Language Skits

On the Friday before the program closed, the kids all performed skits that they had written in Shoshoni. It was a little bitter sweet for me as I was so proud of how they had grown and grown together, but sad to know that they would all be going separate ways shortly. The kids did a great job as they performed and spoke their language. Way to go for all that you have accomplished in the last 6 weeks.

Because my sadness has to be covered up in form of explanation

Last Monday. . . ? or maybe we can say the Most enjoyable Monday in History. Cause it is isn't it?  Just the realization that it is in fact the "Most enjoyable Monday in History" takes the everyday stress of having to go through the motions and just makes everyone get a jolt of adrenaline throughout their body and smile. With this "Most enjoyable Monday in History" i think everyone will be happy and let it carry throughout this entire week of "most enjoyables" haha! 

This program is something to change your life and outlook on MANY aspects of life.  It helped me appreciate things at home and things in life.  We had the basic culture of native life intertwined with everyday pop culture and 'doings' haha for lack of better words.

I wish everyone the best of weeks! 

Happy "most enjoyable Mondays in History"

Storybooks

Thanks for your great post Karen! The books are coming along very nicely. Boyd and Brian are working hard with the SYLAPer's on the translations, and the artwork is amazing. Here are some more pictures...

Creating Storybooks from Shoshoni Legends

The students in SYLAP have been working on an amazing project. They listened to recording of Shoshoni legends that were recorded some years ago by Wick Miller. They worked with the texts of the stories and then compared the different versions to come up with a simplified version that could be turned into a storybook for children. They are creating the text for the books and all of the artwork. I am so proud of how they are progressing with this project. We had a nice discussion about the legends and what things needed to be included in the books. In the future, I would like to use these books as language learning tools for young learners to learn both language and some culture. This is a great community building activity because it connects these students with the past and with the future. I just know that the little children will love the stories and they will be 'cool' because of who made them. Here are some of the kids working on their illustrations.
I took my kids up there for a couple of days this week with me. My son Colby learned a lot about some things being done for school curriculum on Native Americans, and both kids heard all of the legends with the pictures. My daughter Sierra especially liked this and listened to all of the stories more than once. She learned how to say thank you in Shoshoni and has been using that. It has been fun to see the teenagers get excited about the project and share their work with my kids. My kids also went home and shared the stories with some friends and family. The kids have used a variety of mediums to create the artwork and they are all very talented.

basket making with Melanie!

Pictures of learning to make willow branch baskets with Melanie Smokey!