A PROGRAM SESSION REFLECTION
SESSION 10
REWIND
In this session our theme was Culture. In this theme, Warriors have partaken in celebration of the characteristics and knowledge of groups of people encompassing differences and similarities. Activities were focused on these topics suggested by the Warriors/staff and volunteers: family traditions, ancestry, food, dance, art, race, disability, music, language, sports, and Disney.
A Look Back
Summary of Session #10 [Fall Semester 1]
We kicked off our first session of the Fall semester with activities that will focus on the Warrior voted theme, Culture. We define culture as a celebration of characteristics and knowledge of groups of people encompassing similarities and differences. For the next six-weeks we will explore culture specific to below categories:
– Entertainment culture
– International Club
– Farming & Growing Culture
– Cooking & Culture
– Flag Culture
– Disability Culture
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Warriors enrolled in on-site programs will participate in at least two of the above activities per day. Each activity is carefully planned by our program leaders and takes place for about one hour. After each activity the Warriors discuss their learning and reflect on their activity for that day. At the end of each week the Warriors will select the next country to explore and the program team will update their activities to focus on the newest country. In our first week of the session each activity focused on early American culture and much of the focus was on the Native American culture.
Each activity embraced the early American culture through exploring past contributions made by different groups of people especially the Native Americans. In cooking & culture Warriors learned about the major crops the Native Americans depended on for food. International Club also discussed Native American Culture and made dream catchers. Farming and Growing visited the KO farm and discussed the history of carrots and how they came to America. Flag culture talked about the earliest versions of the American flag as well as the hybrid versions of the flags that represent different cultures and groups of people. Lastly, in disability culture Warriors discussed the early and existing beliefs that gave way to form a strong disability culture in America.
Please check out the goals for each program and how OK is committed to carry out our OK mission VIEWS.
Voice
Discover & amplify the voice of each Warrior
Social
Foster growth & development of healthy relationships & social connections
Experience
Explore the experiences of life without boundaries
Wellness
Commit to building total wellness in mind, body and spirit
Interdependence
Establish presence and connection of Warrior to community and community to Warrior
ENTERTAINMENT CULTURE
Entertainment Culture Highlights
We will explore the history, compare American cartoons to other cartoons around the world, and make our own cartoons.
PEER-LED
Ryan and Casey presented what that they learned about cartoons. Including information about cartoons in different countries
IMAGINATION
Andrew said that we talked about the cave where buffalos have 8 legs (cave drawings were the earliest type of cartoons
FANTASMAGORIE
Madeleine – learned about black and white cartoons; Fantasmagorie
THAUMATOPES
The group made an early type of cartoon of their own called thaumatropes. Then we made our own!
INTERNATIONAL CLUB
International Club Highlights
International Club explores the world by discussing and learning about a new country each week.
Each country we explore is chosen by the Warriors.
TEAMWORK
Karisa and Max filled out a worksheet about the United States of America and brainstormed interesting facts about the American culture
DREAMCATCHER
They made dream catchers in remembrance of Native Americans early culture. Native Americans was the first culture in America
LANGUAGE & CULTURE
Katrina discussed American culture, food, and languages such as English, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, French
FARMING & GROWING CULTURE
Farming & Growing Culture Highlights
On the Knockout Farm, we will seed and maintain our crops under the direction of our Farm coordinator Aniki. Warriors will learn about farming and growing food from seed to hand to plate.
DUTCH GROWERS
Warrior Alex shared knowledge about the Dutch people and how they cultivated orange carrots in America
PLANTING SEEDS
Warrior Casey planted carrot seeds for the first time and Warrior Ryan sewed her first seeds of bok choy
FIRST TASTE
Warrior Andrew talked about different carrots. Orange ones have fiber and Vitamin A. A few of the Warriors even tried carrots for the first time!
COOKING & CULTURE
Cooking & Culture Highlights
Cooking and Culture activity will incorporate the food from the weekly Warrior selected country. We will discuss each country and identify important foods and talk about why these foods are important.
We will make and taste foods and traditions common in these countries.
PEER LED
Warrior Karisa shared her knowledge about John Locke, and the Navajo
POCAHONTAS
Max talked about Pocahontas, corn, and Native American languages
TRADITIONAL COOKING
We made stove popcorn! Who needs a microwave.
CORN
We learned about how the Native Americans grew corn
FLAGS & CULTURE
Flags & Culture Highlights
Flags are an important identifier of culture. In Flags & Culture, we will look at different flags around the world and their history of how they came to be. We will also explore other versions of flags for each country. At the end of our discussions, Warriors will have the option to create the country’s flag and also make their own version of the country’s flags.
OLD GLORY
We made flags and learned about the origins of the American flag. The American flag has 13 stripes, 50 stars represent 50 states.
CREATIVE COUNTRY
Warriors made their own flags. Derec’s flag had blue stars, with red, green, and orange.
GIRL POWER
Karisa learned about flags and then made a ‘Girl-Power flag’.
FUN FLAG FACT
Never throw an American flag away, light it on fire. Stars mean the 50 states, stripes are original colonies.
DISABILITY CULTURE
Disability Culture Highlights
The Disability Culture enriched our reinforced our shared belief that people with disabilities have a unique and valuable culture that should be celebrated.
We studied disability advocates, artists, and other important people that have helped shape what disability culture is today.
AWESOME ABILITIES
We witnessed a painting from memory watched a Finnish Sign Rapper. We watched and discussed a singing performance by a young girl with Down Syndrome sang at the White Sox Game
DIFFERENT ABILITIES
We talked about disabilities, like Down Syndrome, Sign Language