HESC 2019 Journey

Another year, another opportunity to educate about the Hmong Language, Literacy, and History!

​FIRST WEEK
​Theme: Being Kind "Kev Ua Zoo"

Hmong Enrichment Summer Camp started on June 10th, 2019. It was great to see familiar and new faces! First week was all about instructors getting to know their students, educating on what it means to be kind, and pre-testing. We ended the first week with a program-wide activity of tie dyeing shirts. In addition, Miss Hmong California Mina Her also participated in this activity. We are looking forward to a summer full of fun and learning.

​SECOND WEEK
Theme: My Identity "Kuv Yog Leej Twg"

Identity is who you are. Whether you’re using physical features, personalities, nationalities, roles in the family or core values, what specifically defines you? 
For our students to find value in learning, first, we must start with their identity. Aside from teaching the Hmong Language and Literacy, this week, instructors also focused on the theme My Identity “Kuv Yog Leej Twg”. Some activities that instructors facilitated to help get our students thinking about their identity were reading, painting, drawing, writing poems, watching videos, and show and tell. For example, primary students read Finding Me, which is about a little girl searching for her identity and did self-portrait paintings. In regards to intermediate classes, they talked about what their Hmong name represented and their family’s Hmong clothes. Apart from this week’s theme, on June 24th, 2019, we had a special visit from Dr. Poge Her. In addtion, throughout the week our students experienced hands-on activities such as making ice cream, building a Hmong house out of flour, and line dancing. There are always plenty of fun activities to look forward to every week! 

THIRD WEEK
Theme: My Family "Kuv Tsev Neeg"

A family is a group of people united by blood, adoption, or the same interests. For this week’s theme, instructors read Tsev Neeg Uas Kuv Hlub by See Lor which illustrated the relationships of family members from a girl’s point of view. For example, in Hmong, a girl would call her older brother nus hlob and her younger sister niam hluas. Adding on, they made family trees to better understand and visualize the connections in their family. 
For Science, primary students are learning about the animals and plants that live in the Sacramento River. They drew animals such as the "ntshuab", "qab", "cw", and "ntses". This is in preparation for their field trip to the Sacramento Hornblower Cruise where they will actually get to see a real "dej ntws" river, "tsiaj" animal, and "nroj tsuag" plants. Intermediate students are introduced to structure and foundation of a traditional "tsev Hmoob" Hmong house. After learning the terms and meanings behind the structures, they designed and created the foundation of the "tsev Hmoob" with various materials-craft sticks, dough, and paper. This project will build up to a bigger project! Wait and see what they will do!
During recess, our primary and 4th graders had fun playing competitive team sports like soccer-their favorite! They love socializing with their friends they'd just met this summer or with their cousins. 
In Enrichment, students are always challenged with the skills that their Enrichment instructor taught them. Our 7th and 8th graders are sewing their "paj ntaub" piece with so much concentration while our 6th graders are practicing their Hmong dance! Furthermore, the primary classes also did cool enrichment activities such as glue yarn ball, creating beaded bracelets, and making parfaits. 

​FOURTH WEEK
Theme: Hmong Clothes "Khaub Ncaws Hmoob"

What a fun week! For this week’s theme, instructors taught their students about the Hmong patterns, the meaning behind Hmong story cloths, clothes, and hats. Moreover, classes also made their own paj ntaub or story cloth out of yarn and paper. On top of that, on Tuesday everyone dressed up in their beautiful Hmong clothes and on Thursday each class prepared their own Hmong dish. Kindergarten had dib nrog mov, nqaij, thiab kua txob, 1st grade had dib nrog tsev thiab kua txob, 2nd grade had kua txob thiab ntsuag, 3rd grade had dib kaus, 4th grade had qaib laj, 5th grade had qaib vom tsaus tshuaj, 6th grade had txiv lwb tuav, and lastly 7th/8th grade had pob kws hau.
In the morning when learning Hmong phonics, the primary classes enjoy singing the sounds of the Tsiaj Ntawv Txiv while incorporating hand movements to help them remember the sounds of the Tsiaj Ntawv Niam and cov Cim. In addition, they also work on blending and creating words by using flip books and using the guide C+V+T= word. As for intermediate classes, they played group games such as jeopardy and spelling words. For those who are a little more advanced, they worked on reading and Q and A worksheets.
For P.E., it is always fun! Xib Fwb Pheej keeps the students entertained by doing relay games and playing sports! On Monday, the kindergartens experienced carrying two buckets of water with a foam noodle on their shoulders! They were so adorable trying to keep their balance. Other primary and intermediate students also had a relay run with the foam noodles, played cops and robbers and practiced bowling for their field trip next week!
During enrichment, kindergartens planted flower seeds into their own little cup. They learned about the necessities such as soil, seeds, and water that creates spring(caij ntuj nplooj ntoos hlav). Moving on, third grade created little puppets and put on a puppet show with Xib Fwb Yaaj. For fourth grade, they had a great time singing the Tij Laug Xab song with Xib Fwb Jerry while fifth grade got into their creative writing mode and wrote poems and raps with Xib Fwb Leej. 

FIFTH WEEK
Theme: Hmong New Year "Noj Peb Caug"

SIXTH WEEK
Theme: Nas Ej Phaj Ej Hmoob