Good Behavior Assembly: Performers from Senegal, West Africa

Yesterday, the students were treated to a performance by dancers and musicians from Senegal, West Africa.  They said they were warriors.  One of the dances mimicked a competition between two warriors as students excitedly cheered for their chosen champion.  It was playful.

There were two drummers.  One of the drums (jembe) was made of goatskin while the other set of three drums was made from the skin of a cow.  You can see a jembe drum here:

http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/carved-djembe-drum

And here is a picture from earthrek.com:

My favorite link thus far discovered is:

http://web.me.com/johnhughesarts/website/Welcome.html

The kora is an harp-like instrument used by storytellers.  One of the performers played and sang with it.  I did not understand the language, but the sound was very soothing.  You will find samples of kora music at the site above.  I hope you explore the wealth of art and music it contains. Yes, yes.  Or as our guests would say, "Wow, wow."

Ferdinand vs. Pete and Peach

Today we read a booklet from the curriculum's phonics series entitled Pete and Peach.  The students were able to recall the story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and found some similarities between the two stories.  You can see one such similarity in these two photos:

Ferdinand is one of my favorite books.  He is a bull like no other bull and follows no other path but his own. It's always fun to find out what the kids think about the stories, and whether they liked it, agreed with it, and why.

The booklet entitled Pete and Peach went home today.  I encourage you to share the two stories with your child.  Then, discuss what is the same and what is different.