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Adventures, Advice and Questions from a group of Mormon women who met in Queens, NY and have now scattered all over the place.
 

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Student of the Week

My daughter’s kindergarten class assigns each child a week to be Student of the Week.Through popping into the classroom I have observed some posters that represent the student of the week. It is commonly a white flimsy poster board with some snapshots glued onto it. I heard that last year a kid whose mom was Dominican brought in some cuisine and taught a dance. My daughter came home the other day with a cd of Columbian Music and a fact sheet about the country, and she has also brought home a Brazilian soda from another student.

Pukey’s week is approaching and I find myself getting caught in the international flavor that many of these parent’s have taken. My daughter is 4th to 6th generation American. We have done our family tree and know the list of countries that we come from, but we don’t eat the food, speak the language or visit family back there. I don’t think that attending the kindergarten class and speaking about Slovakia or Denmark or Wales will mean much to my daughter or to the kids.

When I take a second to think about this upcoming week and the freedom and flexibility given to me by the teacher (“come in any time, any day, every day, just one day, a few minutes, an hour, whatever you want to do”), I find myself thinking about our religion, our family traditions, the special experiences we have had by being in the city, our collective hobbies etc. Right now the only idea I have is to come in dressed up in one of our Halloween costumes (we dress up as a family every year), and read some of my daughter’s favorite picture books to the class.

I wanted to open up the comments to what you all have done when given this assignment or any ideas that come to mind if your kindergartner had the opportunity to be the student of the week.

posted by Kage @ 4/10/2008 06:16:00 PM   add to kirtsy


10 Comments:

  • My daughter is not old enough for school yet, but my cousin's class did something similar. All american/all white wasn't as exciting for him to present (compared to others in the class) so he decided to go to his favorite places & take pictures. Each day he shared 2 or 3 pictures & he was able to meet new friends who had similar experiences/vacations. He ended the week with bringing chimes to class (a Christmas tradition in our family) & they played some songs. He figured out how to play some popular songs & it was a hit.
    posted by Blogger Jenn at 4/09/2008 11:59:00 PM  



  • We did a poster, the content of which was decided by my daughter: her favorite things to do, places to go, foods to eat, talents and interests,a small map showing where her family lives, a picture of her as an infant, a picture of her sister and her three dogs, basically just a big "This is Me" sort of project. There were LDS elements in there, so she got to talk about some of that when she "presented" the poster. It was fun putting it together, and two years later, it is a valid "time capsule" of who she was then. We all enjoy looking at it still. Live in class, we also shared her favorite song (LDS), her favorite book, and her favorite toy. You may not have a strong international flavor to share, but her experiences with you in the modeling/acting industry are unique and would teach the kids something. Maybe you could work that in, along with stuff about the church.
    posted by Blogger Tamela at 4/10/2008 05:39:00 AM  



  • I sincerely believe that kindergartners would accept anything your daughter is passionate about as interesting. They do not realize the allure of internationality--those who have it think it is normal.

    Just present whatever is special to your daughter, whether that is her grandpa, her doll, or riding trains. Whatever she loves is cool in Kindergarten.

    Perhaps I am alone in this, but I would not suggest to her that she talk about her or your modelling. If she brings it up on her own, that is one thing, but if not, I would let it lay low. I think that in our hyper celebrity culture, this could arrouse jealousy even among Kinders and could easily be thought of as showing off.
    posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 4/10/2008 06:18:00 AM  



  • I had to take a class a few years ago about culture, and the culminating event of the class was a speech on our own culture. I went into the class thinking that I don't have a culture since I don't do anything in my life that represents the countries my ancestors were from. But I learned throughout the class that culture is way more than that (and I gave an awesome speech!). I think that you are right on by thinking about religion, family traditions, interests, where you live, etc. Her classmates will love it and Pukey will feel most comfortable presenting things that really make her who she is.
    posted by Blogger Linz at 4/10/2008 10:09:00 AM  



  • I think you should involved singing because that is something Pukey loves and her favorite foods, favorite place to go in NYC. I like the idea of letting her put together a big collage about herself. I think she would love doing that and presenting it to the class.
    posted by Blogger This is Carrie at 4/11/2008 07:34:00 AM  



  • I had an inspiration! I am going to present some of the journaling and scrapbooking that Pukey and I have done, and give each kid their own THIS IS ME JOURNAL (author, our own Tftcarrie) to begin together in the class and of course take home. I am super excited about this portion of our student of the week presentations. Stay tuned for more....
    posted by Blogger Kage at 4/14/2008 01:55:00 PM  



  • Dang, ho wmany kids are in her class? You're going to drop that much money on an "about me" day at school? I feel bad for the parents who come after you. It's one thing to share some food and dancing or music, but a $20.00= book for each child seems pretty extravagant.
    posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 4/14/2008 05:05:00 PM  



  • terra,

    well, it's only 14 kids in total, so 13 kids x friend discount isn't as impressive as you might have calculated. It's also the perfect way for me to support my BFF in her latest endeavor. I so appreciated when my friends bought at least this many cd's from me (with no discount) when I came out with my album.

    To me, it's not extravagant, it's being generous. And it's killing two birds with one stone....supports friend and ties in perfectly with our hobbies...journaling and such! Maybe Carrie will even get some extra sales out of it!
    posted by Blogger Kage at 4/14/2008 06:40:00 PM  



  • Kage - I think that's a very cool idea.
    posted by Blogger Beth at 4/14/2008 08:57:00 PM  



  • stumbled across the blog and was interested in your post...

    I did a state report (picked Utah go figure) in 5th grade-- My mom and I made homemade whole wheat bread (mini loaves) for each child to take home. I wore a "pioneer" dress and bonnet to give my presentation. This was stuff I grew up doing on Pioneer Day in California. I told some stories about ancestors who were pioneers, etc.
    posted by Anonymous Anonymous at 4/15/2008 03:53:00 PM  



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