Last Saturday marked the fourth Hodaoa Saturday since it’s initial launch in October. For those of you who weren’t able to share in the news of its launch, Hodaoa Saturdays began in 2007 and is established as every second Saturday of the month for 12 months.

Because the language is such a new one, Hodaoa Saturdays give people the opportunity to actively participate in educating others about it without the heavy perception of “education.” It’s supposed to be fun and maybe even a little bit challenging.

And who can better take on and implement new fun and challenging creative energy than children? So to give Hodaoa-Saturdays a much needed family oriented spin, thinking about my own daughter and children I’ve taught in the past, I’ve come up with three activities you and your child or children can do to participate in Hodaoa Saturdays for the next eight months and beyond.

Use the refrigerator as a spelling board.

You remember those bright, colorful magnetic alphabet letters we used to have (or still have) on our refrigerator doors? Take those, and teach your children (and yourself) how to spell out simple words in the language. For example, the word for “cat” in Anibo is “sok.” (pronounced with a long “o”). Spell it out in English first so that you intensify the connection with the English and Anibo words. Work on this for about five to ten minutes with your children and - tada! You have just made Hodaoa Saturday apart of your weekend. Keep the word up for the rest of the day… the week….until the next Hodaoa Saturday even!

Use the sidewalk as your canvas.

Nothing says “self - expression”, like a sidewalk chalk drawing! You don’t have to be as good as Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, but don’t be afraid to get right down on your hands and knees with your little munchkins and sketch out your cute like pink, blue, and yellow creations. Since the point is to share Anibo, don’t forget to write a phrase or a few words in the language that compliments your drawing, and encourage your children to do the same. Again, you might want to write in English as well to give the pedestrians strolling past these masterpieces, some point of reference.

Use your voicemail like a microphone.

My daughter absolutely loves when I use her voice instead of mine on my voicemail. Why not incorporate this idea for Hodaoa Saturdays? Write out a short script in English and translate the script to Anibo. Have your children practice the Anibo script before recording. This is where the real challenge comes in. You or one, or more of your children can say the script in English while your child or other children, read the rehearsed script in Anibo. This will most likely take a few tries before you are all happy with the results, but be loose with it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and the voicemail message will only be for the day, so keep it light and fun.

Every Saturday can be Hodaoa Saturday if you’d like…or you can stick to the plan and participate every second Saturday. With consistent participation, you’ll soon be coming up with all kinds of creative activities. They’ll appreciate the quality time you spend with them and so will you.