By Holly Penta
The Marie Shaw Dunn Child Development Center (CDC) held their inaugural Mardi Gras parade on Friday, Feb. 21. The students have been learning about Louisiana and what exactly Mardi Gras is over the past couple of weeks. They played with beads and practiced their fine motor skills by using safety scissors to cut the beads apart. Student teachers taught lessons about how to make King Cake and beignets, teaching the kids about measurements and ingredients.
Before their own parade the students got to attend the NSU Elementary Lab parade and experience what it is like to be on the observing side of a parade. They practiced saying “Throw me something mister!” and loved trying to catch the beads.
After this, the children got ready for their own parade. Their costumes included superheroes, princesses, dinosaurs, and traditional purple, green, and gold outfits. Some made floats out of boxes while others pushed decorated toy shopping carts. Accompanied by Mardi Gras music, the kids paraded from the CDC to the NSU columns and threw beads, candy, and little toys to parents and siblings.
The students had a great time and are excited for their week off from school. Happy Mardi Gras!
