Ki'suk Kyukyit! The grade 2s have been doing a Social Studies unit on the traditional lands and culture of the Yaqan Nukiy (Lower Kootenay) people. We started off learning the Ktunaxa names for different land and water features in Creston, finding them on a map. Next, we learned about different Ktunaxa tools and objects and what they were made of. We used all our new knowledge to do an activity where we were Yaqan Nukiy people living 200 years ago who had to gather and hunt all their resources from the different land and water features to make the tools and objects needed to live. We ended the unit with a special demonstration from Ms. Jenni on yaqsumit (the sturgeon-nose canoe). Key themes in the unit were the resourcefulness and respect for nature, and the importance of family, community, culture and tradition to Yaqan Nukiy people.
Other highlights of the past two weeks are:
Valentine's Day themed activities like pink explosions and making heart crystals in Science
A new chapter book in Read Well - Dinosaur's Before Dark!
More famous artist themed projects, including one about Henri Matisse and how he "painted with scissors" to overcome his barriers to making art. We also made collages inspired by Pablo Picasso and "Emily's Blue Period", focusing on how art can represent what matters to us as people.