Tonight is Parent’s Night and Back To School Night at Bixby! What a great time for parents to meet the teachers and other families attending Bixby. It is also a time for the teachers to create some of the activities we do in the classroom for the parents to experience.
The children are making a “Hopes and Wishes Mandala Weaving” today. The moms and dads will write their hopes and wishes for their kids school year on long strips of cloth. We will read those wishes and weave the circle mandala together.
The children are a part of planning the project from the very beginning. First comes finding the right materials, including choosing the colors of cloth, yarn, glue sticks and the wooden drum base. This empowers the kids to own what they are doing and creating.
Here is the process:
Alyce unrolled the freshly torn strips.
Isla decided to clean up the edges of the material by pulling away the long strings hanging off the cloth. She rolled them into little balls and set them in a line, giving each a pat.
Sonja, who is one of our older children in preschool, helped glue the wooden drum frame back together. She patiently spread the glue with a stick and helped the next child, Payal learn how to apply the glue. She showed Payal where the glue should go and how much to use. Payal then finished her part of the job on her own. Isla then joined the crew and both Payal and Sonja showed her the way.
Evan chose the rainbow yarn, then Owen spent a long, careful time wrapping it around and around the mandala so the wood would stay strong and hold together.
Each child conjectured as they worked about how their mom or dad would make the next part of the project. Tonight is Parent’s Night…. We can’t wait!