It is the month of October a time for all the fall fun activities and celebrations in our community and school. During the Oktoberfest celebration families and friends come together to spend time in the community to socialize and build relationships. Our school age group 2 children made the mascot (Onkel Hans) for the Oktoberfest and Thanksgiving celebrations. First, we started by doing paper mache on a large balloon to create the head of Onkel Hans, as we were doing this the children were engaged in oral conversations and discussions which help them to express themselves freely and practice their language skills. They were sharing their past experiences that they had with their families during the Oktoberfest and Thanksgiving parade and celebrations. Caitlyn said, “Oh I never been to the Oktoberfest parade.” Everley added, “I never went also but I know who is Onkel Hans.” As the activity continued the children were able to work together to finish the tasks. James asked, “Why are we using pink tissue paper when Onkel hans is orange?” Charlie then added, “Oh we can just paint it orange.” A few days later when the paper mache balloon was dried, a few children volunteered to help to paint it orange. Then the next day the features were added. The children took turns to hot glue the features that were cut from felt fabric. The hat was attached and then the nose which was made from a plastic tomato. The children were given an opportunity to develop an awareness of community events and to foster togetherness within our family, school and community.
