In Mexico and many parts of Central America, people celebrate La Posada during the nine days before Christmas. It is a reenactment of the journey Joseph and Mary took to find shelter before the birth of their child, Jesus. In this lesson, children will learn about the celebration and will make a poinsettia placemat. This lesson helps children understand how people might celebrate the Christmas holiday during the same time as they do, but in a different way.

OBJECTIVE

Students Will:
1. Develop an understanding of how people in Mexico celebrate La Posada.
2. Identify Mexico on a world map and understand its geographic relation to the United States.
3. Listen to a story about the tradition of La Posada.
4. Create a representation of a poinsettia.
5. Act out the journey, La Posada.

MATERIALS
1. Poinsettia plant
2. World map
3. Red and yellow tempera paint
4. 9″ x 12″ green construction paper for each student
5. Paintbrush for each student
6. Paper cup for each student
7. Newspapers to cover tables
8. Painting smocks
9. Paint tray
10. Black markers
11. Mexican Fiesta music/CD player (optional)
12. Piñata for La Posada fiesta (optional)

SET UP AND PREPARE
1. Paint cups with red paint and paintbrush for each child on Day 2
2. Paint cups with yellow paint for each child on Day 3
3. Black markers for each small group
4. Set out newspapers to cover the tables prior to painting
5. Paint smocks
6. Arrange with nine other classes or school offices that you will be acting out La Posada
7. Invite parents to help celebrate La Posada on Day 4. They can set out the poinsettia placemats. Request volunteers to make Mexican sweetbread, flan, or bring in flour tortillas with cinnamon and butter to serve.
8. Laminate placemats before the last day

DIRECTIONS
Day 1
Step 1: Gather the children together and show them the poinsettia plant. Pass it around so they can have a good look. Ask them what they notice-colors, shapes, textures, etc. Explain to the children that the bright red petals of the flower are not petals at all; they are leaves. In the middle they will see a cluster of yellowish flowers called cyathia.
Step 2: Show the children Mexico on the world map. Talk about Mexico’s location in relation to the United States. Tell them that there is a legend or story about the poinsettia that comes from Mexico. I like to read The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola. You could also tell them the following legend of the poinsettia: One version goes like this: “A poor Mexican girl had no gift to present at Christmas Eve Services. As she walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy. “I am sure that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable,” said her cousin. Not knowing what else to do, the little girl gathered a handful of weeds. Feeling saddened and embarrassed by her humble gift, she approached the church. Then she remembered her cousin’s kind words. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds bloomed bright red, and everyone knew it was a Christmas miracle.”

Day 2
Step 1: In small groups, show the poinsettia plant to the children again. Tell them that they are going to make a representation of the bright red flower. Walk them through the following directions before hand. Distribute a piece of green construction paper to each child and have them put their name in the top corner in black marker. Give each child a brush and a paper cup with red paint. Ask each to paint one hand with the red paint and then press it on the top half of the paper, straight up at 12:00. Ask: How does the paint feel as you cover your hand? Ask each to make three more prints. Assist each in making them at 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00, with the palm prints overlapping. This should create the red leaves of the poinsettia.

Day 3
Step 1: Display the poinsettia plant. In small groups again, ask each child to recall one part of the story of the poinsettia legend as they dip one finger in the yellow paint and make ten yellow dots in the center of their “poinsettia” to represent the cyathia. When all students in the small group have retold the story, repeat with the next group. Later, laminate for placemats to be used at the culminating fiesta.

Day 4:
Step 1: Show the children the world map and ask a volunteer to identify Mexico. Explain that most Mexicans celebrate Christmas. In Mexico, the people do not just celebrate for one night! Christmas holidays starts on December 16th and last 9 nights. Each night families act out the journey that Mary and Joseph made to Bethlehem. They knock on doors asking for shelter (a place to keep warm and dry). At the last place, the families are welcomed in and celebrate with a piñata and fiesta (party). Tell them that we are going to have our own Posada by acting out the journey at our school. Pre-arrange with nine classroom teachers or school offices that you will be acting out La Posada. This is a great opportunity to visit people like the principal, nurse, custodian, librarian and the first grade teachers.

Step 2: Act out La Posada by visiting the various classrooms and offices. At each stop, have two or three children (so they all participate) knock on the door and ask, “Do you have shelter?” After the eighth location, return to your own class and knock on the door. Parents will have set out the poinsettia placemats with a Mexican sweetbread or flour tortilla with cinnamon and butter. The parents should surprise the children by answering the door and saying, “Yes, we have room. Come in! Come in!” Celebrate with the treats and the piñata. Play traditional music from Mexico.

SUPPORTING ALL LEARNERS
Some children may need assistance with painting their hand.

LESSON EXTENSION
Make a piñata beforehand for the fiesta using a large balloon and paper mache. This can be a group project at a center with a parent volunteer or instructional aide. Simple glue recipe: mix two parts white glue with one part warm water. Stir well. Dip strips of newspaper in the glue mixture and apply it one piece at a time to the balloon. When it is dry, have the children glue tissue paper to it. Cut a small hole at the top to insert candy or healthy snacks.
Prepare for La Posada beforehand and prepare the treats in the classroom with the students and parent volunteers. Make Mexican sweetbread, flan, and tortillas. Incorporate measuring skills.

ASSESS STUDENTS
Teacher Observation: Observe children’s fine motor skill coordination during painting. Listen to the oral language skills during the small group retelling of the poinsettia legend.

EVALUATE THE LESSON
Were the children able to retell the legend of the poinsettia?
Were the children successful with making their poinsettia placemat?
Did the children participate in La Posada?
Were the children engaged and on task the entire time?
How might I do this lesson differently next time?

By Steven Hicks

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday celebrates the life and legacy of a man who brought hope and healing to America. We commemorate as well the timeless values he taught us through his example — the values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility and service that so radiantly defined Dr. King’s character and empowered his leadership. On this holiday, we commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that empowered his revolutionary spirit.

On this day we commemorate Dr. King’s great dream of a vibrant, multiracial nation united in justice, peace and reconciliation; a nation that has a place at the table for children of every race and room at the inn for every needy child. We are called on this holiday, not merely to honor, but to celebrate the values of equality, tolerance and interracial sister and brotherhood he so compellingly expressed in his great dream for America.

It is a day of interracial and intercultural cooperation and sharing. No other day of the year brings so many peoples from different cultural backgrounds together in such a vibrant spirit of brother and sisterhood. Whether you are African-American, Hispanic or Native American, whether you are Caucasian or Asian-American, you are part of the great dream Martin Luther King, Jr. had for America. This is not a black holiday; it is a peoples’ holiday. And it is the young people of all races and religions who hold the keys to the fulfillment of his dream. ~Coretta Scott King

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born at noon on Tuesday, January 15, 1929 at the family home, 501 Auburn Avenue, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Charles Johnson was the attending physician. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the first son and second child born to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Also born to the Kings were Christine, now Mrs. Isaac Farris, Sr., and the Reverend Alfred Daniel Williams King. The Reverend A.D. King is now deceased.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s maternal grandparents were the Reverend Adam Daniel Williams, second pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, and Jenny Parks Williams. His paternal grandparents were James Albert and Delia King, sharecroppers on a farm in Stockbridge, Georgia.

He married Coretta Scott, the younger daughter of Obadiah and Bernice McMurry Scott of Marion, Alabama, on June 18, 1953. The marriage ceremony took place on the lawn of the Scott’s home in Marion, Alabama. The Rev. King, Sr. performed the service, with Mrs. Edythe Bagley, the sister of Coretta Scott King as maid of honor, and the Rev. A.D. King, the brother of Martin Luther King, Jr., as best man.

Four children were born to Dr. and Mrs. King:
Yolanda Denise (November 17, 1955, Montgomery, Alabama)
Martin Luther III (October 23, 1957, Montgomery, Alabama)
Dexter Scott (January 30, 1961, Atlanta, Georgia)
Bernice Albertine (March 28, 1963, Atlanta, Georgia)

At the age of five, Martin Luther King, Jr. began school, before reaching the legal age of six, at the Yonge Street Elementary School in Atlanta. When his age was discovered, he was not permitted to continue in school and did not resume his education until he was six. Following Yonge School, he was enrolled in David T. Howard Elementary School. He also attended the Atlanta University Laboratory School and Booker T. Washington High School. Because of his high scores on the college entrance examinations in his junior year of high school, he advanced to Morehouse College without formal graduation from Booker T. Washington. Having skipped both the ninth and twelfth grades, Dr. King entered Morehouse at the age of fifteen.

In 1948, he graduated from Morehouse College with a B.A. degree in Sociology. That fall he enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. While attending Crozer, he also studied at the University of Pennsylvania. He was elected President of the Senior Class and delivered the valedictory address. He won the Peral Plafkner Award as the most outstanding student, and he received the J. Lewis Crozer Fellowship for graduate study at a university of his choice. He was awarded a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer in 1951.

In September of 1951, Martin Luther King, Jr. began doctoral studies in Systematic Theology at Boston University. He also studied at Harvard University. His dissertation, “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman,” was completed in 1955, and the Ph.D. degree was awarded on June 5, 1955.

Dr. King was awarded honorary degrees from various colleges and universities in the United States and several foreign countries. They include:

Doctor of Humane Letters, Morehouse College
Doctor of Laws, Howard University
Doctor of Divinity, Chicago Theological Seminary
Doctor of Laws, Morgan State University
Doctor of Humanities, Central State University
Doctor of Divinity, Boston University
Doctor of Laws, Lincoln University
Doctor of Laws, University of Bridgeport
Doctor of Civil Laws, Bard College
Doctor of Letters, Keuka College
Doctor of Divinity, Wesleyan College
Doctor of Laws, Jewish Theological Seminary
Doctor of Laws, Yale University
Doctor of Divinity, Springfield College
Doctor of Laws, Hofstra University
Doctor of Humane Letters, Oberlin College
Doctor of Social Science, Amsterdam Free University
Doctor of Divinity, St. Peter’s College
Doctor of Civil Law, University of New Castle, Upon Tyne
Doctor of Laws, Grinnell College

Martin Luther King, Jr. entered the Christian ministry and was ordained in February 1948 at the age of nineteen at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. Following his ordination, he became Assistant Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. Upon completion of his studies at Boston University, he accepted the call of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He was the pastor of Dexter Avenue from September 1954 to November 1959, when he resigned to move to Atlanta to direct the activities of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. From 1960 until his death in 1968, he was co-pastor with his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Dr. King was a pivotal figure in the Civil Rights Movement. He was elected President of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the organization that was responsible for the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott from 1955 to 1956 (381 days). He was arrested thirty times for his participation in civil rights activities. He was a founder and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference from 1957 to 1968. He was also Vice President of the National Sunday School and Baptist Teaching Union Congress of the National Baptist Convention. He was a member of several national and local boards of directors and served on the boards of trustees of numerous institutions and agencies. Dr. King was elected to membership in several learned societies including the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. King received numerous awards for his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. Among them were the following:

Selected as one of the ten most outstanding personalities of the year by Time Magazine, 1957.
Listed in Who’s Who in America, 1957.
The Spingarn Medal from the NAACP, 1957.
The Russwurm Award from the National Newspaper Publishers, 1957.
The Second Annual Achievement Award from The Guardian Association of the Police Department of New York, 1958.
Selected as one of the sixteen world leaders who had contributed most to the advancement of freedom during 1959 by Ling Magazine of New Delhi, India.
Named “Man of the Year, “ by Time Magazine, 1963.
Named “American of the Decade,” by the Laundry, Dry Cleaning, and Die Workers, International Union, 1963.
The John Dewey Award, from the United Federation of Teachers, 1964.
The John F. Kennedy Award, from the Catholic Interracial Council of Chicago, 1964.
The Nobel Peace Prize, at age 35, the youngest man, second American, and the third black man to be so honored, 1964.
The Marcus Garvey Prize for Human Rights, presented by the Jamaican Government, posthumously, 1968.
The Rosa L. Parks award, presented by The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, posthumously, 1968.
The Aims Field-Wolf Award for his book, Stride Toward Freedom.
The above awards and others, along with numerous citations, are in the Archives of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia.

Although extremely involved with his family, his church, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, activities for peace and justice, his world travels, and his many speaking engagements, Dr. King wrote six books and numerous articles. His volumes include:

Stride Toward Freedom, (New York: Harper & Row, 1958). The story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
The Measure of a Man, (Philadelphia: Pilgrim Press, 1959). A selection of sermons.
Why We Can’t Wait, (New York: Harper & Row, 1963). The story of the Birmingham Campaign.
Strength to Love, (New York: Harper & Row, 1963). A selection of sermons.
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? (New York: Harper & Row, 1967). Reflections on the problems of today’s world, the nuclear arms race, etc.
The Trumpet of Conscience, (New York: Harper & Row, 1968). The Massey Lectures. Sponsored by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (Posthumously).

Dr. King was shot while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. Dr. King was in Memphis to help lead sanitation workers in a protest against low wages and intolerable working conditions. James Earl Ray was arrested in London, England on June 8, 1968, and returned to Memphis, Tennessee on July 19, 1969 to stand trial for the assassination of Dr. King. On March 9, 1969, before coming to trial, he entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to ninety-nine years in the Tennessee State Penitentiary.

On December 8, 1999, a jury of twelve citizens of Memphis, Shelby County, TN concluded in Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King, III, Bernice King, Dexter Scott King and Yolanda King Vs. Loyd Jowers and Other Unknown Conspirators that Loyd Jowers and governmental agencies including the City of Memphis, the State of Tennessee, and the federal government were party to the conspiracy to assassinate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King’s funeral services were held on April 9, 1968 at Ebenezer Baptist Church and on the campus of Morehouse College, with the President of the United State proclaiming a day of mourning and flags being flown at half-staff. The area where Dr. King is entombed is located on Freedom Plaza and is surrounded by the Freedom Hall Complex of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site. The site is a 23-acre area was listed as a National Historic Landmark on May 5, 1977 and was made a National Historic Site on October 10, 1980 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Dr. King’s speech at the March on Washington in 1963, along with his acceptance speech of the Nobel Peace Prize, and his final sermon in Memphis are among his most famous utterances. The following excerpts reveal the cogency, conviction and persuasion of his powerful speaking style.

“From the speech “March on Washington”

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed; ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”

“I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day down in Alabama with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with the little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today.”

“This hope is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the south with. And with this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”

“…And so let freedom ring, from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and mole hill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when we allow freedom to ring – when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.”

On this day we commemorate Dr. King’s great dream of a vibrant, multiracial nation united in justice, peace and reconciliation; a nation that has a place at the table for children of every race and room at the inn for every needy child. We are called on this holiday, not merely to honor, but to celebrate the values of equality, tolerance and interracial sister and brotherhood he so compellingly expressed in his great dream for America.

It is a day of interracial and intercultural cooperation and sharing. No other day of the year brings so many peoples from different cultural backgrounds together in such a vibrant spirit of brother and sisterhood. Whether you are African-American, Hispanic or Native American, whether you are Caucasian or Asian-American, you are part of the great dream Martin Luther King, Jr. had for America. This is not a black holiday; it is a peoples’ holiday. And it is the young people of all races and religions who hold the keys to the fulfillment of his dream.

We commemorate on this holiday the ecumenical leader and visionary who embraced the unity of all faiths in love and truth. And though we take patriotic pride that Dr. King was an American, on this holiday we must also commemorate the global leader who inspired nonviolent liberation movements around the world. Indeed, on this day, programs commemorating my husband’s birthday are being observed in more than 100 nations.

The King Holiday celebrates Dr. King’s global vision of the world house, a world whose people and nations had triumphed over poverty, racism, war and violence. The holiday celebrates his vision of ecumenical solidarity, his insistence that all faiths had something meaningful to contribute to building the beloved community.

The Holiday commemorates America’s pre-eminent advocate of nonviolence — the man who taught by his example that nonviolent action is the most powerful, revolutionary force for social change available to oppressed people in their struggles for liberation.

This holiday honors the courage of a man who endured harassment, threats and beatings, and even bombings. We commemorate the man who went to jail 29 times to achieve freedom for others, and who knew he would pay the ultimate price for his leadership, but kept on marching and protesting and organizing anyway.

Every King holiday has been a national “teach-in” on the values of nonviolence, including unconditional love, tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation, which are so desperately-needed to unify America. It is a day of intensive education and training in Martin’s philosophy and methods of nonviolent social change and conflict-reconciliation. The Holiday provides a unique opportunity to teach young people to fight evil, not people, to get in the habit of asking themselves, “what is the most loving way I can resolve this conflict?”

On the King holiday, young people learn about the power of unconditional love even for one’s adversaries as a way to fight injustice and defuse violent disputes. It is a time to show them the power of forgiveness in the healing process at the interpersonal as well as international levels.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is not only for celebration and remembrance, education and tribute, but above all a day of service. All across America on the Holiday, his followers perform service in hospitals and shelters and prisons and wherever people need some help. It is a day of volunteering to feed the hungry, rehabilitate housing, tutoring those who can’t read, mentoring at-risk youngsters, consoling the broken-hearted and a thousand other projects for building the beloved community of his dream.

Dr. King once said that we all have to decide whether we “will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. Life’s most persistent and nagging question, he said, is `what are you doing for others?’” he would quote Mark 9:35, the scripture in which Jesus of Nazareth tells James and John “…whosoever will be great among you shall be your servant; and whosoever among you will be the first shall be the servant of all.” And when Martin talked about the end of his mortal life in one of his last sermons, on February 4, 1968 in the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church, even then he lifted up the value of service as the hallmark of a full life. “I’d like somebody to mention on that day Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others,” he said. “I want you to say on that day, that I did try in my life…to love and serve humanity.

We call you to commemorate this Holiday by making your personal commitment to serve humanity with the vibrant spirit of unconditional love that was his greatest strength, and which empowered all of the great victories of his leadership. And with our hearts open to this spirit of unconditional love, we can indeed achieve the Beloved Community of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream.
May we who follow Martin now pledge to serve humanity, promote his teachings and carry forward his legacy into the 21st Century.

Top National News Program will Broadcasts Live from Riverside, California on Friday, November 28, 2009 at the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa’s annual Festival of Lights event. Good Morning America will be highlighting the 15th annual event as part of the upcoming weeklong holiday segment – Good Morning America Lights Up The Holidays. In addition, the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa is proud to welcome GMA Weather Anchor, Sam Champion, who will be broadcasting live from the historic Inn.

The national television segment will broadcast live to more than 7.5 million viewers Friday morning from 7 – 9 a.m. EST/PST and will feature a live “lighting” of the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa’s more than three million lights. Local Riverside residents and out of town travelers alike are invited to experience this exciting annual event and Inland Empire holiday tradition, featuring an elaborately decorated Christmas tree, Dickens Carolers singing cheerful holiday tunes, horses pulling authentic carriages, and more than 250 animated characters dressed in 17th Century costumes entertaining the crowd and evoking the spirit of the season.

Of its seasonal functions, the Festival of Lights is well known for its nearly 3 million Christmas lights, and over 400 animated figures. Although the Festival lasts all throughout the holiday season, the day after Thanksgiving is the lighting ceremony. On this day city officials and the owner of the hotel, Duane Roberts, give speeches before fireworks light up the sky and nearly 25,000 people attend annually to view the unique hotel and its holiday decorations.

The Mission Inn is a historic landmark hotel in downtown Riverside, California. The core of the property was a 2-story, 12-room adobe boarding house called the “Glenwood Cottage”, begun by Christopher Columbus Miller in 1876. It predated the founding of Riverside. Miller’s son Frank expanded the boarding house in 1902 and essentially continued obsessively building, in a wild variety of shapes, until he died in 1935.

Miller built in reinforced concrete and developed an accomplished, expressive vernacular style drawn from random historical styles. Accumulating one section over another, addition upon addition, the result is an enormously complicated and intricate built environment, comparable to the Winchester House, or to a self-contained medieval European city.

The Mission contains narrow passageways like a Tuscan village, exterior arcades, a prominent medieval-style clock overlooking the Spanish patio, a deep but sun-drenched five-story rotunda, innumerable patios and windows, towers, minarets, a Cloister Wing (with Catacombs), a high pedestrian bridge, and a five-story spiral staircase, among many other features. The 1914 Spanish Wing in itself contains a castle courtyard, open arcades, Mexican tiled roofs, flying buttresses and Mediterranean domes.

Miller also traveled and collected over these thirty years, bringing his treasures back to the hotel for display. The various collections and museum-quality artifacts on the property has an estimated value of $5 million. The St. Francis Chapel houses four large original stained-glass windows and two original mosaics by Tiffany, and the Mexican Baroque Rayas Altar, 25 feet tall, 16 feet across, carved from cedar and covered in gold leaf. For his Garden of Bells, Miller collected over 800 bells, including one dating from the year 1274 and described as the “oldest bell in Christendom”.

In the context of other important cultural losses in Riverside, the hotel was closed in 1985, restored at a cost of $55 million, and re-opened in 1992. As of 2006 it is an operating hotel with 4 restaurants, a day spa and 239 guest rooms with 9 rooms designated as presidential suites, each of them with unique views and features. Reportedly the most spacious and comfortable are the Moorish rooms along “Author’s Row”. The hotel’s 4 restaurants include a Mexican style restaurant named Las Campanas featuring fountains and fire pits under the Californian sky. The Mission Inn Restaurant with Californian and Italian cuisine, seating can be requested to view the exceptional Spanish Patio. Bella Trattoria, a small Italian Bistro located on the Main Street pedestrian walking mall. And Duane’s Prime Steak & Seafood, famed as being the only four diamond restaurant in the Inland Valley.

For 125 years it has been the proverbial center of Riverside, host to a number of seasonal and holiday functions, as well as occasional political functions and other major social gatherings. Pat and Richard Nixon were married at one of the two wedding chapels here; the Reagans honeymooned here. The hotel has had nearly 10 presidents stay at the Inn, including President Taft whom Frank Miller had a custom large chair made for Taft to sit in, although it is known he took offense to the size of the chair. The Inn continues to be a getaway for presidents to this day with George W. Bush as the most recent. Arnold Schwarzenegger has also stayed there during his tenure as governor.

The Jewish holiday Hanukkah literally lights up the home. The eight-day, 2,000-year-old holiday, also called the Festival of Lights, celebrates God’s glory, an ancient victory of the Jews over their enemies, and the freedom Jews enjoy today.

The story of Hanukkah begins in strife. Antiochus, a Greek who was king of Syria, marched with an army of soldiers into the kingdom of Judea, home to many Jews. He insisted that the Jews worship the Greek gods rather than the one God they worshipped. When the Jews refused to worship the Greek gods, the soldiers attacked the Temple in Jerusalem and killed countless Jews. They stole holy objects. They even stole the sacred lamp, called the menorah that stood before the altar. The lamp’s flame, which always burned brightly, went out. That had never happened before. Special oil stored in small containers called cruses was always used to keep the flame alive. The soldiers dumped the oil all over the floor. As a last insult, they let pigs roam in the Temple.

The king returned to his own country, but the soldiers stayed on. They did not respect the Jewish Temple. They brought food and drink in, played noisy games, and shouted and laughed there. Jews could not say their prayers in the Temple.

One old man, Mattathias, wanted to fight to take back the Temple. He went with his five sons into the wilderness, where other families joined them. The men began to fight the enemy anywhere and in any way they could.

Mattathias became sick. He named one of his sons, Judah the Maccabee, the leader of the fighting band. For two years the Jews fought their enemy. Then one night they attacked Jerusalem, the enemy stronghold. Judah the Maccabee and his followers camped outside Jerusalem all winter. When the people inside had little food or water left, they attacked and overwhelmed the enemy. The Jews were free!

One of the first tasks of the Jews was to clean up the Temple. They restored the holy lamp — the menorah — but found only enough clean and holy oil to last one day. Yet the flames of the menorah burned steadily for eight days. With each passing day, the flames grew brighter.

From then on, every year at that time, Jews have celebrated with the Festival of Lights. Candles are lit at sundown for eight nights in a row. Today’s menorahs have nine branches; the ninth branch is for the shamash, or servant light, which is used to light the other eight candles. People eat potato latkes, exchange gifts, and play dreidel games. As they gaze at the light of the menorah, they give thanks for the miracle in the Temple long ago.

HANUKKAH ACTIVITIES

Language Arts. Listening. Invite students to listen as you read aloud the above story of Hanukkah. Then ask the listening comprehension questions below to find out how well they understood.

What is Hanukkah sometimes called? (The Festival of Lights)
When Jews observe Hanukkah, what are they celebrating (God’s glory, victory over an enemy, continuing freedom of the Jews)
What happened to the menorah and oil when enemy soldiers took over the temple? (The menorah’s flame, which had always burned brightly, went out; oil was spilled all over the floor.)
Where did Mattathias and his followers hide? (in the wilderness)
Why might Mattathias have wanted to drive the enemy out of Jerusalem? (so the Jews would be free again)
How long did the Jews fight their enemy? (two years)
After the Jews conquered their enemy, how much oil did they find in the Temple? (enough to light the menorah for one day)
Explain the miracle of the oil. (Although there was enough oil for just one day, the menorah burned brightly for eight days.)
~by Sharon Cromwell

Art. Create a Noah’s Ark Hanukkah Card. Adapted from Hanukkah Crafts: A Holiday Craft Book by Judith Hoffman (Corwin Franklin Watts, 1996).
You Will Need: a pencil, an 8-1/2- by 11-inch sheet of white paper, a fine-line black marker, colored pencils or markers, and a piece of ribbon or yarn.
On the white paper, use a pencil to draw an ark, Noah and his wife, and pairs of animals. You might show the elephants, lions, ducks, rabbits, cats, zebras, giraffes, and so on.
Go over pencil lines with the black marker. Color in your designs with markers or colored pencils. At the bottom of the sheet, write a Hanukkah greeting and sign the card.
Roll up the sheet of paper, tie a ribbon around it, and give it to a friend.

Habari Gani? Those Swahili words, meaning What’s the News? This is a ritual greeting for Kwanzaa
The mishumaa are the seven candles (3 red, 3 green, 1 black), standing for Kwanzaa’s seven principles
The kinara is a candleholder, representing the stalk of corn from which the family grows
The mkeka is a straw placemat, recalling tradition and history
The mazao is a variety of fruit, symbolizing the harvest
The vibunzi is an ear of corn for each child, celebrating the child’s potential
The kikombe cha umoja is a cup of unity, commemorating one’s ancestors
The zawadi are modest gifts, encouraging creativity, achievement, and success

Kwanzaa focuses on seven principles or goals:
1. umoja, unity
2. kujichagulia, self-determination
3. ujima, collective work and responsibility
4. ujamaa, cooperative economics
5. nia, purpose
6. kuumba, creativity
7. imani, faith

The most joyous and elaborate of Kwanzaa’s gatherings takes place on December 31, the 6th day of the holiday period. On that night, a great feast (karamu) is held. Families and friends gather to eat, drink, sing, dance, and read stories and poems celebrating their cultural heritage. Everyone sips from the unity cup and many people exchange gifts.

CELEBRATING KWANZAA IN THE CLASSROOM
Have students search newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, or online resources for news stories related to Africa. Display a large map of Africa and have students access an online map. Encourage students to study the map and identify coastal and interior countries, find the southernmost country, and northeastern corner of the African continent “Egypt” . Point out the large island off the eastern coast of Africa, “Madagascar”, the country called Libya borders Egypt to its west, and the easternmost country on the continent of Africa is Somalia.

MATH LESSON
1. In 1997, the U.S. Postal Service printed 133 million Kwanzaa stamps. At $.32 each, how much did 10 stamps cost? ($3.20)
2. How much did one sheet (50 stamps) cost? ($16.00)
3. How much money in all did the stamps bring in? (133 million stamps X .32 = $42,560,000.00)
4. In 2004, a new 37-cent Kwanzaa stamp was made available. At $.37 each, how much did 10 stamps cost? ($3.70)
5. How much did a sheet of 20 stamps cost? ($7.40)
6. How much more did 10 stamps cost in 2004?

BOOKS
An Anthology of Modern Poems by Black Americans, edited by Arnold Adoff
The Black Family Pledge by Maya Angelou.
In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers (illustrated by Jack Steptoe).

RELATED RESOURCES
Kwanzaa: Everything You Always Wanted to Know But Didn’t Know Where to Ask, by Cedric McClester (Gumbs and Thomas) includes information about the history, symbols, and celebrations of Kwanzaa.

KWANZAA LINKS ON THE INTERNET
The History of Kwanzaa
Maintained by CNN Interactive, the site provides factual, news-based information about the history, symbolism, and celebrations of Kwanzaa.

Kwanzaa Information Center
The Kwanzaa Information Center is a year-round site offering in-depth background information about the holiday and its origins, specific suggestions for celebrating Kwanzaa, a calendar of Kwanzaa events, a chat room, and many additional Kwanzaa links.

Lesson Plan
1. Read “Los Días de los Muertos” (The Day of the Dead) to the students.
2. Introduce the traditional “CALVERAS” POEM used for the Day of the Dead celebration.
3. Once the students are familiar with this poem, have them write their own poem about the Day of the Dead
4. Then discuss the differences and similarities of Halloween and Mexico’s celebration.

OBJECTIVES:

• Students will become familiar with a Mexican Holiday
• Students will create their own poems about a cultural celebration.
• Students will recognize the significance of the cultural celebration (Day of the Dead).
• Students will recognize the particular values and beliefs in this traditional celebration.

Los Días de los Muertos, the Days of the Dead, is a traditional Mexico holiday honoring the dead. In Mexico, this festival is considered to be the most important holiday of the year. This holiday is celebrated between October 31st and November 2nd. These dates correspond with the Catholic celebrations of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Los Dias de los Muertos is not a sad time. It is a time of remembering deceased family members. The townspeople dress up as ghouls, ghosts, mummies and skeletons and parade through the town carrying an open coffin. The main symbols of this holiday are skulls and skeletons, which are displayed throughout the cities. Scenes of skeletons hugging, marching, dancing, and laughing are seen in window displays on the streets. Marigolds are another significant symbol for the Day of the Dead festivity, and are known as the “flower of the dead.” Their scent is believed to “attract the souls and draw them back.”

In the homes, families arrange ofrenda’s or “altars” with flowers, bread, fruit, candy and pictures of the deceased family members. Skeletons and skulls made of chocolate and white chocolate are placed on the alter. Special loaves of bread are baked, called pan de muertos decorated in the shape of skulls and crossbones. Handmade skeleton figurines, called calacas, are especially popular. Calacas usually show an active and joyful afterlife. Figures of musicians, generals on horseback, even skeletal brides, in their white bridal gowns marching down the aisles with their boney grooms. At night, burning candles are lit to remember the departed

The next day families travel to the cemetery. They arrive with hoes, picks and shovels. They also carry flowers, candles, blankets, and picnic baskets. They have come to clean the graves of their loved ones. The gravesites are weeded and the dirt raked smooth. The Crypts are scrubbed and swept. Colorful flowers, bread, fruit and candles are placed on the graves. Some play guitars and sing. Some families will spend the entire night in the cemeteries.

Poema
Calavara
Por aquí pasa la muerte
Con sus aguja y su dedal
Remendando sus naguas
Para el dia del carnival

Poem
Skull
Here pass the souls of the dead
With needle and thimble
Mending their skirts
For the day of the dead

The teachers were exceptional on how they provided the perfect space for Mr. Worm to come alive. The environment was warm with an informal atmosphere. Their commitment to children and to the world of literacy was very evident throughout all the classrooms.

Peninsula Heritage School seems to be a unique place for children to learn and grow. With just one visit, I got the sense that the teachers really care about students and their education. I was impressed with the small classroom settings…a low student to teacher ratio. I believe that this helps insure quality education by providing students with the individual attention they need.

As I continue to visit schools, it is my commitment that the children I touch through my reading/storytelling become more in love with books and the world of literature.

Peninsula Heritage School - Book Reading

Event: Peninsula Heritage School - Book Reading
Location: San Pedro, CA
Date: May 13, 2009

59 Photos

 

Title – Lucky Charms
Grade Level – 2-3
This is a fun Saint Patrick’s Day activity using the cereal Lucky Charms! Have a worksheet made up listing the different type of “charms” found in the cereal. Give each student a handful of the cereal. They can list how many of each charm they have using tally marks and then graph. Next, pairs can group their cereal together, list, and graph. Afterwards they can eat the cereal!
~Jill

Small Square Card
You Will Need:
Adhesive foam
Shamrock die cuts
Small colored brads
String green cording
Instructions:
Sandwich adhesive foam between two shamrock die cuts and adhere the die cuts to the front panel of the card. Insert small colored brads at each corner and string green cording between the brads to frame the image.

Hanging Charm Card
You Will Need:
Cardstock
Scissors
Small eyelets
Small silver charm
Cord
Instructions:
Cut a window in the front panel of a piece of folder card stock and set small eyelets on either side of the opening. Suspend a small silver charm from a length of cord inserted in the holes and tie the ends on the inside of the card to secure.
Handwrite or stamp a message below the window to finish

Objectives:
To gain a little knowledge about why St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated all over the world.
To distinguish between fact and fiction.

Materials: Create a story strictly about the facts of Saint Patrick. Create a worksheet to allow discussion about fact or fiction.

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. A patron saint takes special care of a country or group. Saint Patrick was a caring person and did many nice things for the people of Ireland. Saint Patrick was born in 385 and died around the year 460. Saint Patrick died on March 17th. March 17th is the day Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated. People march in parades and marching bands play. Corned beef and cabbage is a favorite meal on Saint Patrick’s Day. Many people wear green on this day. Green is an Irish color because of a few reasons. The first reason is because of the green shamrock leaf. According to legend, the shamrock was a sacred plant to the Druids of Ireland because its leaves formed a triad, and three was a mystical number in the Celtic religion. It was used by Saint Patrick to illustrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity as he introduced Christianity to Ireland. In the 19th century, it was a symbol of rebellion and anyone wearing it risked death by hanging. This period spawned the phrase “the wearin’ o’ the green.” Occasionally, a fourth leaflet will appear, making a “four-leaf clover,” said to bring good luck to the person who discovers it. The second reason green is an Irish color is because Ireland is called the “Emerald Isle” with lots of green pastures. The third reason is because the people of Ireland would burn green leaves to spread over their land to make their soil richer.

There are legends that go along with Saint Patrick’s Day. A popular legend is about the leprechaun. Leprechauns are tiny people dressed in green and they collect pots of gold. The legend says that if you catch a leprechaun, he will lead you to his pot of gold.
The first Saint Patrick’s Day celebration in the United States was in 1737. This day is now celebrated all over the world. Some people sing songs and dance to celebrate. The Irish dance is called the “jig”. A popular song is “The Wearin’ of the Green”. The Irish are very thankful on this day because Saint Patrick taught them to read and write. The Irish read and write because generations passed their knowledge on to other generations.

Use words such as: shamrocks, leprechauns, patron saint, St. Patrick, legends, jig, parades, leprechaun’s pot of gold, corned beef and cabbage, shamrocks bring good luck

Discuss fact and fiction. If you decide one or more items might be either one, you can construct a Venn Diagram.

Questions: 1. When was Saint Patrick born?
2. When did Saint Patrick die?
3. What was he known for?
4. What is a patron saint?
5. Why do people wear green on Saint Patrick’s Day? List three reasons

~ By – Lisa MacBean

There are many wonderful stories about St. Patrick. The most famous legend is that he drove the snakes out of Ireland. This did not happen but the Irish will tell you that you cannot find a snake throughout the whole country of Ireland. There is also the story of Leprechauns. They are little make-believe fairies that live in Ireland. They are the shoemakers for the fairies. The story is that if you catch one you can make him tell you where he hides his gold.

Americans march in parades, dance the Irish jig and gather to sing Irish songs. People wear green in memory of Ireland, the Emerald Isle. They wear shamrocks and clover with three leaves.

Here is a fun way to make shamrocks:
Trace shamrock shapes onto potato halves and cut them out to make shamrock stamps. Mix equal parts evaporated milk and liquid tempera paint. Pour this mixture over several layers of paper towels in a meat tray. Press the shamrock potato onto the pad and then repeatedly onto a sheet of art paper. The milk/paint mixture clings to the potato better than plain paint, making it stamp better

Here is a list of books on St. Patrick:
Fluffy’s Lucky Day by Kate Mcmullan
Hooray for St. Patrick’s Day by Joan Holub
St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning by Jan Brett
St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons
The St. Patrick’s Day Shillelagh by Janet Nolan
Shamrocks, Harps, and Shillelaghs by Edna Barth
Crafts for St. Patrick’s Day by Kathy Ross
The Wearing of the Green: A History of St. Patrick’s Day by Mike Cronin
St. Patrick’s Day Alphabet by Beverly Barras Vidrine
A Leprechaun’s St. Patrick’s Day by Sarah Kirwan Blazek
Fluffy’s Lucky Day by Kate Mcmullan
Hooray for St. Patrick’s Day by Joan Holub
St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning by Jan Brett
St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons
The St. Patrick’s Day Shillelagh by Janet Nolan
Shamrocks, Harps, and Shillelaghs by Edna Barth
Crafts for St. Patrick’s Day by Kathy Ross
The Wearing of the Green: A History of St. Patrick’s Day by Mike Cronin
St. Patrick’s Day Alphabet by Beverly Barras Vidrine
A Leprechaun’s St. Patrick’s Day by Sarah Kirwan Blazek