Happy Independence Day

We hope our American friends have a wonderful time on this unique day of celebration. We went on a virtual tour of George Washington's Mount Vernon House to think about the past presidents. You can experience it at: https://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/the-mansion/mansion-virtual-tour which shows some snapshotreviews or directly at: https://virtualtour.mountvernon.org/

Happy Canada Day

 Welcome to our Canada Day Celebrations. Today is a holiday, most stores are closed, however Dad went and got some delicious treats for Barron to try-his first actual eating of a duck. Happy Birthday Canada. 

Throughout the day we played with our Professor Noggins Canada Day game; you can search titles at:  www.professornoggin.com/allgames.shtml if you want to support this divine Canadian company.  We learnt some really wonderdul facts such as:

We continued with our learning process by doing this quiz- General Knowledge Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Canada Trivia at https://youtu.be/Byd_zI0Xl08?si=V9B1cOUDXnMCjo2m which had a question that made us wonder what was so special about that area that the quiz mentioned, which was a place called Gastown.

We played You don't Know Jack 2015 where we learnt that trivial pursuit was a canadian invention so we played it on our Switch and Play Station. We finished the day hoping to find fire works display outside.

Early Summer Solstice+Yoga Day

 Yesterday was an early Summer Solstice however our Internet was out for practically the entire day and into the next so this posting is a tad bit late. The wonderful folks from America kept our spirits going throughout the day as we were able to tune into two of the live stream yoga sessions on YouTube before the Internet troubled us, thank you for that! 

Barron did these to celebrate with his Nintendo Switch Yoga Master: 

International Yoga Day is June 21 2024 and we celebrated by using our new toeless yoga socks, following our chakra clips, and doing some favourite yoga poses like the tree pose. 

As we close this day we send a Namastae to nourish you: 

Juneteenth+ Sergi Prokofiev+San Juan Festival

 Today is Juneteenth, to commemorate this day we found a wonderful lesson

Plan called: History of Juneteenth and why it became a national holiday from https://www.pbs.org/   which shares, "On June 15, 2021, the Senate unanimously approved a bill approving June 19 as a federal holiday for “Juneteenth National Independence Day.” The House passed the bill one day later. Still, many Americans are still unaware of the history and significance of June 19.

On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “that all persons held as slaves” in the Confederacy “shall be free.” While this may have freed some enslaved people on paper, the reality was much more complicated.

For instance, the Emancipation Proclamation only freed those slaves held under the Confederacy, not in border states loyal to the Union, including Kentucky, West Virginia and Delaware, where slavery was still legal after the Emancipation Proclamation. In fact, slavery was still legal in Kentucky until Dec. 1865, when the 13th Amendment was passed, though Kentucky voted against ratifying the amendment.

Confederate states and slaveholders also resisted emancipation, and many people remained enslaved in Confederate states after the proclamation, even as many enslaved people fought for their freedom or escaped behind Union lines. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger of the Union issued an order in Galveston, Texas, alerting all enslaved persons that they were legally free.

At this point in 1865, Texas was the westernmost state in America and one of the last Confederate states to be occupied by the Union. Many slaveholders had fled Union advances in other parts of the South to Texas, along with the people they had enslaved.

While it took time for the logistics of “freeing” enslaved people to come into effect, the importance of June 19, or “Juneteenth” lived on. Considering how complicated emancipation was, many dates were considered for holding celebrations of emancipation, but over 150 years later, June 19 remains.

What originally was a holiday mainly observed by Texans has grown to be recognized all over the country. Each year on “Juneteenth,” (or more formally Juneteenth National Freedom Day), communities all around the United States gather and celebrate and reflect on the history of slavery and struggle for civil rights and equality, including the work that still remains after conditional advances such as the Emancipation Proclamation. " Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/lesson-plans/2024/06/lesson-plan-history-of-juneteenth-and-why-its-set-to-become-a-national-holiday

In the Lesson we were encourgaed to answer these discussion questions feom :

What is “Juneteenth”? What does it celebrate?

Why did it take so long for enslaved peoples in Texas to finally be free?

 What obstacles existed?

What were some of the forms of discrimination against newly freed people mentioned in the video?

What is the Great Migration?

How did Juneteenth become a national, not just regional, celebration?

We also listens to three of Busy Kids Do Piano Podcasts learning about Sergi Prokofiev's and his Peter and the Wolf and Cinderella. Carly always does the most talented divine job. 

Interestingly on June 24 source: https://asunciontimes.com/culture/cultural-events/the-festival-of-san-juan-ara-is-coming-soon-in-asuncion/

The festival of San Juan, celebrated every year on June 24th, is one of Paraguay’s most popular festivities. Known locally as ‘San Juan Ara’ in Guarani, this event blends traditional Spanish customs with Guarani traditions, creating unique cultural experiences. The celebration is renowned for its delectable foods and lively games. The rich mixture of religious and traditional elements makes it a particular Paraguayan festival.

The origin of San Juan

This festival has its roots in pre-Columbian times when indigenous peoples performed ceremonies to welcome the cold in the southern hemisphere. With the arrival of the Jesuit missionaries, this feast became Christianized and was established on the 24th of June, the date on which the Bible considers St. John the Baptist was born.

1. Traditional Games and Dances

The San Juan Festival traditionally starts on the night of the 23rd of June with music, singing, dancing, and games. The protagonists of this tradition are the ‘Sun’ and the ‘Fire’, and that is why many of the games are linked to fire.

Tata Ari Jehasa: A fire-walking ritual where participants walk barefoot over hot coals, demonstrating their faith and courage.

Yvyra syi: This consists of climbing a tall, greased or soaped pole, on the top, there are various prizes, and participants compete to climb the pole in search of these prizes.

Toro Candil: A bull costume made of cardboard and decorated with lighted candles is driven by a person who runs among the participants trying to scare them.

Judas Kai: One of the most awaited events during the festival. A rag doll is hung by its neck on a tall pole and is burnt. This doll represents Judas Iscariot who in the bible is known as the person who betrayed Jesus.

Pelota tata: A ball made of rags the size of a football is used, soaked in alcohol or fuel, set on fire and kicked between the participants to test their courage and skill, while the audience cheers and celebrates.

Vosa Race: Competitors get into waist-high bags and grab the ends of the bag with their hands and start running while jumping.

2. Paraguayan traditional gastronomy

Many typical Paraguayan winter foods can be tasted in this festival season – and some of them are only sold at the San Juan Ara!

Pastel Mandi’o or Empanada de Mandica (non-vegetarian)

Mbeju con cocido (vegetarian)

Chicharõ trenzado (non-vegetarian): Chicharõ in guarani is the cut of meat from flank steak, and as the name says ‘trenzado’ which means braid in Spanish, a braid is made from this strips of meat.

Payagua mascada (non-vegetarian): It’s a Delicious traditional Paraguayan fried Patty, made by minced meat and spring onions.

Chipa Kavure or Chipa Asador (vegetarian)

Butifarra (non-vegetarian): A white sausage, made with fatty pork, often cooked in asado. Locals like to eat with Cassava better known here as ‘Mandioca’. Source:

Wordless Picture Books+Summer Reading Challenge

We discovered a nifty blog, called What Do We Do All Day, where it is recommended to enjoy wordless picture books. The ones that we were able to find at our great local library in Mississauga, were Journey, Return, and The Tree and the River by Aaron Becker.

On the blog it shares a picture of the book Journey by Aaron Becker with this charming paragraph, "This trilogy of wordless picture books is amazingly gorgeous and is an absolute must read. Using a red crayon, a girl draws a red door on the wall of her room and enters into a parallel world where adventures with flying carpets, evil rulers, airships, and daring escapes await." Source: https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/wordless-picture-books/

https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/reading-bingo-for-kids/

https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/tips-for-reading-wordless-picture-books/

National Geographic Kits

 We have found the most informative four kits, thanks to our local Michaels store and used them. Some were more challenging then others, however we had fun. The kaleidoscope was a true favoueite, it was the easiest. The Geodes were very difficult to open even with dad's strength. We actually ended up smashing it outside on a concrete block and it still posed challenges. The volcano kit was a disaster, the mould broke apart on the sides and it simply did not work, luckily we had our original one we got from mastermind toys.