The Infant and Primary Departments hosted some “Loy Krathong” activities on the 14th of November this year with the aim of promulgating knowledge about the long-established Thai tradition of Loy Krathong , Thai traditional amusement games and how to create “krathongs” or lotus-shaped vessels made of banana leaves. These activities were also intended to raise pupils’ awareness of the usefulness of water and to give them a chance to ask for the water-goddess Ganga’s forgiveness.
- Primary Department: There was a video clip presentation about the history of Loy Krathong. Then the teachers demonstrated to the pupils how to create krathongs using natural materials such as cassava, banana trees and fruits. Foreign and Thai teachers also joined one another in traditional Thai dance. In addition to these activities, a quiz game was held for senior primary students, who participated to win prizes, and a student representative read to other students an article on the history of Loy Krathong Day.
- Infant Department: The parents of year 2 kindergartners joined the activities and games alongside their kids and, as mentors positioned at the activity bases below , provided them with some knowledge relevant to each base.
1) Creating Krathong Base - Teachers, parents and kids helped one another create krathongs , learned how to fold banana leaves, how to pin the folded banana leaves to their positions and how to beautifully arrange flowers of various types in their krathongs.
2) Traditional Thai Folk Amusement Game Base - The children learned about various traditional Thai folk amusement games such as “Mah Khan Kluay” or banana rib (stalk?) hobbyhorse riding, “Puen Khan Kluay” or banana rib musketeer, “Mon Son Pha” or hiding a cloth behind one’ s back and “Ree Ree Khao Saan” or catching the last one in the line. The children were then formed into groups to play these games.
3) Educational Game Base - The children learned how to match pictures of Loy Krathong activities with their corresponding colors, silhouettes and contrast, and then helped one another complete a jigsaw board.
4) Art Creativity Base - The children joined the printing activity using water colors and, as printing molds, natural materials such as banana stalks, plants and vegetables of various forms, which they used to create pictures of their imagination.
5) Knowledge Base - Parents provided their children with the hints about Loy Krathong quizzes such as the materials used in creating krathongs. To reward their children, they showed (performed?) their traditional Thai dancing talents and gave them some desserts.
** “Kids” - this word is OK in conversation or casual writing. It’s informal English, so I feel “children” is better in more formal communication. It’s all right, though, if you want to keep the communication less formal. “Kids” is used all the time for catchy titles and names – names of shops, fun activities, play centres, etc.
