It's Field Trip Friday again! We headed out early this morning to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. We were looking to learn more about Native American art, food, dance and presence in New Mexico.I love the quotes we've found on our outings the last two weeks.
We got lucky and made our visit during American Indian Week which meant we got to see this Zuni dancer along with his wife, who is a Native American flautist and singer.
Madelyn and Chloe joined the circle dance. Madelyn is holding the dancer's hand and Chloe is on the left. 
I've been thinking since we left about how children learn about culture. I work hard to choose books that I feel are authentic, accurate portrayals of our learning objective, in this case, Native Americans in New Mexico. We went to the museum today to see and feel culture (art, food, religion, history, etc.) But it wasn't until Madelyn was holding hands with that Zuni dancer did she 'get it'. She needed a person to relate to, to serve as an example, to make it real and give her experiences context. I'm so thankful to not only be able to give our children these experiences but also to share them together as a family so that we all grow and learn. Oh, and the girls took their arts and crafts class today too!
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