As part of our unit of “How We Express Ourselves”, our five Kinder classes have taken a very comprehensive route through language, music, dance, handicrafts, art, food, and other aspects of culture to create an end of year show that will culminate in performances of regional folk dance as well as a gallery exhibition.
Dolphins Kinder class, for instance, has been investigating the Aegean regional culture of the Zeybeks. Students began with a discussion about what they already know about the Aegean region. Some students’ family heritage is Aegean and they contributed what they know. Students then began asking what they WANT to know about the Aegean Zeybek culture. We have posters of their previous knowledge and their questions in our classroom, which helped drive our inquiry.
In the context of exploring how we express ourselves, when looking at the different aspects of the Zeybek folk dance style, students learned how each gesture of the dance represents ideas about the culture; for instance, the slow pace and raised arms/hands symbolize bravery and illustrate how the efe were protectors of the people during that time.
Students are listening to regional music, examining and drawing the instruments.
However, before we even began diving into the context of Zeybek culture, we first took a broader look at music and dance. We looked at different music and rhythms. We tried dancing to music for salsa, rock and roll, ballet, etc. We decided that different types of music and rhythm make us feel different and make us want to move our bodies in different ways, which is all a part of expressing ourselves. We drew pictures of the kinds of instruments we decided were best for different types of music.
Kinder students are looking at handicrafts like weaving of kilim and knitting of lace. They are researching what the Zeybek motifs mean in the kilims and in the traditional clothing. They are developing their fine motor skills by trying to do basic techniques of weaving and embroidery.
Our end of year exhibition performances will take place on the 22nd of May and our exhibit will remain in the Clinton Vickers Art Gallery until the 1st of June. We hope you enjoy the fruits of our inquiry!
–Gizem Dönmez, Pre-School Teacher
