What a wonderful week! We are so grateful for the time and effort the high school student leadership team put into organizing this week celebrating The Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Links to Learning
- Encyclopedia Britannica
- World Fact File – Choose Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Throughout the week, we were thrilled to be able to share so many of the Congo Week activities with our buddies.
Monday = Movement
Traditional African Dance
Our first special guests on Monday morning got us all up and moving to the beat of the drum.
The Great Kapok Tree
Ms. Kraft had us moving and meandering, too. She had planned something special with the reading of The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, which involved a powerful field trip through the forest. Purposeful pauses allowed us to ponder the text and appreciate the flora and fauna. The fabulous finale had us gathering around own kapok tree on lower campus.
Links to Learning
Rumba
We rounded out the day with Madame Michele and a rousing rumba lesson with another special guest.
Jewelry Making
Wednesday = Working with Our Hands
Joining together around jewelry, we learned about different materials used for beads and for stringing the beads. While a bit challenging, the beads brought us all together and caused us to show caring as we made rings or bracelets for our buddies.
Congolese Food
Thursday = Getting a Taste for Congolese Food
We had to work a bit before partaking of the plantains and fufu. A massive mortar and pestle were our culinary tools.
Assembly
Friday = A Fabulous Finale
The high school leadership team planned an amazing assembly featuring a guest band (Tyson and the Rainbow Band), our preschool buddies, middle school dancers, a high school fashion show, and our very own atelier.
In addition, Dr. Gillespie allowed us to reflect on the importance of water and lead us in an exercise in “creating” rain.
It sounded a little like this…
What else can you learn about The Democratic Republic of the Congo, using scholarly multiple sources?