Wednesday morning we had some very special guests in our school. Mr. Child, who is the District Principal of First Nations programs, brought his wife and three girls to visit. They showed us the regalia they were wearing and brought many beautiful button blankets for us to look at. We learned that the blankets tell a story and that the designs on the blankets all mean something.
Then Coreen, Mr. Child’s wife, shared a very special dance with us called the Dance of the Echo Spirit. Mr. Child drummed and sang as Coreen danced. The girls were her attendants and helped her to make the mask transform to go along with the story. Mrs. Child is a professional dancer and is often asked to perform this dance on occasions because of her dancing abilities and so we are very lucky and thankful that she shared it with us.
After the dance it was noon and Mariah, Natalya, and Kiara joined our class to have lunch and play on the playground. They also got to stay for a round of Daily 5 and read with us.
What a special morning!
Justin-My favourite part of the morning was looking at the button blankets and watching the dancing. I was very interested in the drumming and the singing too. I think it must have been very hard to sew the blankets.
Lily-I loved the whole entire thing. I liked the button blankets and that they all had different designs.
Sophie-I thought the button blankets were very pretty. I thought the prettiest was the one with the wolves.
Ana-I thought the aprons, the button blankets, and the head pieces were amazing. I learned that they make head pieces out of cedar and ermine fur.
Oceana-My favourite things were the dance, the blankets, and the clothing the four girls wore.
Niall-I enjoyed all of it, but especially the dance.
Karin-I thought the dance and the drumming was great. I just loved the music!
Fay-I liked everything, especially all the neat designs on the button blankets.
Jenny-I loved the button blanket that had the eagle on it.
Jordan-I thought the dance was interesting. I learned that some people can sew a blanket in 5-7 days.
Dante-I thought the dance was cool. I liked the whole thing! There was so much I really liked about it.
Silkence-I liked the dance because the girl kept changing the mouth of the mask.
I had no knowledge of the traditional cultures in Canada and obviously they are very rich and it was a delight to watch the videos. I particularly liked the singing. I like English folk singing as well and of course the two sets of folk songs would have overlapped at some historical point. What wonderful costumes as well. Thank you very much for posting this item.
Mr E
Hawes
Dear Mr. E,
We are so glad that you enjoyed our video. It was a wonderful morning! We would love to see some traditional English folk singing.
Mrs. W and the 2/3’s
Dear Mrs. Watson’s 2/3 Class,
I really enjoyed watching the videos of your visit from Mr. Child and his family. You were very lucky to have them come and share those beautiful costumes, songs, and traditions with you, and I feel lucky that you shared it with me through your blog!
I don’t know very much about the First Nations of western Canada, but the dance and costumes reminded me of one of my favorite picture books – Storm Boy by Owen Paul Lewis. I think you would enjoy reading it.
From,
Mr. Salsich
Dear Mr. Salsich,
We definitely felt lucky to have Mr. Child and his family visit us and we hope they will come again soon. We love the book Storm Boy by Owen Paul Lewis and we were wondering if you have read one of his other books, Frog Girl. It is fantastic too and we think you would really enjoy reading it!
From,
Mrs. W and the 2/3’s
Dear Mrs Watson and class,
Sounds like the dance was very interesting! Alot of people liked the button blankets. What are they? What do they look like? What fabric is the blanket made out of?
We have something called Magic Fabric. If you haven’t seen it this is how you make it: There are some characters and you fill them with foam. Then you place all the other body parts onto it. When you’re finished you put it into a tray and then you put it into a machine and wind it and then when it comes out it is glued together.
This is my blog address: http://skyessuperblog.global2.vic.edu.au/
From Skye (in 3DD)
Dear Mrs. Watson’s 2/3 class,
I hope you’re having a wonderful vacation right now! I know Mrs. Watson is probably on a ride somewhere in Disneyland right now. I hope the weather is wonderful!
I agree with Mr. Eldridge. I thought the singing was very interesting. The costumes were also wonderful. It’s always a joy learning about different cultures from around the world!
Your Quad Blogging Buddy,
Mr. Avery
Dear Mr. Avery,
I think I probably was on a ride when you left that post. My family and I had a wonderful trip and definitely enjoyed getting a little sunshine too. We are still trying to recover though! The students in our class all really enjoyed their spring breaks. I actually ran into Kennedy and her family in Disneyland. She didn’t know she was going!
I love learning about different cultures too. Our world sure is an amazing place 🙂
Mrs. W
hi i love the oufits how does the fabric feel? I would like it if you came to are blog 8) 😀 (: 😉
I like the costuems witch contry did thay come from it would be nice if you could visit our blog