This year there have been a lot of firsts as I have been learning the ropes of my new school's culture. One event that I had heard a lot about all through the year was Día de los niños. The big day was finally here, and it was a very fun celebration. Although the official holiday was yesterday, we decided to celebrate on a Friday since it is draining to have such a big event and it would have been hard to have the students come back still energized from the day before if we had done it yesterday.
The day consisted of a whole school assembly explaining the celebration and with performances by different staff members (one sang a couple of opera songs in Italian, while another group danced a traditional Mexican dance). Then students cycled through ten fun-filled centers in multi-age groups during the day with a break for lunch. Centers included a dunk tank, Astro run/jumping castles, musical chairs, a picture frame recuerdo, bingo, piñatas, and more. Needless to say, all of the kids had fun.
At the end of the day we wound down by having a little bit of time with our students in our rooms. We gave each of our students a book which is another part of the tradition. It was fun to see my students excited about the different books that I chose for them trying to match each of them with a book that was appropriate for their interest and reading levels. (Most of us save up Scholastic bonus points throughout the year to help get the books.)
It was fun to have a school wide celebration celebrating our students and to see so many parents involved in making the day a success for their children.
I love the tradition of giving each student a book tailored to their interests. That must take a lot of work!
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