Childrend loved Sawdust Rugs

Amelia Lau, to the right, observig sawdust rugs made by children

Hundreds of children from different schools from Guatemala City enjoyed the activity called Sawdust Rugs celebrated at the Francisco Marroquín University on April 19th and 20th, 2006.

Focused on Guatemalan traditions of Easter Week, the book Alfombras de Aserrín tells the storry of a Chinese – Guatemalan family during Easter Week at La Antigua Guatemala, according to Amelia Laus experiences.

Sawdust Rugs was directed to children from third and fourth year of elementary schools.  During the event, the kids participated in a conference by the books author and had workshops on reading habits, music and sawdust rug making.  The event was coordinated by Pierina Piedra Santa Abud and Ana Lucía Ortíz.

Invitations were sent to different educational centers of the City.  The participant schools and educational centers were:  Colegio Guatemalteco Bilingüe, Colegio Alemán, Colegio Internacional, Colegio Campo Alegre, Colegio El Puente, Colegio Internacional Montessori, Colegio Equity American, Colegio Alejandro von Humboldt and Colegio Americano de Guatemala.

Also, Escuela Miguel Vasconcelos, Colegio Naleb, Colegio Evelyn Rogers, Colegio Principe de Asturias, Escuela Estado de Israel, Colegio Internacional Montessori, Escuela República de Francia, Colegio Los Brazos de Jesús, Colegio Inglés Americano, Colegio Monte Carmelo y Colegio Goodman.

Workshops for teachers were held on reading motivation and the importance of illustrations in the reading habit formation.  There was also a workshop on childrens books illustrations, given to designers, illustrators and general public.

This activity is joined by the second edition of A book and a flower in Cervantes Anniversary, event based on the reading of Don Quixote, that will be celebrated on Friday, April 21st 2006 at the UFM.  Both events look forward to enhance reading habits on students through cultural, playful and educational activities.  There will also be a book fair with editorials like Norma, Santillana, Piedra Santa, Artemis Edinter, Fondo de Cultura Económico, ETC Ediciones and Time Life, among others.

More photos,
here.