Mi Casa Es Su Casa

Congratulations to Val Peterson, our Spanish Teacher, who coordinated the project and created an exciting program for the opening of the Mi Casa Es Su Casa exhibit at the Troy Junior Museum. The exhibit is beautiful and will be open until October, 2002.

(Click on image to see pictures from exhibit's opening day.)

The Ark Community Charter School (ACCS) collaborated with students from Hoosic Valley Senior High School to create an exhibit called "Mi Casa Es Su Casa" (My House is Your House) at the Junior Museum in Troy. The exhibit teaches the children of the Capital Region about the life and culture of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

The Hoosic Valley students constructed and furnished a house within the exhibit. Our students helped to furnish and embellish the walls in the house.

In Spanish class, students studied the geography of Puerto Rico and created maps with Val, our Spanish teacher. The K/1s made their maps with beans, and the 2nd through 5th graders made theirs with yarn and buttons on felt.

Click on image above to view ACCS fieldtrip to exhibit before opening day.

In Pam and Helen's art classes, students read about all the peoples who influenced the culture of Puerto Rico. They learned about the the Taino, the Spanish and the African influence through reading folktales such as Song of El Coqui and Other Tales of Puerto Rico by Nicholasa Mohr and Antonio Martorell and The Golden Flower, a Taino Myth from Puerto Rico by Nina Jaffe. Inspired by the folktales, the second and third grade students created four freestanding diaramas depecting different scenes from four folktales.

Pam's art students in grades 4/5 created Taino coil pots and worked on a collage on a map of Puerto Rico. Each stripe in the map contains pictures representing the cultural influences in Puerto Rico. Students researched important historical figures, drew their picture and added them to the flag.

The K/1s created special vejigante masks and maracas of papier mache that are used in the Carnival celebrations in Puerto Rico.

Val sewed costumes to go with the masks, which museum goers can try on.

Under the guidance of Luis, one of our Puerto Rican born teacher assistants, Jon's 4/5 class created a Puerto Rican cookbook for the kitchen of the exhibit. Mark's 4/5 class made a Spanish alphabet book to go in the child's bedroom. Both classes used their computer skills and the Internet for research to produce their books.

The 2/3 classes studied the animals of Puerto Rico. Lynn's class hand sewed and stuff animal figures, while Mariesa's class used beads that are woven together to create theirs. The 2/3s also created a family history-folktale project, with each student making a quilted wall hanging.

Julia, another teacher assistant from Puerto Rico, is teaching several folk dances which will be performed at the Junior Museum on May 31st for both schools and for the public opening on June 1st. Some of the older boys will be performing more modern Puerto Rican dances.

In music class, students are learning Puerto Rican songs they will sing on June 1st. At that opening, the RPI ballroom dance team has volunteered to give Latin dance lessons.

Kim, our food service provider, will cook a Puerto Rican meal for the students on May 31st at ACCS. The recipes from Jon's class' cookbook will assist her in selecting her culinary creations.

The study of Puerto Rico has been fully integrated into every aspect of our community's life. The exhibit is a cross disciplinary project that has everyone in the school involved and very excited. It will open to the public on June 1st, with many of our students performing between 11:00 am and 12 noon. The Junior Museum will provide samples of Puerto Rican food and a craft area for children. Both days will be free to ACCS families, so mark your calendars!

This project is made possible in part through ART$ Grants (Dcentralization Plan of the NYS Council for the Arts), the Birchkill Arts and Crafts Guild and The Junior Museum.