November is Native American Heritage Month. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the diverse histories, traditions, and cultures of the Native people. Playing tribute to rich ancestry through reading stories is great way to honor the people.
The book Fry Bread written by Kevin Noble Maillard, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal is a story about family, history, culture, and traditions, new and old.
Fry bread is food.
It is warm and delicious, piled high on a plate.
Fry bread is time.
It brings families together for meals and new memories.
Fry bread is nation.
It is shared by many, from coast to coast and beyond.
Fry bread is us.
It is a celebration of old and new, traditional and modern, similarity and difference.
Play-dough is a staple in early childhood. It is a powerful way to let a child use their imagination, strengthen the small muscles in their fingers, and encourage a child's language + literacy, science, math and sensory skills. It is quite possibly one of most powerful props for learning. After reading the story you can invite the child to create their own fry bread with play dough, Textured Rolling Pins, Wooden Sculpting Tools, Baskets, and a frying pan just like the story. Since children learn and retain information through their senses integrating a sensory material to represent a big part of their will deepen their comprehension and connection to the concepts of the story.
The book also has the recipe to make real fry bread!
