A Cultural Collection
Create a personal collection of cultural memorabilia

Introduction
In the Maya & Miguel episode “Family Time,” Maya notices that everyone in her family is overworked, overtired and overstressed, so she and Miguel plan a camping trip to a state park. But when they arrive at their campsite, the kids have forgotten some essentials, and rain, wildlife and a capsized boat threaten to make their escape a disaster. In the end, however, la familia Santos discovers the only thing they really need is time together.

In this activity, native cultural memorabilia will be collected and recorded. Time with family will be encouraged. English, Spanish or your own native language vocabulary will be used to express understanding, thoughts and ideas about native cultural traditions and customs.

Materials:

• cultural objects (family memorabilia)
• record or log book
• photo album

Directions: Start a Cultural Collection!
Encourage your child to spend time with family members and to become more aware of how much older generations have to offer about family history and cultural uniqueness. Use these ideas to start a collection of cultural items:

• Collect cultural memorabilia, including books, pictures, toys, fabric, clothing articles, musical instruments and art.
• Organize objects on a display shelf.
• Help your child keep a record with descriptions, stories and thoughts about objects.
• Encourage your child to share his/her cultural collection in spoken English and Spanish, or your own native language, with family and friends as often as possible.

Talk About It: Answer questions your child might have about his/her own native culture. Ask your child to share thoughts about friends from other “different” cultures.

Take It Further: Use these ideas to learn more about other cultures!

• Attend local cultural events and encourage your child to participate in traditional games, song and dance, arts and crafts.
• Visit the library to discover local, national and world figures that represent positive cultural and multicultural role models.

With a Group: Cultural Show and Tell!

• Invite children to bring something culturally special from home to display and share with the group like a family recipe, musical instrument, clothing, art, tools or photos.
• Using a map or globe to talk about all areas of the world represented by each child’s contribution to the display.