I shared Baby Learns About Time with 3- to 5-year-olds
at a Flagstaff Public Library story time. I read the English text,
and a Navajo reader read the Navajo text. The children (and parents)
were mesmerized by the Navajo reading.
After the reading, I led a coloring activity about time. I spread
out crayons and gave each child a piece of drawing paper with
a sun stamped on one side and a moon on the other, and I asked
them to draw something they do during the day and something they
do at night on the respective sides of the paper. The Navajo reader
participated in the coloring activity, giving the children (who
don't interact with Navajo people in their daily lives) the opportunity
to interact with him casually.
Some children found their picture ideas after helpful questions.
("What do you do when the sun's out? Do you play with your
friends?") Some seized the opportunity to let their creativity
fly.
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