The Foundation for a Meaningful Life
Kindergarten - Grade 9 in Southborough, MA
Kindergarten - Grade 9 in Southborough, MA
News Detail
Kite Festival
Third grade Spanish students have been learning about the unique culture of Guatemala with World Language Department Chair Kara Mertz this month. In Primary School, students learn about the Day of the Dead and how it is celebrated in Mexico. Then Kara broadens the study in Lower School to look at how the Day of the Dead and similar holidays are recognized and celebrated in other cultures.
The third graders learned about Guatemala, where it is located, its capital, its flag, and other aspects of its culture. Kara read The Magical Skies of Sumpango by Kimberly Mathis Pitts to her students, a bilingual book that shows the importance of the Giant Kite Festival, where families make and fly enormous kites, called “barriletes.” This tradition originates in the indigenous Mayan culture of Guatemala, where kites were used to communicate with the dead. The practice has evolved into a celebratory festival where families work together to create giant kites, some of which are 50-60 feet tall, to fly at the event.
After learning about the festival, third graders took bordered contact paper in the shape of a kite and decorated it with squares of colorful tissue paper to make their own kites. This activity allowed students to connect with this Guatemalan cultural tradition in a fun and personal way and to practice previously learned vocabulary around colors and shapes.
48 MAIN STREET
SOUTHBOROUGH, MA 01772
main number 508-490-8250
admission 508-490-8201
SOUTHBOROUGH, MA 01772
main number 508-490-8250
admission 508-490-8201
