Monta Loma students get colorful for Mexican day of independence Monta Loma students get colorful for Mexican day of independence (September 23, 2005)

By Katie Vaughn

Decked with Mexican flags and colorful signs, the room stood eerily still in the moments before the kids arrived. Then came the rumble of footsteps, followed by high-pitched voices. Finally, the students began filing in and the fiesta could begin.

Sporting enormous, brightly colored paper hats and big smiles, the 80 kindergarteners of Monta Loma Elementary School marched into the multi-purpose room Sept. 16 to celebrate Mexico's most important holiday -- the country's independence day. Once inside, they immediately found a spot at one of the eight long cafeteria tables and got to work decorating their hats with markers and making paper puppets of Mexican boys and girls. Most worked diligently, but a few abandoned their projects to dance when teacher Anita Brown put on some Mexican music.

Brown said she and the other three kindergarten teachers spent the week teaching students about Mexico, its culture and its independence day. The party, she said, was a fun way to honor the holiday and reward students for their hard work.

"We have been building up to it this week through our curriculum," Brown said. "This is the culmination of the week's study."

Principal Linda Haines said many Monta Loma students are of Hispanic descent.

"It's a great unifying activity," she said. "It's important for students to see a piece of their identity."

Haines added that the school honors the holidays of many different ethnicities throughout the year, and Brown said children of all backgrounds enthusiastically took part in the Mexican celebration.

Several students dressed up for the fiesta by wearing red and green, the colors of the Mexican flag. Emily, a kindergartener wearing a white dress, said her mother put special ribbons in her pigtails for the occasion.

But nearly all seemed to enjoy working on the sombreros. A boy named Corey decorated his red hat with his name and drawings of a person, flower and tree in dark marker, while his classmate Adriana used a variety of colors to apply scribbles onto every surface of her headpiece.

An additional activity at the fiesta was a taste test that cleverly incorporated mathematics into the festivities. Students sampled bean dip, nacho cheese and salsa with tortilla chips, then tallied up who liked which topping best.

Friends Alex and Matthew discussed their favorites while balancing flimsy white paper plates. "I like the spicy stuff," Alex said, while his buddy preferred the nacho cheese. But which claimed the prize as the kindergarten favorite?

"It was, hands down, the nacho cheese," Brown said.

After decorating and taste-testing, students took turns trying to break open two pinatas stuffed with candy. Brown said this final activity was likely the most memorable part of the celebration for the kids.

The event was such a hit that Brown plans to extend the program next year to include more classes. Kids learned about Mexican culture and experienced a bit of it firsthand. All in all, it was a success, Brown said.

"The teachers are exhausted, but the kids had a great time."

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