December's Task

[Sharon Tonner]

What shall we do for December's task? What on line tool shall we use? When should we complete the task since we will all be on holiday at different times?

Put your suggestions below and remember to give time for others to place there suggestions on the forum before making your mind up.

This week will be suggestions and next week will be choosing the one for December.

Sharon

[Kairi Laane]

I'm not agree with you! Every kind of holidays are important, especially to kids. Of course there can be differencies of celebration habbits and certain outputs etc.
For example, Haloween and Valentine's Day aren't our native holidays either, but still we have taken over some aspects of those holidays. Kids love them. We can't forget that the World is globalizing more and more with every year.

[Sharon Tonner]

Hi Cathy, an awareness of how others celebrate is an important aspect of global awareness. Maybe the 'snow' might not be the answer due to our friends in Australia not having snow but we could resort back to a typical Christmas song to make it simple. See next post.

[Vicky Sedgwick]

We don't have snow - we're in California but the kids are fascinated by snow which is one of the reasons I am doing some snow related things with them during this season anyway.

[Anne Gorman]

I agree with Vicky. There is certainly no snow in Florida but the children love to imagine and dream about a white Christmas.

[Sharon Tonner]

Here is my idea which is nice and simple:

Create a presentation with song - Jingle Bells?

I will make a backing track for the music like I did with Twinkle Twinkle last year - http://votw.wikispaces.com/November-Twinkle

This is used to record children singing Jingle Bells in their native language using Audacity.

Take pictures of children's seasonal work and create a video using good old Windows Movie Maker that incorporates song and pictures.

Upload to a video uploading area on the Internet - teacher TV, google videos, Jumpcut, Vimeo etc and send me embedded code which will be placed on site as it happens since we will all be finishing school at different times.

Now for the next part:

Send me the audio file you created in Audacity and I will make one podcast with all the voices singing Jingle Bells one after the other.

That's my idea.

[Kairi Laane]

Sharon,
didn't we sing Jingle Bells last year, in onetruemedia?

[Sharon Tonner]

Yep just like we did the vokis last year too. It can be the same or different depending what the crowd go for. Let's wait and see what other suggestions are given before making our minds up :)

[Vicky Sedgwick]

I liked this project last year when I ran across it and only suggested something different because I thought that's what you wanted. Love the idea of Jingle Bells myself.

[Rich Olyott]

What are the traditional customs of different cultures at Christmas? How do they celebrate? Is there something that makes them unique?
Gifts in stockings or in shoes?
Different colour/story/role of Father Christmas / Santa / Saint Nicholas / Papa Noel?
(wasn't he blue before Coca cola?)
Any traditional - or new songs - that seem to represent how we celebrate Christmas?
Is there some sort of Santa Surfing song down under?! lol.

Rich.

We also break up on the 19th Dec.

[Sharon Tonner]

Hi Rich, all above interesting but have to say they don't fit into VOTW as we have to say the same thing to be understood!

Sharon

[Cathy Francis]

HI All,
Yes it was precisly that I know we are in a globalised society that I made the comment.

By my comment I just wondered how singing 'Happy Christmas' to every one, for example, felt like from a perspective which doesn't have Christmas....It would feel false, I think, or maybe even patronising!

Children's best learning surely stems from their first own hand experience and then relating it to others? I know kids (indeed grown ups!) all enjoy a good festival but I thought it all looked a bit western and christian...

I like Rich's idea exploring of the things we or the festival have in common...but then I get your comment Sharon of the VOTW framework having the same words for all.

Thinking of things in common... What about something simple like the word 'THANK YOU' spoken several times. (A little like the 'Goodbye' task we did last year) Then children could have the idea of a festival being associated with 'thanks' for giving or receiving a present ?The present could then be associated with Hanukkah, Diwali, Eid, a birthday or even Christmas! The word THANK YOU is easily translated and spoken. The images can be interpreted more freely. Once the task is published you could then chose with your class to reserach the images offered by other schools/countries and therefore have a context or reason to find out about other people's festivals....

What do you think.... or am I being too deep?

Cathy

[Eva Rekkedal]

In Norway we have holiday from 19/12 - 5/1.
I think it's difficult to come up with a task that don't include the season we're heading for. Not everyone celebrates Christmas, but I'm pretty sure they now what it's about: mostly gifts/presents (at least in our time) - so the illustration part could be to draw nice presents (would be a lots of creative work). But is there "a gift song" we can use?
Best regards, EvaR.