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Isabel Putrus, 9, takes her turn at hitting a pinata at the Cinco de Mayo story time celebration Thursday at Calipatria Library. (LAURA GONZALEZ PHOTO / May 3, 2012) |
The story time at Calipatria Library turned green, white and red to celebrate the traditional Cinco de Mayo.
The library offers monthly story time and it usually celebrates holidays like Christmas and Easter, but this is the first time that it did something for this day.
Library clerk Erlinda Hall said that they wanted to do something different and bring a little bit of culture to the children.
The monthly reading’s main purpose is to boost the children’s interest in reading, she said.
“Reading is very important for the kids and we are help to the schools, to the parents,” Hall said.
Carmen Ortiz read the children a book about the history of the Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Ortiz is a library clerk at Calipatria Library and she said that since there is so much Mexican culture in the Valley, it is important to teach the children that it is not the Mexican independence what it is celebrated on Cinco de Mayo, but the unexpected victory of the Mexican army over the French army in the Battle of Puebla.
“It gives the children a little insight of what Mexican culture is about,” Ortiz said.
Calipatria resident Nithal Putrus said she likes to bring her three children to the story time activities because it’s something fun for them to do and they enjoy it.
“The celebration of the holidays is nice because children learn about them,” Putrus said.
Rolando Flores brought his 2-year-old daughter to the event because he wanted her to have more interaction with other children. He said that when he was growing up, he never went to a library and he is surprised of how much his daughter learns when he and her mom bring her.
“I guess I missed a lot in my childhood,” Flores said.
The children made “maracas” as part of the arts and crafts project, then they sang the song of “La Cucaracha” shaking the instruments they had just made, and they also got to play with a piñata.
The piñata part was done inside the library to avoid exposing children to the heat. Ortiz joked that it went great, but next time they will get a sturdier piñata because it was difficult to keep it from moving so much.
“That’s what’s important for the children to have fun while learning,” Ortiz said.
Multimedia Producer Laura Gonzalez can be reached at 760-337-3440 or lgonzalez@ivpressonline.com
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