A MULTILINGUAL INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION is the traditional time for storytelling because it is when the snow covers the ground . I read My Heart Fills with Happiness aloud with my students every school day in the month of February . During the break , students were asked to think about what fills their heart with happiness using specific examples . One parent sent a photo of I received several what filled her daughter ’ s responses from heart with happiness . parents who loved the idea of our project .
Ellen Lague and her French Immersion Kindergarten students holding copies of My Heart Fills with Happiness / ni sâkaskineh miŷawâten niteh ohcih .
The following story , submitted by former grad student and French Immersion Kindergarten teacher Ellen Lague and Minority Language Professor Heather Phipps , describes the development of a multilingual Saskatchewan- Belgium collaboration that evolved out of Ellen ' s participation in the Social Justice and Globalization Study Tour to Belgium ( EDFN 803 ) in July 2018 .
" What Fills Your Heart with Happiness ? kîkway kîya kisâkasineh mîyawhten kiteh ohcih ?"
As part of my Master ’ s in Education program , I participated in the study tour to Belgium . The course was instructed by Dr . Heather Phipps , with whom I have shared interests in Early Childhood Education , French Immersion instruction , and literature . While in Belgium , we met with Heather ’ s colleague and long-time friend Caroline Moons , who instructs university students studying to become Kindergarten teachers at the University of Leuven in Belgium .
We discussed doing a multilingual project together with my Kindergarten students and Caroline ’ s university students . With Heather ’ s guidance , we chose an activity with Monique Gray Smith ’ s picture book My Heart Fills with Happiness / ni sâkaskineh miŷawâten niteh ohcih . Monique Gray Smith is an award-winning author of Cree , Lakota , and Scottish heritage . The picture book , written in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission ' s Calls to Action and dedicated to IRS survivors , is a positive representation of Indigenous happiness , love , strength , and life experience . Each page , vibrantly illustrated by award-winning , Métis- Cree artist , Julie Flett , expresses the happiness experienced in the simple joys of life , such as holding the hand of someone you love or smelling freshbaked bannock . Heather suggested this book for the multilingual reading possibility , with a Cree / English edition recently published by Orca Books .
With the book chosen , my students spent most of February preparing for our project with Caroline and her students : discussing First Nation storytelling , and reading two different versions of How the Earth was Created ; talking about Nanabosho or Nanabush and how he has several different names ; and discussing oral storytelling and why oral stories might change in the telling , and about why February
On February 27 , students and teachers in Regina and Belgium connected through Skype . Belgian students began by asking my students about First Nations storytelling . Next , we read the book , What Fills My Heart With Happiness in four different languages : English , French , Cree and Flemish . The children knew the story so well , they were excited to hear it read in two languages that were new to them ; they “ oohed ” and “ ahhed ” when hearing Cree and Flemish . Then , all the students shared what filled their hearts with happiness . One of my students mentioned speaking with her family that lives in the Philippines . Another student spoke about the sound of popcorn popping . The children were delighted to share , and the pre-service teachers in Belgium also expressed their joy in meeting with the class .
For Heather , being in Ellen ’ s Kindergarten classroom during this multilingual reading of My Heart Fills with Happiness was a beautiful and meaningful experience . While reading together across the world and in four languages there was a feeling of interconnectedness , where each person was invited to share one ’ s own inner joy and to listen respectfully to others . The story is meant to be shared and makes for an ideal readaloud . The university students listened attentively to the voices of the children
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