MENIFEE: ACTIVITIES FOCUS ON AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORY
Third-graders use crafts, music, other activities to mark Native American Heritage month
Third-graders at Southshore Elementary School absorbed information about American Indian legends, music, communication symbols and other facets of Indian culture and history at a special day filled with crafts and lots of fun.
Through art, crafts, games, stories and math activities, the students learned how American Indians hunted, worshipped, communicated and lived everyday life on their native lands of the past. The activities at the Menifee campus took place for all six third-grade classes throughout the day on Nov. 6 and Nov. 8.
The hands-on activities at Southshore Elementary were planned to coincide with Native American Heritage Month during the month of November. The Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Gallery of Art, the National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum are paying tribute this month to American Indian culture and traditions.
Third-graders in California public schools study American Indian tribes, mostly in California, as part of their curriculum. But this was the first year Southshore Elementary has had a special Native American Day.
“I think this gives them an opportunity to really visualize what the Native Americans had to do to adapt to their environment,” explained third-grade teacher Eileen Dunning.
Third-grade teacher Michael McNutt added, “They’re getting the opportunity to explore some of the crafts and things Native Americans would have done, or close to it.”
Students participated in activities at six stations set up in the multipurpose room.
There, they made sand-painting art projects by painting Indian symbols on paper using colored sand and glue; they designed pottery with crayons; they made totem poles to showcase myths, legends and animals that were important to American Indians; and they learned to weave colored yarn.
The students also played an animal tracks game; measured Indian canoes from different tribes as a math project; made shaking musical instruments called “rain sticks” from decorated empty paper towel holders sealed on the edges and filled with rice; and they crafted Indian-style medicine bags.
Earlier in their classrooms, the children painted and colored American Indian symbols such as a horse or a bear claw on white T-shirts and paper headbands they made that also were adorned with colored feathers. Many students wore their shirts and headbands to school for the Native American Day activities.
Students Chloe David and Yessica Velasquez both said the sand art was their favorite project of the day.
“I learned how they made their drawings,” Yessica said.
“Putting all the colored sand on it and shaking it off, it looked cool,” said Chloe.
Megan Rice said she also enjoyed the crafts and learned a lot.
“When you make Indian stuff, it’s easy to do,” she said.
Eli Arce said his favorite project was making a rain stick.
“You get to try a lot of Indian stuff,” Eli said as he shook his rain stick, which made a rattling sound.
Samantha Ruiz-Ugalde liked that several moms volunteered to come in and help the children with their projects.
“This is the best day ever,” she said.