Cinco De Mayo Celebration

We had a blast celebrating Cinco de Mayo in class yesterday! Here are some picture highlights:

 

 Our classroom was decorated for a Fiesta! The kids were so excited to see it all!

 

This is a bulletin board set from Carson Dellosa. My kids loved seeing the Spanish word alongside the English one.

 Of course, we had to have a pinata too. And I love the cloth I found at Hobby Lobby for our tablecloth!

Even our tree was decked out!

Here's my son Joshua rocking his sombrero craft. Not sure where his teacher got the pattern.

 

We didn't have enough space in our classrooms, so we took to the hallway, setting up a salsa making station!

 We took turns reading "Chicks and Salsa" to our kids and then making salsa to top our chips and cheese!

Of course we also read books about Mexico and it's history, and I think by the end of the day everyone understood that Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of the Battle of Puebla as well as Mexican culture.We also read The Tortilla Factory. It was great for reminding my kiddos about life cycles, as well as teaching them about what goes into things that they purchase at the store, and of course a staple of Mexican cuisine.

I don't have any pictures of breaking our pinata because I was being photographed myself at that moment! Our local newspaper sent out a photographer and he captured some of our pinata breaking moments - which undoubtedly look funny because our rope broke on the first swing and subsequently I was holing it for each child. Finally we whacked at it on the floor lol! I am anxious to see the pictures, I totally forgot to suck in my belly or present my "good" side to the camera lol so I imagine I'll look like a hot mess as usual. But, the important thing is that we had a great time and I know my kiddos will be so thrilled to see their names and pictures in the paper!

Now that Cinco de Mayo is over we are going to hit Dinosaurs and Space  for the remainder of the year! We're also scheduled to go on our field trip next weekend! I tell you, we are packing a lot in the last 13 days of school! I'd love for you to share what themes you're going to end the year with!

Oh, and just because they are so darn cute not to share, I'll end with some pictures of my chick/ducklings:

 Their cage is set up on a table at the front of the room by our calendar so we can see them throughout the day.

 They were scared of my camera for some reason so they all huddled in one corner together. Which is funny because they are not afraid of anything else, having been reared in a noisy classroom!

 I love seeing the ducklings cuddling with the chicks!

Our chicks are getting their feathers. It's amazing how quickly they grow up! Soon they will be leaving us for a local farm!

Cinco De Mayo

I have never before celebrated Cinco de Mayo in the classroom, but for some reason this year my end of the hallway has decided to recognize this day. To be honest, I had to look up the origins of the holiday, and I was quite impressed by the historical significance. Had it not been for the Mexican militia at the Battle of Puebla the French might have established their hold on Mexico earlier and been in a position to support the South during our Civil War. This might have turned the tides of battle significantly. Isn't it a wonder how an event can have such far-flung and long reaching effects? Reminds me of my new favorite show, Touch!

Originally we were just going to do something small, but as the event nears it is getting more elaborate. This is partly due to the fact that those on high were looking for someone celebrating Cinco de Mayo and were told that our three classes were going to be doing a little something in the afternoon. Now a newspaper photographer is coming to take pictures, plus some powers-that-be might stop by, so don't you know, we just have to have something newsworthy going on when they come by. Here's our plans so far:

 We are going to be reading different books - both fiction and non-fiction about Cinco de Mayo and Mexican culture. Here are a few on our list:



We are going to be making homemade salsa in class, and serving it with nachos and cheese for snack. That's to go along with this fun book:

 

My class is going to be all decked out for a fiesta - including my tree! I just picked up a fun tablecloth for my reading area and we also have a pinata! Should be super fun I think! I will make sure to get pictures and post them!

Here's a freebie for you, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, a new set of Roll & Cover addition and subtraction boards to play during your "fiesta"! Just click the picture to download it for free from my TPT store!