On Tuesday, Kingston's mommy, La Nina, joined the Yellow Roomers to share her family's tradition of celebrating Kwanzaa.  This holiday is an annual, week-long (December 26th-January 1st) celebration honoring African American heritage, community, and culture as well as a reaffirmation of African roots and identity culminating in a communal feast called Karamu.    

The name, Kwanzaa, comes from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza which means "first fruits" and draws its inspiration from traditional African harvest festivals.   

Kwanzaa focuses on seven core principles, the Nguzo Saba, which promote unity and community within the African American population. Each day of Kwanzaa highlights one of the  principles listed below: 

La Nina read The Night Before Kwanzaa by Natasha Wing and Kirsti Jewel. This book explains the traditions of Kwanzaa through the story of a young boy and his family who are celebrating the holiday (which covers the seven principles known as Nguzo Saba and the lighting of the kinara.) 

La Nina brought her daughter's African drum to the class. Kingston drummed along to the song, Kwanzaa Celebration, as the Yellow Roomers danced to its rhythmic beat!

As an art project, the Yellow Roomers used the collage technique to create unique Unity Cups. Each of the children glued a variety of black, yellow, red, and green paper pieces onto a brown construction paper cutout of a Unity Cup.