Week #7 Gus' class learns about "B" and Bogolan cloth

Gus and his classmates in the pre-kindergarten room have busy days. With just 4 hours of class each day, they spend lots time outside riding bikes, playing on the swingset and visiting the three tortoises that live on the playground before they get down to the business of learning about letters and their "specials". Already they have PE class (or BG class as Gus used to call it) twice/week, music class twice/week, computer class once/week and, of course, a weekly visit to the library. Gus explained to us that BG was the class where you throw balls up in the air. The "specials" are all on the elementary school campus so he gets to see Jenna sometimes too. Randy says one of the great benefits of this job is getting to see the kids as they move through the campus during the day.

Every week Gus' class structures a lot of their learning and activities around the letter of the week. For A, they visited the Airport and got to talk with some pilots and check out a plane. At the end of last week, B week, they had a Bogolan cloth artisan come in and show the kids how this special Malian craft is made. Some of you may know this types of cloth as mud cloth.

The traditional method of creating Bogolan begins with processing and weaving 12 cm. plain white cloth strips. These strips are dyed with a brown solution made from Bougalan tree leaves which turns the cloth yellow. The paint used on these cloths is actually mud collected from the deepest sections of ponds. After being collected, the mud ferments in a covered pot for about a year and turns to a deep black color. The designs are drawn on the cloth section with the mud using various width spatulas made of small pieces of Bamboo and flat metal. The cloth is exposed to intense sunlight for a week until the desired whiteness is reached. In normal practice the designs, patterns and motifs have clearly defined names or meanings. Traditionally certain patterns were used to protect women from hostile spiritual forces during transition into adulthood. Other motifs protected women from harm when confronting and killing powerful animals.

The traditional process was simplified for the 3 and 4 year old with the use of stencils and a shortened time for sunlight. But the results were great and Gus is very proud of his masterpiece - soon to be hanging above his bed.

There was talk of bringing a Camel to visit the class for C but looks like it may not work out this time. D for dromedary perhaps?