ICEA participated in the Multicultural Fair as part of its continuing collaboration with the local Montessori school “Alexander Graham Bell Montessori School and AEHI” in Wheeling, IL on March 9, 2018. This is an annual event celebrating a diversity of cultures with food, performances and artifacts. Amongst other cultures represented this year Ukraine was the center of attention. Agbms and ICEA invited Ivan Schmilo, a talented musician who plays bandura, a traditional Ukrainian stringed instrument, to perform with his young students from the Ukrainian school in Palatine. They performed for about an hour and the audience was absolutely mesmerized. Also, the Montessori preschool students performed a traditional Ukrainian song “Oi na gori dva dubky”, which they practiced for over a month and actually learned the words! Ukraine was represented by “dranyky”, potato pancakes made by Larisa Koval, the president of ICEA, as well as by artifacts and traditional embroider shirts. The Montessori preschool students also danced a multicultural dance and performed an English language song “We’ve got the whole world” using sign language.
This was truly a multi sensory educational event.
