Let's Swap!

A little while back I had a wonderful interchange with one of my readers in Japan. We decided that we were going to do a little materials swap - I would send her some miniatures and other lovely things that can be found here in Mexico, and she would send me some items for the Japanese tea ceremony. (I have in mind to set up a tea preparation material for practical life.)

Why don't we start a bit of a swap tradition? Every two months or so, let's pick a swap category and have an exchange with another Montessorian in a different part of the world.

This month's swap category will be ethnic/cultural children's clothing.

One of my (gazillion) little projects is collecting ethnic children's clothing from around the world. Here I have a silk robe, parasol, shoes, and hat from China:



I use this clothing as part of the cultural areas/geography curriculum. Along with the photos and object boxes of each continent, I make available an outfit, hat, shoes, etc. from that same continent. These are changed with some frequency to renew interest and to showcase clothing from many different cultures from within the continent.

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Here's how the swap will work:

1.) Each participant needs to email me by Saturday, April 21st at montessorirevolution(at)gmail(dot)com and give me the following information
a.) your location
b.) the kind of ethnic clothing you can offer. Live in the US? Have access to authentic African clothing? That's great - so your location might not correspond with your clothing.
c.) the size clothing you wish to receive (i.e. for a six year-old if you are teaching in a Children's House, larger if elementary)
d.) the mailing address where you wish to receive your package. This could be your home address, your school's, or a post office box.

2.) On Sunday, April 22, you will receive an email from me letting you know where you will be sending your package. You will be sending one package to one person - postage could be international, so keep this in mind if you want to participate.

3.) Prepare your package.
a.) Please include a main piece of clothing such as a dress or shirt. If the clothing is gender-specific, please include something for both a boy and a girl. We don't want just cute girl's clothing, folks!
b.) Also, please feel free to include ethnic accessories such as, but not limited to, necklaces, hats, shoes, bags, jewelry, etc.
c.) Do some research! Include in the package a note to the recipient, letting them know the country where the clothing originated and some interesting facts about it. For example, if you are sending a piece of African clothing made with batik fabric, tell a bit about how batik is made. Are there symbols on the clothing? What do they mean? You can learn a lot by researching ethnic clothing and style.

4.) Send your package by May 15th. in exchange, you will be receiving your own package shortly from another Montessorian.

5.) Email me and let me know that you have mailed your package! This will allow me to monitor who should be receiving a package when, and will help the sender know when to check on their sent package to see if it could have gotten misplaced en route.

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How's that sound? It should be a lot of fun, and if we pull of this swap with flying colors, topics for future swaps are numerous! I look forward to your emails indicating your desire to participate!

Peace,
Meg