Beyond Cartoons and Candy: What We Learned about Piñatas

Conventional wisdom tells us that piñatas are to be heartily smashed for the sake of candy and plunder. Teacher Diana taught us much more about the wholesome origins of our beloved piñatas. It turns out the piñata was originally meant to be a physical representation of the seven cardinal sins; the smashing of the piñata was a symbolic rite to cast away one’s sins. To follow the pure tradition of the piñata, we crafted fantastic piñatas of our own at ImpACT! Though it was quite the viscous mess, we certainly had fun crafting our own piñatas. During the following week, we proceeded to eviscerate our fine work with much gusto. We played challenging review games for the chance to swing at our piñatas. When all was said and done, the floors of ImpACT were littered with candy, joy, and knowledge!

Recycle. Reuse. Reduce.

January brings a new year, resolutions, and in ImpACT, the Story of Stuff. What is the Story of Stuff you might ask? Well, it is a class about how natural resources get transformed into consumer products, where plastics and paper come from, and how we can generally reduce the trash we create. We spent two weeks in January learning about how things get manufactured and recycled. By the end of the class the students were not only able to sort out piles of paper, plastic and trash into its respective place but they were also able to explain what natural resources make the things we use every day. The second week of this unit highlighted different types of energy and water conservation. But the best part of this unit was making our own recycled paper. We put different pieces of scratch paper and newspapers in a blender, added water, and voila! Minutes later after using a screen to drain the water we made our own recycled paper! No need to buy paper from Office Depot Mom! I can make my own!

Joyland Christmas Celebration!

Lights! Camera! And action! This Christmas season, we participated in the much anticipated Joyland Christmas Celebration (JCC), an annual production put on by ImpACT and Joyland (the children’s ministry at Gracepoint Church) to share the meaning of Christmas with others. Over 20 students were able to participate in JCC and after braving the long practices, sudden script changes and…slight technical difficulties, we were able to put on one of the most exciting and festive JCCs ever! This year’s 2nd and 3rd grade skit included a series of engaging vignettes, classic Christmas carols and a fantastic finale medley to portray the Christmas story. As JCC approached, the children prepared by memorizing their lines, practicing the selected carols, and working with their teachers and team leads to bring out their latent acting potential. These long day practices not only gave the teachers and team leads time to bond with their students, but also gave students time to bond with each other through costume fittings, practice rehearsals, and of course most importantly—the snack times. At the same time, other teachers and volunteers were hard at work to transform Willard auditorium from an everyday school auditorium into a brilliantly propped stage complete with a cozy fireplace and decked out Christmas tree. Finally, the day of JCC arrived. Excitement was definitely in the air as our students got dressed in their costumes and waited backstage for their cue. The house lights dimmed. The music came on. And soon, the auditorium was filled with our children singing, acting, and dancing. When the house lights came on, it was rewarding to see so many friends and family attend JCC. Overall, the students had fun portraying the meaning of Christmas through their skit and we know that all that hard work, sweat, and occasional tears in preparation for JCC was well worth it!