August Cultural Calendar Ideas

July 19, 2023

This moon’s name varies nation to nation, reflecting what’s happening on the lands in those places during that moon. In Anishinaabemowin territories, it’s Manoominike-giizi, ricing moon, time for harvesting wild rice. Further to the east, the Mikmaw calendar names this moon Kisikewiku’s (gis-ig-ay-we-goos), (berry ripening moon)

In SENĆOŦEN, this month is known as centawen (Coho salmon return to earth), and a little to the north in the Salish Sea, in ʔayʔaǰuθəm (pronounced Ay-A-Ju-Thum) speaking territory, it’s known as T’agams ta Kliyam (the moon of the cockles).

August is a great time to explore the Creation stories of the Nations of your host agency, the traditional territory your program resides on, and nations of the families involved in your program. It gives children, families, Elders and staff a great sense of pride when they can share and or learn about their nations and origin stories.

Cultural Calendar programming

Create a lunar calendar!

Using your nation(s) lunar calendar, discuss and think about what moon is represented in August for your program, and what teachings does this moon bring?

Who We Are Book Series – Learning The Land

What resources do you have in community that can be used to reinforce these teachings?

Explore Creation stories.

Invite families and Elders to contribute to planning and program activities by inviting them to present their Nations’ Creation Story and legends. This could include visiting sites, or photos of special places that relate or represent Creation stories and teachings.

August is a warmer month and still full of Nature’s abundance. Continue to bring most of the month’s programming outdoors! Explore the last of Summer by experiencing sights, smells, and natural sensory experiences outdoors.

Art Experiences:

Rubbings are a fun way to explore natural textures, with an area outside with seashells, rough bark and other items from nature to do layer paper thin enough to do rubbings with, but thick enough to last through the fun of rubbing! Métis dot painted designs can be explored in the art area, by experimenting with the ends of paintbrush handles, bingo markers, Q tips, circle stickers and easy mediums for young hands. Metis Dot Art Flower Template

Craft

August is a great time to continue exploring Indigenous Musical Instruments.

Order musical wooden spoons that have no finish to them and invite families to come into the center to help dot paint a pair of spoons for their child. Have a Knowledge Keeper, Elder or a Métis artist that does dot painting in to teach the technique and share teachings about dot painting and the spoons. After the craft is complete make sure you treat this item with a product that will ensure longevity.

Sensory

Hot summer days give plenty of opportunities for explore sensory play outside.

Describe and compare how/what we’re feeling as we experience:

Bare feet on wet grass, climbing a boulder, digging for worms and bugs, picking a flower or berries, rolling down a grassy slope, playing in the rain.

Add:

Playdough/ clay with seashells and other natural materials to make imprints.
Fingerpainting with mud
Sprinkler play or play with spray bottles.

Innovative Ideas Sas Natsadle AHS in Fort St John shares this fun recipe for dandelion playdough!

Health Promotion

It’s still berry season! Salal and blueberries continue through the late summer.

Inviting everyone out on the land to help pick berries~ children, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, families, following local protocols.

Blueberries, cherries and peaches are also available in some places for a hands-on field trip to a berry patch or farm to follow a berry picking expedition.

Tomatoes and beans in your harvesting garden may also be ready to be picked.

Knowledge Keepers can be invited to share storage and preparation tips with children and families, with the harvests guiding menu and learning through the week. This could include making soap berry ice cream, fruit leather, berry sundaes, pemmican.

Take the children on trips to local lakes, rivers and the ocean if you are in that area.

Show pictures and discuss which items are sourced from local waters. Discuss ways in which we can respect the water to keep these foods healthy. Go on a trip to smokehouses, fish markets, fish boats or local canneries.

Recipe of the month: Seafood Fritters

Create a culturally sensitive food board/ display to engage families in learning about nutritional knowledge! Plan this at a staff meeting so all staff, involved elders and parents can give input. Take photos of the board to engage families who might not notice in the classroom. Post in newsletter, on your social media page or on your communication tool. (e.g. Class Dojo)

Monthly Health Resource Link: Healthy Food Conversations

Science Topic to explore for the month of August:

Rainbows

Explore the fun science behind colours with easy do it yourself activities. Tie in legends about rainbows from different nations to your fun science activities.

Bubbles

Check out these easy STEM bubble experiments easy for young kids. Take the children out in Nature to look for naturally occurring bubbles in ponds, lakes, oceans. Discuss what aquatic life makes bubbles and why. Have an elder/ knowledge keeper show children the insides of the fish and the air bag to explain its purpose and connection to the fish.

Animals with shells Expert feedback to curious kids’ questions on how seashells and animal shells are formed. Bring out rattles and other traditional items made with shells have a knowledge keeper do teachings.

Playful Additions

Building Block/ Construction Area: At the child’s eye level have pictures with numbers and the word in the language shared in your program. Taking turns, count blocks in the language.

Dramatic Play Area

Set up your indoor play area as a camping site, using teepees and other tents. Setting up a pretend fire, camping dishes, supplies, with small back packs for children to have fun “setting up camp.” Invite the cook to suggest and make camping foods one day for lunch could tie into the children’s exploration and creativity with the camping theme.

Lofty Ideas

Decorate your loft to incorporate children’s favourite stories. You can also have laminated copies of pages and pictures from the book of choice so the children can connect the book to the environment. This provides a place and inspiration for dramatic play inspired by the stories they are hearing and reading. Examples of stories you could choose; Awasisak and the world-famous Bannock, I am rock, T’uc’up greets the animals, Berry Picking with grandma. Create props to go with these stories such as berries, ingredients to make Bannock, animal cards with name in traditional language. Innovative Ideas: Waap Sagayt K’uulm Goot – Terrace – A program elder crocheted local berries for the children to engage with in play.

Reading Area

On warm Summer Days take story telling outdoors into play areas, on the land outings and even field trips.

Books can be incorporated into areas beyond the reading area! Including books in all play areas that can invite further connections and expand creativity. For example, the Lego table can have books with pictures of log cabins, teepees and other traditional items children can build or can have transportation or community helper themed books to encourage exploration of the child’s building in these areas.

Outdoor Ideas

Explore options in your community to participate in a story walk. If there are no opportunities in your community most Child Care Resource and Referral locations are willing to partner with AHS centers and provide this opportunity. Add seashells and other items you would find at the beach in your sand area outside. Build excitement with the children in the sand area by having a “treasure hunt or a fossil hunt.” This could lead to a bigger project of hosting a scavenger hunt in the language(s) shared in your program and inviting families to participate.

Circle time area: AHSABC has provided the educators who attended The LOVIT Way Gathering with Spoons. We have been hearing that the children are enjoying playing the spoons. Incorporate the spoons into songs and activities, play fiddle music and role model how to spoon to the beat of the fiddle. Invite Elders in to join in or lead some fun activities with the Spoons. A great resource and site to order finished ready for playing (would not work for an art project) Wooden Spoons | Gabriel Dumont Institute (gdins.org)

Elder Betty Gladue recommends these metal spoons: Spoons, Castinets & Finger Cymbals – Long & McQuade (long-mcquade.com)https://www.tomleemusic.ca/grover-troph

Elder involvement

Invite Elders to PEP it helps them to understand the different processes that happen at programs! As well as the importance of Elder involvement to the daily program as well as to the operation of the program. Grandma Josie participated in PEP at the Kermode Daycare.

Kermode Childcare Center Terrace B.C Grandparent Josie Casey Nisga’a Ksim Laxgibuu

“I didn’t realize all the work and care that goes into our AHS daycare. I knew we had our granddaughter on PEP days, I never knew what PEP meant. You ladies are doing a wonderful job!”

Invite Elders to join in on the land gathering and berry picking, preserving and storing activities is a beautiful community building activity

Little Pebbles AHS in Chilliwack took children, families and Elders blueberry picking, and afterwards everyone was treated to ice cream.

Parent Involvement Ideas

Parent Boards

Create a parent board full of back-to-school resources ie. free backpack day, free haircuts, links and resources on back-to-school routines, easy slow cooker recipes, and more.

Create a healthy living board and feature Indigenous and Community resources. Expanding that, programs could host a health fair to prepare parents for the busy back to school season. Invite local resources to have a table and create a circuit for families. This could include dental health, health nurse that does vision screening, Speech and language therapist, CCRR, BCAA or another organization that provides car seat safety, dietician (could be someone from a health food store,) canning safety using the FNHA handbooks FNHA-Canning-Foods-Your-Guide-To-Successful-Canning.pdf other providers from your host agency this could include AIDP, ASCD, literacy supports, outreach supports, Jordan’s Principal Staff, literacy access services, and more.

Including Elders and Knowledge Keepers with medicine and foods knowledge, would hold Indigenous wellness in balance with western. They could also share medicine bag making, salve making, tea making and more. Reach out to FNHA they may be able to send a representative and they have several wellness campaigns that could be incorporated, such as active living, respecting tobacco, and nurturing spirit.

Innovative Ideas: Little Pebbles AHS in Chilliwack made two family involvement kits. One is to get families involved in the kitchen together making bannock and to introduce Indigenous On the Land Teachings. The second one is to get families active together to play a game of Soccer. Both kits came with a participation contest!

Outreach/ Family Involvement Activity kits: Send home easy to read bedtime stories and information on ways to add literacy to busy home schedules, and information that reinforces the importance of bedtime routines!

Book ideas:

Nighty-Night Richard Van Camp

I was born precious and sacred Deborah Abood

Grandmother Ptarmigan Qaunaq Kikkigak

Create a kit with the newest addition of Canada’s food guide and choices of healthy foods. Food guide snapshot – Canada’s Food Guide

Eating Healthy (fnha.ca)Family outing: Set up a time that families can attend a healthy foods grocery store tour in your community.

Spring/ Summer Team Building

AHS programs offer an environment where staff and volunteers participate in ongoing professional, personal, and culture and language development. Importance is given to having quality time set aside for team building. The team at Smameletawtxw Little Pebbles AHS attended a local fair in Chilliwack BC to promote their program.

Waap Sagayt K’uulm Goot AHS Went on a road trip to Prince Rupert and spent the day exploring the town and engaging in nature base exploration.

The team from Sas Natsadle traveled to Vancouver to participate in a Foraging Workshop and had the opportunity to explore local plants, some of which are also native to Northeastern BC—while learning to identify wild species and gaining a better understanding of how these plants can support health and well-being.

The Team at the Aboriginal Mother Center in Vancouver recently went out to have lunch to have a chance for connection and create strong relationships.

Hohuduleh Bayoh AHS travelled to Vancouver for The BCACCS conference. While in Vancouver they took time out for some team self-care in the form of exploring the sea wall by scooter.
To share your team building idea please send picture and caption to Michelle.gravelle@ahsabc.com