Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
Special to Valley News
Although May 6-9 was National Teacher Appreciation Week, Soboba Tribal Preschool teachers and staff showed how much they appreciate the mothers of their students with a Mother’s Day celebration on May 9. The multipurpose room that is adjacent to the classrooms was brightly decorated to fit the theme of “Mom, you color my world!”
Rainbow tablecloths, potted flower centerpieces and colorful balloons greeted the guests as they arrived for the mid-morning brunch. It was obvious that a lot of preparation went into the special event as evidenced by the array of handmade gifts the children presented to their moms.
Preschoolers created a keepsake handprint flower with a photo of them in the center, “planted” in a pot that read: “This is the hand you used to hold, when I was only three years old.” Another gift was a suncatcher with dried flowers used to decorate a painted handprint and pressed between glass. They also completed questionnaires about their moms that were laminated to last. Moms said some of the answers were correct, such as their favorite color and food, and others brought smiles to their faces.
Ellie Calderon answered that if she could buy her mother, Angie, any gift, she would get her “all the unicorns in the world.” And she thinks her mom looks beautiful when “she hugs me and says she loves me.”
Pre-K students made larger pots with photos, decorated a small heart-shaped ceramic dish that moms could use for rings and things, and used colorful squares to make a mosaic flower that was laminated to keep all pieces in place. The children wrote their names on the back of the printed sentiment that read, “If mothers were flowers, I’d pick you.” All items were packaged in a festive pink Happy Mother’s Day gift bag.
Kindergarten kids colored flowers that were printed on canvas tote bags. Inside was a laminated frame of a flower bouquet that the children colored and completed reasons why “My mom is the best mom.” They also drew a picture of their mom on a small plate that read, “Everything I am, you helped me to be” and created bookmarks using their finger and thumb prints.
Lorina Duro, who was attending as a guest of her great-granddaughter, kindergartner Kisinta Martinez, said what she likes about the preschool is that the children are taught their language and about their culture.
After Duro provided a blessing, each group took turns performing two songs they learned for the special occasion. One song was in the Luiseño language and others were about all the things their mothers do for them and how much they are loved.
Kindergartners used yet another gift they made as a prop for the song before presenting it to their mothers. A laminated heart was outlined with button photos they had cut out and glued around the saying, “Moms are like buttons, they hold everything together.”
Before lining up to enjoy the brunch buffet, everyone got to enjoy a paint party with directions from artforkidshub.com projected on a big screen at the front of the room. The guided lesson had kids and their moms use crayons or markers to create a step-by-step tulip on a small canvas that was provided to everyone at the table.
Teachers and aides strolled around the room to offer encouragement, praise and extra crayons to the kids and mothers. After the drawings were completed, Soboba Tribal Preschool Administrator Lenora “Ponie” Mojado told the children they could make the flower any color they wanted. “Also, be sure and write ‘mom’ on it since you all know your letters,” she said.
Mojado’s Mother’s Day plans include a traditional annual trip to the Soboba Casino Resort for brunch with her sister, Geneva Mojado, and both their families. Later in the day, all the ladies in the family plan to meet at Geneva’s house for a barbecue.
Lots of miniature pastries, cookies and other sweets were available as well as waffles, pancakes, individual cups of pasta or watermelon cubes. There was also fresh green salad and small squares of different flavors of cake with “Happy Mother’s Day” toppers on each one.
Ali Arroyo attended with her preschooler, Neqpikat Arroyo-Modesto, and his younger sister Nikiilisih, 2. She enjoyed the gifts her son made for her, and Neqpikat said he had fun drawing the flowers. He completed the sentence, “My mom looks beautiful when” with “she’s in a car or playing softball.” Sunday plans for Mother’s Day were scheduled to include his fourth birthday party with a Monster Jam theme.
“I love how involved everyone at the school is,” said Arroyo, who plans to enroll her daughter as soon as she is ready. “I’d rather they be here for the beginning of their school experience than at another school.”
Sierra Mendez’s son Kuyvaxish is in pre-kindergarten and attended the school last year. She really enjoyed the flowerpot photo and the wooden spoon he decorated with his fingerprints. She said that after a birthday party at the house, she expects the rest of her Mother’s Day to be quiet and relaxing.
Taylor Girard loved all the cute gifts presented by her daughter, Natalia, who is in preschool. They plan to spend Sunday as a family, enjoying pizza. Renee Rhodes said every gift from her four-year-old daughter, Laylah Robledo, was good. She especially liked the glass sun catcher that she plans to hang at her desk at work.
“I don’t know how to draw but I was able to do the art project,” Rhodes said. Laylah is the youngest of her seven children, all of whom attended preschool at Soboba. Her plans for Mother’s Day are to “enjoy the day.”
Elena Vega-Castello aids kindergarten teacher Laura Aldrete and has twins who are currently in the Pre-K class with Ana Garcia and Alaina Adkins. Paa’kal and Kut are five years old, and their mom really liked sharing the morning with the other moms while watching her students interact with their families.
Vega-Castello said she really appreciated the flowerpot craft her children made because her daughter’s name (Paa’kal) means sunflower in Luiseño.
