We played a game called "Making Food" this morning. The kids loved it, and I liked that it was a way to show them what consensual touch means, what gentle touch means, and how to be kind to your peers. You sit in a circle, and make a meal on the back of the person in front of you. One person is the speaker, so might say, "Okay, today we're making cheeseburgers. What's the first thing we have to do? Oh, we have mix the hamburg with some spices, eggs, and crackers, and make them into patties". Here, we're turning on the burner knob. It feels relaxing and comfortable. Also, if you don't want to play, you don't have to; there are other activities to do or independent reading. I love that rather than remove physical contact altogether, you can teach appropriate touch.
Here are two students from my class, Koonoo and Manu. They were the MCs at the Star's Assembly this afternoon. The Star's Assembly is a big deal. Students and parents are invited once a month to come together at the gym for very specific awards to be given out to the students who have earned them. They get a certificate and a little treat (like, a special pencil). Koonoo and Manu practiced throughout the week, so that they would be able to speak smoothly in both the English and Inuktitut parts. They did great, and I was so proud of them!
The kids from our class and others who won awards. Jacob won an award for his creative writing piece (I had previously posted a picture of his draft regarding why he likes Metallica music and how the drummer makes the "drums sound like a wolf running") and Nala won for being helpful, kind, and thoughtful to her peers.
Well, the big secret for the last few weeks was that Charlie, our bus driver, was going to propose to his girlfriend of several years at the end of the Star's Assembly! They have several children together, who also go to Sam Pudlat School, and who were in on the secret. Towards the end of the assembly, his four children were called to the front, as Charlie and his (now) fiancee looked on. As they bent down and picked up the papers in front of them, the auditorium rippled in a wave of excitement and necks craned to see Charlie's fiancee's reaction... she said, "YES!". With a whoop, Charlie put both arms and then wrapped them lovingly around his soon-to-be-wife. The kids ran over to their family, and some were crying from happiness. It was so sweet, and think everyone in the auditorium felt so lucky to have witnessed.
As if the excitement of the day wasn't enough! At 5:45pm that same night, there was a movie/dance night at the school. he kids watched a movie for a half an hour, and then burned off some steam in the gym until 8:30pm. At first, there was just a lot of running around, without much dancing, but Lynann and I got up to show them our moves. Pretty soon we had a giant circle of students dancing with us! It was a blast. At the end of the dance, for the last 15 minutes, we did Inuit dancing, which is like square-dancing. The kids were much better at it than I was! We had a great night and I wish I was here long enough to do it, again.
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