Recently my son’s school went for a cultural day with some local Elders.
The day began with a Welcome to Country.
The children broke into smaller groups and some went for a rainforest walk to learn about the plants.
It rained on the way so some of the students made hats out of leaves.
The children learnt about weaving. They had to watch carefully.
Some made a very good attempt at it. A few managed, with some assistance, to nearly finish small baskets.
Then a yummy damper, made by the Elders for lunch, was enjoyed by all. It was topped with syrup.
Every single piece went.
The children shared their fruit with the Elders and also teacher aides made the Elder’s warm cuppas as they worked with the children.
Reciprocity is important!
The children attempted to make smoke, traditional style, and mainly made their hands warm! No chance of any fire in the forest. Lots of rain around too.
The children did some painting on bark and paper. One of the teacher aides put a dot for every child who came on the excursion onto some bark.
She hopes this event happens with even more organisation and participation from community next year.
On the way home we all visited the information centre to view some artifacts. We had to go in, in small groups as it was a small building.
There were some examples of baskets and shields within.
The day ended with a bus trip back to school and time for everyone to reflect on what they had learnt.
A slide show of the trip was shared at school that evening.
A copy of all the photographs, including some not featured here or on the public flickr link is with the school
and parents can ask for them care of the school.
You can see more pictures here at: Murray Upper Culture Day
Gumboootspearlz 
What an amazing memory for them. My son went on a weekend camp with Maori elders and has never forgotten it.
LikeLike
Thanks Gail, yes these are very special learning experiences. I remember visiting a Maori meeting house when visiting my grandfather in New Zealand and going back there a few years later on a research trip and visiting a carver. It was a special time.
LikeLike
What a great hands on way to learn. Should be a program in every school across the country.
LikeLike
I think a lot of schools are doing this, but I agree it would make a big difference to people’s understanding of local Indigenous culture.
LikeLike