22-23 Events in Review
2022 was an incredible year, soo fun that I neglected to update each month with all that we learned! The Fall events are just about to kick off, so lets look back on the 22-23 school year of events!
Summer 2022, we were raising money for mosquito nets for children in a Ugandan prison and so we decided to take the time to learn about the culture in which these children lived. Thanks to Lisa P. we were able to explore this very nation from our own hometown. Lisa shared of her experiences visiting and working with these government run children’s prisons, yes you read that right. While we did not shy away from learning about a harder piece of life in Uganda, we spent the majority of the evening learning about the amazing qualities that make up these beautiful people and their land. We built a model sized Ugandan home and pretended to cook over a fire. We played a trivia game guessing all the things that you could find on the back of an Ugandan motorbike. We had treats and tea and even wrote postcards to the very children that Lisa would see when she delivered the mosquito nets that summer!
In September, we learned all about Cambodia through our guest experts Becki & Darren! We played a traditional game of Sey and did an archeological dig just as if we were in Cambodia ourselves! Becki taught us about Sampeah - the Cambodia way of greeting with respect - as well as a few Cambodian phrases in Khmer and historical facts. We wrote letters to the Cambodan kids Becki and Darren would be visiting the following month and as always, enjoyed some cultural foods! This included Chicken Amok and a street food treat: Ice cream bun sandwiches!
In October, we had the treat of hearing from Brazil Native, Bruna and Brazilian-American Trisha! Together they shared their experiences of growing up in Brazil and being Brazilian growing up in America respectively. We heard stories of life in Brazil and had the treat of learning to make some delicious Brazilian desserts!
In November, we learned all about Kenya from Kenyan college student, Sammy! He shared with us all about his home country and specifically shared more in depth about the Kenyan tribe, the Maasai people! Sammy taught us to jump dance like a true Kenyan! And before the night was over, we treated our taste buds to some Chai, Mandazi and potato crisps!
In February, we didn’t have to travel outside of our own country to learn about the cultural group of the Pennsylvania Dutch. This month, I was able to share all about my family’s history dating back to the first of my family to immigrate to this land back in 1727. I shared all about the Amish and the Mennonites and even the back story to how and why this ever present group of people ended up in the Land of the Free. Together we made soft pretzels and played a jumbo game of Dutch Blitz.
In March, we heard from the Joseph family! Shunil, Sushil and Aneal shared all about India. We learned lots of fun trivia and even watched a short segment of a favorite Bollywood Film. In fact, we even learned a Bollywood Dance! We had so much fun dancing, that we also learned a Bhangra dance. We concluded the night with an abundant variety of Indian dishes from a local Indian restaurant!
In April, we traveled to France where we heard from Abby, a former exchange student to France. We learned about her time abroad and three of the things France is well known for: food, art and architecture. We played a childhood playground game of Escargot and built 3D paper models of the Eiffel Tower. And no event would be complete without food. We ate bread, pastries and even some super stinky cheese!
For our final event of the school year, we explored the incredible nation of Japan! With cultural expert, Alyssa, we heard about her family’s history with Japan and how her grandmother immigrated here from Okinawa post war! We took a moment to start with some Japanese excercises before we dove into learning more about the history and landscape of this island nation. We made origami puppies and tried many Japanese treats including Hi-Chew, Pocki and sushi!
If you would like to read some of the recommended children’s books to further learn about these amazing people and places, check out the books below for a nice sampling!
We are just one week shy of starting our new school year of Anthro Kid events! This fall we will be learning all about Czech Republic, Vietnam and Costa Rica! See you there!