Teacher Brad Carpenter and students of Katoh Kindergarten as they “travel” to Greece together. LISA SANO
With homemade passports in hand, the children of Katoh Kindergarten’s Immersion program departed for their annual International Day event.
The imaginary travel plans for the event were made up of each class taking one day at a specific destination over a period of over three days. This year, the little travellers’ itineraries sent them venturing to Spain, Greece, and Jamaica.
In Spain, the children were greeted by the local toréro (bullfighter), and were introduced to various Spanish phrases. Then they filled their empty stomachs with a traditional gazpacho dish and made palillos (castanets) to use to dance to the exotic sound of flamenco music.
In Greece, the children were first greeted by teachers dressed in chitons (tunics) and practised Greek phrases such as Καλώς Όρισες (Kalós órises) “welcome” and Γειά! (ya) “hi”. After making their wreath-crown souvenirs from Ancient Greece, they chanted ΚΓειά σου (Yiá sou) “goodbye” and Ευχαριστώ (Efharistó) “thank you”.
Finally, in the tropic room of Jamaica, pirate captains greeted the little shipmates, and they adventured through Jamaica via movie projector. Once they arrived on the island, the children were inducted onto the “Katoh Pirate Ship,” by making pirate hats and Rasta dreadlocks.
The big finale was a special guest performance by volunteer parents who participate in flamenco dancing classes. The little travellers were astonished by the sight of such gorgeous dresses and by the sound of such new music. They cheered and clapped with the dancers as the International Day event ended with the resonance of stamping soles and cries of “Olé!” and “Bién!” — TODD ARAO
