The “Where The Wild Things Are” summer program for preschoolers in the Moloka‘i Head Start program ended with a Rumpus Dance at the Maui Economic Opportunity Kaunakakai office earlier this month.
During the summer session, Head Start staff transformed their classroom into a forest inspired by Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book, “Where The Wild Things Are.” Vines hung from the ceiling windows, and pictures and dolls of the Wild Things, Max, and his crown decorated the classroom.
Preschoolers participated in lessons covering language arts, math, science, music, and arts and crafts, all centered around the Wild Things theme. Activities included painting Max’s red boat, making Wild Things masks and claws, playing games like finding Max’s crown, and ice painting.
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On the last day of the summer program, July 5, the children and teachers held a Rumpus Dance for the Moloka‘i staff. The children, dressed in the masks and claws they had made, selected instruments and paraded around the office following teacher Valeny Dudoit, who led in Max’s red boat. The children mimicked a famous passage from the book:
“And the wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws.”
The MEO Head Start summer program on Moloka‘i and Maui began in June and concluded on July 5. The new school year will start on August 12.
Head Start provides preschool education at no cost to 3 and 4-year-olds from low-income families. The program focuses on both the children and their families, offering health, nutrition, social, and other services to promote school readiness.