Besom

I have been puzzling about mass producing besoms for our class this Thursday. I thought I was going to have to go out and forage for grasses and sticks, but Dollar Tree to the rescue! I found 5 ft. long bamboo poles and bunches of "broom grass". So far, I have only enough for 10 brooms, but they went together quickly.

 This is what the finished besom looks like.

 OK, so if Duct Tape  EXISTED in the medieval ages, witches would have TOTALLY used it. I laid the broom grass along the duct tape so that it was able to stick to it, then I wrapped it around the bamboo. Then I took another strip of tape and wrapped it again to help seal off that top edge.

Walpurgisnacht

Wow...that is a big word! It's German for Walpurga's Night.
On Walpurgisnacht, legend says that witches gather at the foot of the great Blocksberg Mountain in Germany. Like a lot of Pagan holidays in Europe, this one has found its way into Christianity and is named for St. Walpurga.
This celebration, for us, will feel like it belongs in the fall and not the spring. Walpurgisnacht falls exactly six months after All Hallows Eve (Halloween) and it is very similar. We will dress up as witches and ride our brooms!

St. George's Day

We had so much fun with our Tea today! 

St. George's Day

St. George Day

This week we will be celebrating St. George Day in England.  Everyone knows the story of St. George and the Dragon, right? St. George has so much mythology surrounding him, that it is hard to sort through it all and figure out if any of it was even true!
One thing is certain though, he was a very popular legend. He represented all that was brave, honorable and gallant. This is probably why the boy scouts in England chose him as their patron saint and someone who they could model their lives after and look up to.
We will be celebrating our St. George Day with a solemn parade, a tea and a very short re-enactment of the St. George and the Dragon story. (I will need volunteers to play the Fierce Dragon, the Kindly King, a Petite Princess, St. George and the Doctor).
Our menu for this week includes tea, sandwiches, scones, lady fingers and Madeleines (the last two are cookies).
Don't forget! We are going to be recognizing everyone that is in a Youth Organization, like Scouts, Roots and Shoots and any others that you might be a member of.  I know of a few that will be wearing pieces from more than one organization.

A great video about Carnival

Samba!

Carnival

This week we are going all the way to South America to celebrate Carnival in Brazil.This is a really colorful event! Brazil's culture is a mixture of Native American, African, and Portuguese and you can see all of it in the festivities.
Here is a video of children celebrating Carnival.

Here is a video of a traditional parade. Notice all of the different kinds of costumes! There is a flag bearer (for the school), the dancers, the musicians and the paraders. There will also be a lady that is very scantily clad for each school. She is there just for show!

Here is a link that shows a group of kids playing the Samba rhythms on drums.
 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkbm40_samba-drums-for-kids_music


OUR theme will be the Brazilian Rainforest. If you have a costume that looks like it could have been inspired by the Rainforest, wear it! My kids are going to make a flag, but we can have more than one if Flag Bearer is your calling...make a flag!
We will be bringing back the rhythm instruments. So, yes, it will be another loud one. For those that are sensitive to that, don't despair! The next class will be much calmer....we are going to England having tea to celebrate St. George's Day.
Vejo-te em breve!

We have pictures!

Happy New Year!

What better way to start off our new semester than a celebration of the New Year! Our first celebration is coming to us from China. There are a lot of traditions associated with the Chinese New Year and all of them have meaning to the Chinese people.
Even the decorations have meaning! We will have Chinese Couplets, Lanterns, Riddles, and Good Luck Symbols.
Of course, what is a Chinese New Year with out the Lion Dance? Even though we don't actually know HOW to do the Lion Dance, we will have fun playing the drum and wearing the costume.
We will also experience some foods like the Chinese New Year Lucky Candy Box  , oranges and dumplings (but don't get your hopes up, I am not hiding money inside of food!)
No Chinese New Year would be complete without Hong Bao and firecrackers.
Wearing RED would be a very lucky thing for all of us to do during Chinese New Year.
After class, I will post pictures to the blog so our families can celebrate with us.

The Chinese New Year Story

Long ago, the world was not a safe place; monsters dominated the world. There was one horrifying monster that came out on the same day each year to eat people. This monster was named Nian, and the people marked the end of a year by his visits to the human civilization. That is where the Chinese word for year came from.

This monster was the most feared by the people because every time it came out, whole villages would be destroyed at a time. So, every time the monster came, people would huddle together in their homes and stay up all night, wanting not to be eaten. This happened for many years until a wise man thought up a plan to scare the monster away.

This man proposed that the people should light bamboo. The bamboo would crack and make a lot of noise, possibly scaring the monster away. The villagers thought this was a very good idea and started to light the bamboo. The noise was tremendous. The monster was scared by the loud noise and ran back to its cave without not eating any people.

The next morning, everyone was present. They were all elated. The people congratulated each other for executing the plan effectively. So, from then on, people stayed up late, lit firecrackers (to simulate the lighting of the bamboo), and congratulated each other when the new year came. 

Taken from  Thinkquest .