Week of December December 15th

JAMHURI DAY! (Kenya's Independence Day)

 Miss Chantal explains what we learned in class and also a fun game we played!

December 12th this year was Jamhuri Day, a day of celebration for Kenya (officially the Republic of Kenya) and their independence. In order to celebrate, our class took a look at Kenya's location in Africa by pointing with our finger on a map, along with looking at pictures of Kenyan dancers (men, women and children) and also watching a video with dancers and singers!

Kenyan music, like many other varieties of African music, is drum and vocal oriented. Check out this video of some Kenyan school children dancing and singing with a bucket drum!

We also played a fun game called Nyama-Nyama-Nyama! You can hear the explanation in the video above of Miss Chantal but basically, the game is an action game that is played by a circle of children. One child, the leader, shouts out an object (food or non-food) and if the object is a food, everyone jumps! Traditionally, in Kenya, children shout out the names of animals that can be eaten. We changed it up slightly to make it a little easier for the kids. They really enjoyed it!

Infants also enjoyed looking at the Kenyan pictures and videos, and the fun action song below:

JELLO ON THE PLATE
(Sang to the tune of "Mama's Little Baby Loves Shortenin' Bread)

Jello on the plate (wiggling on your lap)

Jello on the plate

Weeble Wobble Weeble Wobble
Jello on the plate

Candles on a cake (Wiggling fingers)

Candles on a cake

Blow them out, blow them out

Candles on a cake (blow on baby's tummy or the top of their head)

Sandwich in a bag (clap hands together pattycake style)

Sandwich in a bag

Put the halves together it's a

Sandwich in a bag!

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD:

1) What country did you learn about? Kenya

2) Did you see people dancing and singing from Kenya? What were they wearing? Some of the children were interested in the Kenyan men wearing robes. We also saw women dancing in colorful purple gowns and the children's choir were dressed in blue robes.

3) Do you remember the name of the game you played? (Ages 2 and up) Can you name something you can eat? What CAN'T you eat? The game was Nyama-Nyama-Nyama!