Students experience variety of cultures
|
The concept is the brainchild of teachers Jimmy Haley, Carol Neal and others and has been well received by both parents and students.
?The kids seem to love it,? said Haley. ?It was fairly easy for our staff to pull together. It helps that the Egypt exhibit is at the Frist for us to visit.?
Approximately 300 students in grades second through ninth attended the first week and were treated to unique activities from Australia, Columbia, Hawaii, Japan and Egypt. Second-week students visited Australia, Holland, Greece, Germany and Egypt. Haley estimates 250 students enjoyed the second session.
We all know Hawaii is the land of sun and sand, so the class made volcanoes, an ocean in a bottle, enjoyed a luau and visited the Gilley Pool to play in the water.
The trip to Greece incorporated architecture and the Olympic games through a scavenger hunt. Of course they had to pay our own Greek goddess, Hebe, a visit in the park before having coffee at Capalano?s.
Coffee was a hot topic during the Columbia session, also. Students did weaving, planted a terrarium, played soccer and made a banana split. All this while learning about a unique country.
Holland sessions taught the children to paint like Rembrandt and van Gogh. They also visited the bowling lanes, built a castle and windmill and played water games.
The mission of the explorer team was to dig into the past and discover what is new again. They returned to ancient Egypt and made scarabs and a sarcophagus. They learned hieroglyphics, made a paper scroll and explored the afterlife with a picnic with the dead at Riverside Cemetery. The group topped off the unit by visiting the Egypt exhibit at the Frist in Nashville.
Bridgestone/Firestone graciously allowed students to visit them at their Learning Center each day. They learned to speak and write in Japanese along with some of the culture and traditions. They even got to do a little cooking and experienced eating with chopsticks. Craft projects included, Japanese gardens, Kokeshi dolls, painting on fabric and wooden fish and origami. Martial arts instructor Gary Steele also met with the children and offered interactive demonstrations each day.
Germany proved to be an interesting country, with children going on a scavenger hunt, cooking, mask making and participating in German games. Since German Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press, students visited the Southern Standard office to view the Goss printing press.
The Aborigine people of Australia were an interesting aspect for kids as they visited Cumberland Caverns, learned some Aussie phrases and studied animals that are uniquely Australian.
It?s easy to see why children keep coming back to YSI year after year ? it?s fun. Haley related that several of his volunteers are former students that enjoyed attending so much, they just had to come back.