The Lower School held Country of Study Day on Friday, February 22. This year, Hammond’s country of study is Morocco, a northwestern, coastal African nation. During the day, Lower School students learned about Morocco and were immersed in many traditional aspects of Moroccan culture.

The classes participated in a variety of activities, with some grades doing different activities than others. Students got to touch snakes, eat traditional Moroccan food, and dance, among many other activities. Although some of the kids wanted to do all of the activities, they loved country of study day, and thought it was a lot of fun.

Many students expressed that touching and learning about snakes were among their favorite parts of the day. They got to hold a variety of snakes and learned that in Morocco people will place snakes on tourists and demand payment to remove them. They also excitedly noted that Morocco has 27 different types of snakes, and that eight of those are poisonous. 

Some of the students said learning about Morocco made them want to visit the country. Fourth grader Reily C. said that she wanted to go to “see the cats and snakes,” as they learned that Morocco has many stray cats roaming the streets. Students also found the Moroccan markets interesting. A student mentioned that you “just buy stuff on the street,” and that there are no price tags — merchants haggle with their customers over prices. 

The lower schoolers also got to experience a tea ceremony, a Moroccan custom of hospitality. As Reily C. described it, the ceremony is “like welcome to my home,” and acts as the country’s traditional greeting. The students were all greatly impressed with the fact that the tea is poured from a minimum of twelve inches from the cup. Ms. Kiser, the lower school principal, performed the feat to the astonishment of the group. In addition to the tea, this ceremony includes sugar cubes, which were very popular. Third grader Ayers Y. said she “didn’t bother” putting sugar in the tea and just ate some of the sugar cubes by themselves, but she enjoyed the experience nonetheless.

In addition to the tea ceremony, the students ate several customary Moroccan dishes and learned about culinary traditions. For a special meal, they ate lamb balls and couscous. In Morocco, as was excitedly pointed out, typical dishes differ greatly from American ones. As fourth grader Blaze B. noted, they “eat llamas too,” but Ian T. was quick to note that this is considered disrespectful, as llamas hold cultural significance in Morocco. 

It was clear that this day of study fostered an interest in Moroccan culture for the students. As the third and fourth graders spoke of learning how to bellydance, they eagerly jumped up to begin dancing and singing. Third grader Clara M. said the teachers “let us swing our hair.” One student even admitted that he “like[s] the music style better than ours.”

Students excitedly spoke about how the five-pointed star on the Moroccan flag represents the five pillars of Islam, and how there are underground “kivas,” which Ian T. translated as “sacred meeting places.” He also pointed out that this is the root of Hammond’s own “kiva” at the lower school.

Besides being educational and exciting, the day offered a chance to make a difference. As one of the activities, the kids wrote letters to students in Morocco and sent pencils and paper alongside them. 

Country of study day may seem to be just fun, but it makes a phenomenal impression on the students. After their immersive day of activities, students ecstatically shared a wide variety of interesting facts and anecdotes about Moroccan culture. They loved every aspect of the day, from the food, to the arts and crafts opportunities, to the singing and dancing.

When asked if they hoped to one day visit Morocco, there was a resounding “Yes!” from these newfound admirers of Moroccan culture.