Immigration Day

Last Friday, Sam had Immigration Day. This is probably my favorite day that is part of the school's curriculum. The kids reenact what it would have been like to be an immigrant at Ellis Island. They each must choose an identity(either that of a relative or make one up) to use during the process. Some of Rick's family came over from Italy so Sam went with that, but he made up the rest. He was Tony Ferrari, a woodworker from Italy.

Medical check-up

If they were sick, the got medicine(skittles)

Coordination Test

Citizenship test(Sam passed it with flying colors!)

Reading and Writing test

Green card

They also had a snack station that had milk and bananas. They were checked for lice and were given a psych evaluation. He got deported once for not having enough money and had to skip around the gym to earn the money he needed to come into the U. S.

Afterwards, they went back to the class to share a bit about their families' histories. Some of the students brought in pictures and had elaborate stories about their relatives who came over. They shared items that their relative made and talked about the special foods they eat from their relatives' cultures. Then, there was Sam. He got up and said, "My great grandfather came over from Italy." Then, he sat down. Gotta love that boy. Straight and to the point. I enjoyed getting to be a part of this day with him.