Everyone was awake before I left for work:
I carpooled in the morning so Joe could have the car. It is one of my favorite days of the entire year. My students have been studying about India (counting in Hindi, greeting each day with “Namaste”, labeling maps, reading about Gandhi & Mother Teresa, etc.)
I have a table set up with artifacts that enhance our learning. All of this culminates in a school-wide, multicultural day celebration. The last couple years I have been teaching my students some of the dance steps to “Jai Ho” (the song from Slumdog Millionaire) and this year they were so synchronized:
Parents come out and this year many students had outfits to wear. One student had a grandmother who made her a dress from looking at a picture in one of our books.
I even had a parent who found some clothes in her garage from when she was younger and so I dressed up. I am posing with my student who earlier in the week won the oratory contest at school for her recitation of part of a Maya Angelou poem. This is the first part of the day, and then the students are treated to an Indian meal which Joe usually picks up for me and brings to school with children in tow. We enjoy rice, curry, naan bread, chutney, samosas, and mango juice. It is exhausting but so worth the effort. On the way home, little ones fell asleep and had a late nap. Dinner was celebrated with classmates who are  all officially done with the purple side at Isabel. He is moving to the school age side in the fall. There was an amazing slide show and plenty of play time after eating.
There is my guy who is insisting he doesn’t need any help and has a look that disdains my even asking. I can’t believe he is already five. Where has the time gone??