Hispanic Heritage

Last week in the library we celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month. We talked about how lucky we are to live in a country where we benefit from so many different cultures and all the things we can learn from each other. I wanted to share some stories from Hispanic cultures so I read the 2nd-5th grades the book "Dona Flor". The book is a tall tale about a giant woman with a big heart and we used it as a springboard to discuss what makes a story a tall tale. The kids identified parts of the story that fit our definition of a tall tale and I encouraged the authors in the group to try their hands at crafting their own tall tale.



The Kinders and 1st graders heard two stories out of Joe Hayes' book "Tell Me a Cuento". This is a collection of stories that originated in Spanish speaking countries and which Hayes translated into English. The children heard "Mariposa, Mariposa" and "No Way, Jose". Both stories required the children to participate in the story and they did a great job of helping me. Ask your child who "La Mariposa" is and what their job was in each story.



We also kicked off a Hispanic Heritage themed raffle. Any child who brings in the names of 2 Hispanic people and a description of what they have contributed to the world will get an entry into a raffle. Each name is added to our Hispanic Heritage Month bulletin board so children can contribute to educating their schoolmates. At the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, October 15th, I will draw one name from each grade to choose from the library treasure chest.


I'd like to give a special thanks to Mrs. Kurlander's class for coming in at lunchtime and helping create our Hispanic Heritage bulletin board. They did a great job and I love having their work on display.