hope to continue working on our string here at school. Rob also demonstrated fire making with a bow-drill. The kids each got a chance to try spinning the soft wood dowel with the bow drill (but not with the speed or force necessary to actually start a fire).

One of the biggest points of learning for the kids was using only the resources available in the area where you lived to meet all of your needs. We chanted "sticks and stones and skins and bones" to remind ourselves of the natural resources available to provide food (farmed, hunted & fished), animal skins (for clothing, homes, blankets), sticks (including all plant matter such as wood, bark, flowers, leaves), and stones. This was evidenced as all the artifacts were made of "pre-contact" materials, that is, before the settlers brought metals, glass and other new resources with them to the continent.

Rob Aptaker is also a gifted story teller who even knows a favorite Native American author of ours - Joseph Bruchac! Rob told the children many stories from different regions with wonderful voices and movements to bring the story to life. 

The finale of the day was a call and answer song Rob taught us with an accompanying snake dance! We practiced the song and then lined up behind Rob and followed his steady drum beat with our feet as we sang the song. Our dance ended when our "snake" spiraled in on itself and Rob shook the final rattle!

Enjoy the pictures below! Ask your child to tell you about their experiences at the different stations and what the highlights of the day were for them!