News from First Grade!
By Faris, Robyn on December 03, 2014
The children in Mrs. Faris’s classroom are so excited about the Christmas season. For social science this month we are studying about Mexico. We are learning Spanish words for the days of the week, months of the year, family names, color words, number words, and about Christmas traditions. We are discussing the posadas, or the processions that take place for nine nights beginning on December 16th and lasting until Christmas Eve.
Posadas are held in neighborhoods where each night a different home is selected. A song is sung outside the house asking for shelter for the night. The family inside responds by saying there is no room. This goes back and forth until the door is opened and the procession goes inside. Once inside the home, a celebration, big or small, takes place with readings, special foods, and pinatas for the children. The Christmas holiday in Mexico continues through January 6th, which is El Dia de los Reyes (day of the kings or the wise men). Traditionally, this is the day Mexican children received their gifts.
We will have our own fiesta before we dismiss for the holidays! The students don’t know what I have planned, but the parents are helping me with it. It will be a wonderful time!
From our class to all of you
