Mascots 2.0: USA

Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts

Hi Friends!

Last month we celebrated the World Book Day (April 23). Honoring the day we're proud to share with you this Mexican book called "The Journey to Mictlan" read by Ms. Wilson's class.

Hope you enjoy it!

Read the story here:

On the "Mover"

Last March Oscar visited Detroit, where Ms. Wilson and Mr Tejeda were speakers at MACUL conference.

Joe Louis

"Transcending" Monument at Hart Plaza

Renaissance Center

"Transcending" Monument at Hart Plaza

"The Fist"

The Mover and The Fist

Monument to Joe Louis

Canada

Last March, Oscar met Mr. Tejeda in his first day in America. They spent the afternoon in Chicago. It was a very special day because people in Chicago were celebrating St. Patrick's Day.

It's a holiday when the Irish taverns are packed, jovial crowds jam the city streets and the Chicago River sparkles brilliant shades of emerald green.

In what might be one of the world's most famous St. Patrick's Day rituals, 45 pounds of eco-friendly vegetable dye are poured into the Chicago River to turn it emerald green for the occasion (Watch the video).

The dyeing of the river remains a beloved tradition for many generations of Chicagoans (it dates back over 50 years ago) and draws nearly 400,000 spectators downtown looking to catch a glimpse before taking in the parade that follows. The Chicago River keeps its coloring for about five hours only.

This was the first time to Oscar, Ms. Wilson and Mr. Tejeda to see the Green Chicago River, so they were really excited about it, and the three of them totally loved it!

One of our 5th grade classes has finished their video! The other class will begin recording their version next week. We hope you enjoy it - and we're really looking forward to watching YOURS!

Thanksgiving is a day we give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. This annual holiday is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every November in the United States, and is loosely based on a 3-day harvest feast celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe of Native Americans in 1621. To learn more about this holiday, click here, or wait for Bronson's travel journal to arrive in your country; we've included two pages of information on this special day.

Stripy spent the official Thanksgiving holiday with Ms. Wilson at her family's home (we call it "The White House" because her family's last name is "White"). This celebration was for immediate family and special guests invited by the family. Stripy helped stuff the turkey with one large red onion, a Granny Smith apple, sage, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. It took about 4 hours to cook! The results were delicious.

While Ms. Wilson and her mom busied themselves in the kitchen, the rest of the family played a dice game called 10,000 (click here to learn how to play) and watched an American f ootball game between the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions. The best part of the day was coming together with our favorite people, making new memories, and expressing thanks for blessings both large and small in each of our lives.

Stripy joined Ms. Wilson and her friends at a separate feast the following week, as well. This feast was less formal, with everyone bringing a dish to share. There were 9 adults and 12 children and we laughed a lot, played lots of games, and said a prayer for our loved ones, as well as for those who are currently struggling throughout the world.

Be sure to check out our Thanksgiving video, featuring Stripy!

Waiting for Dinner

Our Thanksgiving Menu

Uh-oh! Stripy needed emergency surgery today, before he heads off to our nation's capital for a weekend of fun. His leg stitching came apart, and his wings were falling off. Ms. Wilson stitched him back together before his travels; she even put a bandaid over his "boo-boo". We'll be sure to post pictures of his experiences in Washington D.C. as soon as he returns. I wonder if he'll get to visit the White House?

We made a little video when opening the box our first mascot arrived in. We learned a little bit about our new friends' likes and dislikes, as well as their culture. We're looking forward to learning more!

We are super stoked! Stripy, from Valladolid, Spain arrived today. We took him to lunch in our cafeteria (it was pizza day) before reading through all of the passports sent by our new friends. Turns out that our Spanish pals love mac-and-cheese, just like we do!

Some of us were surprised to learn about their love of black pudding (sometimes called blood pudding or blood sausage here in the United States); it wasn't the kind of pudding we imagined at all! We went on Wikipedia to learn more about this food. Many of us weren't convinced that this could be tasty, so Ms. Wilson is going on the hunt for some blood sausage in our local market. We'll give it a try and let you know what we think!

As we begin making memories with Stripy, we'll include more pictures in a slide show. Welcome to New Buffalo, Stripy!