Making a Children’s Day class calendar Language Arts class Download a calendar template and print it out. Have students call out in Spanish the different dates of celebration for Children’s Day in different countries around the world, and mark them in the calendar. Post the calendar where it can be seen by all, and on the identified dates celebrate Children’s Day with some of the following activities. Making a Children’s birthday calendar Language Arts, Arts/PE/Music class Using the class calendar, ask students to write their names on the day they were born. Celebrate each birthday as a class singing the Spanish version of Happy Birthday, Feliz Cumpleaños. Writing and singing a Children’s Day song Language Arts, Arts/PE/Music individual, pair, small group, class Play the song “It’s a wonderful world”; let students familiarize themselves with the tune. In small groups, have students brainstorm ideas for the lyrics suitable for a Children’s Day song. The song must represent all children in the world. Assign the writing of the song as homework; parents’ help might be needed. Students may pair up or work individually. If the children’s Spanish is advanced enough, ask that they write their songs in Spanish. When the songs are due, play the tune in the background and ask students to perform their songs in class. Collect the songs and keep them in a song bank (e-portfolio, class website or students’ folders). Pick one song for the whole class to sing for each day that Children’s Day is celebrated in Latin American countries, asking the child or children who wrote it to lead the singing. Making a Children’s Day piñata Language Arts, Arts/PE/Music individual Go to the provided website and download instructions to make a piñata. http://www.nacnet.org/assunta/nacpinat.htm Copy these instructions and provide students with the material necessary for each of them to make a piñata. The piñatas can also be made at home. Give the students a choice: Their piñatas can be filled with candy for the class to enjoy on one (or several) of the Children’s Days identified on the class calendar or The piñatas can be sold to parents/schoolmates to raise money for children; the money raised can be pledged online (see the provided websites) or can be given directly to some charitable organization in your area. Making a Children’s Day card Arts/PE/Music, Social Sciences individual Ask students to select one date for the celebration of Children’s Day for one of the identified countries on the calendar. Ask them to think about the country and the children in that country. How do they picture children in that country? Provide students with card paper and crayons. Ask students to create a children’s day card for a specific yet imaginary child in the Hispanic country of their choice. Collect all cards and color copy them. Bundle them and give a set of cards to each student to sell at school, home, church, etc. Once all cards have been sold, go online and help students pledge the money to a children’s right or children’s welfare organization, or have the representative of a local organization come to class to receive the money. Take a digital picture of each card and post them on the school website. Place the students’ original artwork in their individual folders. Corresponding with pen- or key-pals Language Arts class Find class pen- or key-pals from the several organizations offering this service with Spanish-speaking countries. Brainstorm with children what they want to say or ask from their pen- or key-pals. Help students organize and write the letter, whether paper or electronic. If students’ Spanish is developed, help them write the letter/email in Spanish. For Children’s Day in the Hispanic country of their pen- or key-pals, make sure that students send their pal a paper or electronic Children’s Day card. Sharing cultural information with Hispanic children Language Arts, Social Sciences class Bring about the topic of cultural misunderstandings with your students. Explain that peoples often do not know each other well, and that misconceptions about each other’s cultures and ways of living often result in misunderstandings. Ask your students about their views and understandings of Hispanic children. How do they see them? How do they picture them in the United States, and how do they picture them in their respective countries? Explain the concept of stereotyping. Ask students to brainstorm the possible benefits that people draw out of stereotyping other people. Ask them to brainstorm the damages and issues that stereotyping raise. Explain to children that within a given culture all people are not the same. People may share some cultural values, yet retain some individual characteristics and behaviors that contradict the shared cultural values. Ask students to brainstorm the different cultures in the United States. Are all people from a shared culture the same? Do people from different culture within the US share common values? Capitalize on the receptivity and openness of children to multicultural information and tolerance of others’ beliefs and values. Once the relationship between the class pen or key pals is well established, draft a letter with students asking Hispanic students what their views and understanding of American children are. In turn, draft a paragraph or two with questions about children’s daily lives, desires and behaviors. It might take a few tries to obtain useful information from the Hispanic class, but as long as the letters drafted shows openness and a genuine desire to learn about the Hispanic students’ cultures, this activity will prove to be a great way to bring cultural understanding to both parties. Sending an electronic Children’s Day card Language Arts individual On the day of the celebration of children’s Day in one given country (refer to the calendar), send students to an electronic card website. Ask them to compose a short message in Spanish to accompany their card. You may or may not elect to check children’s messages in terms of language and/or content. Ask students to send their cards to the country’s Embassy/Consulate/Chamber of Commerce, or, if they have any, to their key-pals. Creating hats for a Children’s Day parade Arts/PE/Music, Social Sciences individual Print a hat template and have each child cut in felt (or another fabric) the outline of a tall hat. Ask each child to symbolize a Spanish-speaking country (Spain included); these symbols can be a map of a country, a words in Spanish , a flag, money, the country animal such as the quetzal or the coquí, etc.). Have the students decorate and attach their symbols to the hat. On Hat day or on Children’s Day, children can parade throughout the school wearing their hats and singing Children’s Day songs. Illustrating Children’s rights Arts/PE/Music, Language Arts individual Print out the Children’s rights and cut it into strips. Give each child a strip. Ask students in turn to read their strip. Once all children understand their assigned ‘right’, ask that they rewrite it and illustrate it on poster paper. Collect all artwork and display it around the classroom. Take digital pictures of each, and create, or help students create a Children’s Rights album on the school website. Additional Resource - Summary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Creating passport stamps Arts/PE/Music, Social Sciences individual Assign one or two Hispanic countries to each child. Ask students to research their country or countries and find out a. The country’s flag b. The country’s national mascot or animal c. The country’s representative plant, flower, or tree Provide students with self hardening clay or salt dough, as well as carving tools. From the information they gleaned, ask students to create a seal with the image that best represents the country to them. Bake or leave seals to harden. Reserve until needed for stamping on passports. Creating a passport to travel for Children’s Day Language Arts, Social Sciences individual Help students create a booklet by taking one colored and five 8.50 x 11 in. sheets of paper. Students will fold the stack of sheets in half and staple the crease twice. On the colored cover of their passports, students will write Passport and United States of America. On the inside of the colored cover, students will either bring a picture of themselves to glue in, or draw themselves. They will write their names and dates of birth, as well as what characterizes them (personal interests, etc.). On the American Children’s Day, and/or on each Children’s Day celebrated in a Hispanic country, children will travel to one or several Hispanic countries. In order to do so, create one or several country exhibits with pictures, artifacts, and facts about the country. If available, read children’s stories from the visited country, play local games, etc. Have students record in their passport through drawings or writings what they have “seen” of the country. One passport page should represent one country. Stamp students’ passport pages with the created stamps for each “visited” country (see Creating passport stamps). Planting a Children’s Day tree Science class Acquire a tree in prevision of Children’s Day. Before Children’s Day, show students pictures of the grown tree and share characteristics of the tree. Explain the importance and symbolism of planting a tree. Go over planting procedures and requirements. Assign jobs (carrying the tree, the soil, the tools, the water). On Children’s Day, make sure that all students get to dig some of the soil and that they get to put a shovel or handful of soil in the tree bed. Record the event on video and post on the school website. Making a Children’s Day candle Arts/PE/Music individual Purchase or ask students to bring glass tumblers to class. Melt wax, pour it in each tumbler and let solidify. Give one tumbler to each student as well as glass paint and color pens. Ask students to decorate their tumblers. The decorated tumblers can be lit at home on Children’s Day or can be lit during the Children’s Day tree event (see Planting a Children’s Day tree). Creating a Children’s Day banner Arts/PE/Music individual On blank banner paper, trace the words ‘Happy Children’s Day’. Divide the banner into as many squares as there are children in your class. Use pencil and trace lightly. Assign a square per child. Each child is in charge of decorating his/her square as s/he sees fit, including the letter/part of the letter that falls in their area. Allow several class periods to complete the process, since few children will be able to work on the banner at a time. Hang the banner in the hallway for all to see, take a picture and post on the school website. Selling cookies to benefit children Math, Social Sciences class As a class, estimate how much money you wish to raise, how much it will be reasonable to sell the cookies, and how much cookies you need in order to reach the sales’ goal. If your school has a kitchen, make cookies with students, or ask students to bake cookies at home and bring them to school. Have a bake sale at school, with the sales table being manned by students. Make the children responsible for keeping track of the sales and of the money raised. Switch students often at the sales table so that all students get a chance to handle sales and money. Once all cookies have been sold, go online and help children pledge the money to a children’s right or children’s welfare organization, or have the representative of a local organization come to class to receive the money. Give each student a commemorative certificate detailing the objectives of the bake sale, the money raised and the organization to whom the money went. Creating an invitation for parents to attend a Children’s Day celebration Arts/PE/Music, Language Arts pair Brainstorm with students what usually gets written on an invitation. Write students’ suggestions on board. Remind them that layout, color, and illustrations are important. Explain to students that their task is to write the best invitation for parents to attend a Children’s Day celebration. Explain that this is a competition and that a panel of three administrators will choose whose invitation will be sent to parents. Go with students to the library or computer lab, and assign pairs of students to each computer. Students may use clipart or drawing applications, as well as a word application to create their invitation. Print out in color all invitations and submit them to three elected administrators. Ask that one of them come to class to announce the winning invitation and disclose the reasons for their choice. Print out the winning invitation and send to parents, grandparents and school officials.