Loteria
game is a traditional game from Mexico that is very similar to bingo. Instead
of using numbers on ping pong balls, there are different images on a deck of
cards. Each student has a card with a grid of pictures that corresponds to
the images in the deck of cards. There are four pictures across and four
pictures down on the students' grid cards. Teachers draw an image randomly
from the deck of cards and call out the name in Spanish. Students match the
name of the image called out by placing a marker on their picture grid. When
a student has four images in a square, horizontal, vertical or diagonal role,
he wins and shouts out "loteria!"
| Futbol (soccer) |
Soccer, or futbol, is the most popular sport in Mexico. Divide your class
into two teams and teach the students the rules of soccer. You can play
soccer with as few as three kids per side, but the standard rules are 11
children per team. Teach kids to dribble, pass and master
the art of soccer. Students can compete in a friendly game that is
the national pastime of Mexico.
Papel Picado
Spanish for cut paper, is a typical Mexican craft that appears
throughout the country during festivals and fiestas. It involves
cutting out intricate patterns in colored tissue paper and stringing up the
sheets to decorate your home or garden. |
| The
tradition of papel picado can be traced to the indigenous cultures of
Mesoamerica, who cut images of deities into their homemade bark paper, also
known as Papel Amate. The indigenous Otomi continue this
tradition with bark paper today. The village of San
Pabilto in the state of Puebla is especially famous for bark
paper cutouts. In the rest of the country, plastic or tissue paper are
the most common materials for making papel picado. |
| San
Salvado Huixcolotla in the state of Puebla is where you can find the best and
most elaborate papel picado made from tissue paper. |
| Materials needed: |
| Tissue
Paper |
| Scissors |
| Elmer’s
Glue |
| String |
| Instructions: |
| To make
your own papel picado, buy sheets of tissue paper in several different
colors. Papel picado can vary greatly in size, but a good size to start
with is an 11 inch by 16 inch sheet. |
| Take
your tissue paper and place it horizontally on the table. Next, take
the bottom edge of the paper of the paper and fold it about an inch up.
Next, continue to fold the paper as if you were making an accordion until you
can’t fold the paper anymore. |
Now,
take your scissors and cut different designs along the folded edge of the
paper. Make sure not to cut on the sharp edge of the paper that hasn’t
been folded. Open you paper to see your design!
| Mexican
Mask |
The use
of mask in Mexico dates back to pre-Hispanic times. Masks representing
animals were commonly used in ritual dances throughout Mexico and
Mesoamerica. With the arrival of the Spanish, new customs and
traditions mixed with indigenous ones to create a diverse world of culture,
dance and ritual. Mexican masks are made of anything from coconut
shells, to carved wood, to dried, baked clay. We used Plastic Half masks and used sharpies on them. Then glued feathers, jewels and other bling-bling to them!
| Pull String Pinata |
| Make a
paper bag pinata for your next fiesta party. It's easy and of course lots of
fun to play at your party. This version uses a "pull string" to get
the candy and treats from the bag so nobody gets whacked with a stick trying
to break open the pinata. |
| Materials |
| Brown
paper bag |
| Tissue
Paper |
| Ribbon
or String |
| Craft
Glue |
| Stapler |
| Small
toys, candy and wrapped treats. |
| Make the
Pull String |
| Carefully
cut a section from the bottom of the paper bag, leaving at least 2 inches of
the bottom intact. Cut a 48-inch piece of string or sturdy ribbon and place
the center inside the hold. Glue on a layer of tissue paper to fit the bottom
of the bag, taking care to leave the ends of string free but glued onto the
bottom. Glue on several more layers of tissue to the bottom of the bag to
create a new bag bottom. This will make a quick-release rippable pinata
bottom that you can use for the game instead of breaking open the pinata with
a stick. |
| Fill the
Pinata Body |
| Cut
pieces of colorful tissue paper into strips and shapes about 6 inches long.
Slightly scrunch these pieces and use as confetti-type filling in a layer at
the bottom of the bag. You can also add glitter confetti and ribbons to the
mixture. |
| Add a
layer of toys, treats or candy, then another layer of confetti filling. |
| Alternate
confetti and toys layers until the bag is almost full. Don't pack down too
much as you fill the pinata. Keep it light and fluffy. |
| Add a
Hanging Cord |
| Staple a
length of string or sturdy ribbon into the top of the bag, then fold over
slightly and staple the top of the bag closed. This will be the hanging cord
for the pinata. |
| Decorate
the Pinata |
| Separate
different colored tissue paper pieces into 4 sheet stacks, keeping layers
folded the same way as they came in the package, or fold into thirds the long
way. |
| Cut
through the folded layers to make strips of tissue paper about 6 inches deep,
then cut 4-inch slits about 3 inches apart all along the long edges - you're
creating "fringe" from each of the bands of tissue paper. Separate
the fringe bands carefully. |
| When
you've finished making the fringe, glue the bands around the bag, starting at
the bottom and working upward in layers, leaving the fringe parts free. |
| Alternate
colors and continue working your way around the bag and up to the top. Finish
off by stapling a fringe section over the top of the bag, working around the
hanging cord. Glue any other paper streamers or decorations you like to the
outside of the pinata bag. |
| When all
the glue is dry, hang the pinata from a tree branch or doorway and prepare
children for the pinata game. |
Paper
Flowers |
To make
Mexican paper flowers, layer several colors of paper on top of each other,
fold the entire stack in a fan fold, attach them to a wire pip cleaner, and
fan out the petals into a nice shape.
Ojo De Dias aka "God's Eye"
| A craft
from the Huichol tribe of Mexico, kids can easily create many of these
colorful God's Eyes with Popsicle sticks and yarn. |
| What
you'll need: |
|
String
or yarn in several colors
|
| 2
Popsicle or craft sticks |
| Glue |
| Scissors |
|
How to make it: |
| 1. Glue
the two craft sticks together in a cross. |
| 2. Take
one color of yarn and wrap it over and around one stick, then over and around
the next, over and around the next, and so |
| on. Keep
doing that until the color is used up. |
| 3. Tie a
different color string onto the old one with |
| a tight
knot. |
| 4.
Repeat steps 2 + 3 until complete. |
5. Take
a piece of string for a hanger, cut it, and tie or glue it to your God's Eye.
Hang it up in your room to enjoy.
We bought small wooden plain maracas for them to 'sharpie' decorate.
We cut out of donated fabric ponchos and let then 'sharpie' decorate them too.
We also took time have them to KP duty in the kitchen and rest more than one SEISTAS for rest!
I made sure to have rainy day games in case we got rained out we did not thank goodness!!
| Benito
Juarez Says |
| How To
Play: |
| Before
playing explain to the children that Benito Juarez, a Zapotec Indian, was
born and raised in extreme poverty. With hard work, determination, and strong
love for his country, Juarez became the president of Mexico and defeated the
French, who had occupied the country for five years. |
| Played
similar to Simon Says. The player up is "Benito Juarez". Player
will say "Benito Juarez says hop on one foot". The children will
hop on one foot. Player will say "Stop". The children are to keep
hopping on one foot until player says "Benito Juarez says stop".
Repeat for additional activities such as take one baby step forward, step
backwards, turn around, sit down. Sometimes Benito Juarez will say
"Benito Juarez says" and sometimes he won't. It's a fun game to
play with young children. |
| Remember,
most games can be adapted to all ages of children with a bit of creative
thinking. Also, if you choose to play a game that requires teams and you have
an odd number of children, one person will need to go twice. Ask for a
volunteer and if one doesn't surface you might want to leave it up to the
team to choose who they think will be the fastest. |
|
| Pass The
Chili Pepper |
| Supplies: |
| Pillow
chili pepper for each team. |
| How To
Play: |
| Children
divide into two teams. Give each team a chili pepper pillow the size of an
orange. On your mark, the first child puts the pillow between their chin and
neck and passes it to the next player. Here's the catch, players may only use
their heads to pass (no hands or teeth allowed). The process continues to the
last person in line and then reverses sending the pillow back to the first
player in line. The first team to complete the game wins. |
|
| La
Gallinita Ciega (The Blind Hen) |
La
Gallinita Ciega (The Blind Hen) is a game of tag that is played by children
in Mexico. Three or more children are needed to play this game. Choose one
child and cover her eyes so she cannot see, which makes her the blind hen.
Spin her around and set her loose. The other children call out to the blind
hen by saying things such as, "Come and get me." The object of the
game is for the blind hen to find all the other children and tag them while
she is unable to see. There are no time restrictions; the game is finished
when the children no longer want to play.
Overall it was brilliant and all the planning played out so I was happy and tired afterward...
aMiE |
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