Teaching Children about Ukrainian Malanka

A group of schoolchildren visited the Kule Center for Ukrainian & Canadian Folklore on January 26, 2016 to learn about Malanka (Ukrainian New Year).

26 January 2016

The Grade 2 Class from Garneau School at the Kule Folklore Centre

A group of schoolchildren visited the Kule Centre for Ukrainian & Canadian Folklore (Kule Folklore Centre) on January 26, 2016 to learn about Malanka (Ukrainian New Year).

The Grade 2 Class from Garneau School was greeted by Ukrainian Folklore MA student Larisa Cheladyn who taught the 21 student visitors about Malanka. Youngsters got to listen to the history of Malanka, watch a movie, view some artifacts, hear about the festival's traditions and even make masks and take part in a dance. As part of the grade 2 curriculum at Garneau School, taught by Katie Cooper, students are learning about different cultures and traditions.

The Kule Center for Ukrainian Canadian Folklore hosts school groups periodically throughout the year to teach children about Ukrainian folklore. This was the eighth time Cheladyn gave a presentation at the Center and had activities for children to take part in. She has also given presentations on Provody (Blessing of Graves) and Velykden (Easter).

Previous presentations were made in collaboration with USchool - a program initiated by the University of Alberta Senate that aims to introduce and connect grade 4 through 9 students to the University of Alberta.

Watch the video:

USchool: Malanka at the Kule Folklore Centre from Ukrainian Folklore Archives on Vimeo.