Pre-Primary 6
May News
During May, we will be visiting Africa and learning about significant places. We will be discussing Dinosaurs and observing their fossils. Answering questions such as what happened to dinosaurs? What did they eat? And the type of dinosaurs there was. The book of the month will be The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.
April Recap
April was full of fun activities, learning about the continent of Australia and learning what an Island is. Students have finally achieved all the letters of the alphabet and we are now reviewing the letters through interactive singing and reading. We read along with the book of the month Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault. It was a great reading for students to review the sequence of the alphabet and yet still have fun!
As we continued our journey through Australia, we stopped by to observe the most significant animals on this continent. We learned about native wildlife such as kangaroos, koalas, and crocodiles. Students participated in creating their own crocodile art. We incorporated aboriginal art, which is a type of dotting art that was used by aboriginal people for their storytelling. We took the opportunity to expand the discussion of an island using Australia as an example. We watched a video that showed how Islands, in specific Australia, are surrounded by water, and the most common thing to see on an Island are palm trees.
Enrichment class was fun with art projects such as students making spring flowers by practicing their fine motor skills by ripping paper into little pieces. In music, students listened to the classical composer Mozart. We listened and danced to the beat of Symphony No.40. In Spanish students were introduced to what is a Carnival and how it is celebrated in Brazil.
March Recap
March was a great month in room 6. We spent the month learning about the Rainforest and South America. We discussed many of the animals in the rainforest, including gorillas, parrots, tree frogs, and more. We also discussed why these animals were unique and essential. We learned that many of these animals could be seen at our local Zoo. We used our globes and map puzzle to locate and see where South America was. We learned that South America is a continent that has many beautiful countries to explore. Many languages are spoken there, including Spanish.
Our Literature book this month included books from Dr. Seuss, including Ten Apples Up on Top and What was I Scared of? We celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday by making lots of Dr. Seuss art, including Thing 1 and Thing 2, Cat, the Hat, and One fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, and Blue Fish. For art, we also made elephant puppets and Lion marble paintings. We celebrated St. Patrick's Day making shamrocks and rainbow art.
Enrichment was fun, the children explored music with instruments, and we learned new songs Walking in the jungle, five little monkeys swinging in the tree, and more. Cooking included making ants on a log, using celery as the log, cream cheese, and raisins for ants. The children loved creating them and eating them.
February Recap
February was a very exciting month, students learned about different cultures and shared about their own cultural backgrounds. In honor of valentines, we also learned the main principle of friendship, how to be kind, caring, how to share and have a fun and safe environment. The students were very excited to hand out cards to all their friends and were thankful to give and receive. The book of the month was Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni. It expanded on the expression of friendship and how to be kind.
Students were introduced to the letters “S-V.” Almost at the end of the alphabet! They are very proud of themselves for recognizing their letters and numbers! Students also learned about Asia. They learned where it is located and did a coloring sheet for them to visualize the shape of the continent. We also looked at the kind of animals that live on this continent. We also reviewed a cultural monument from Asia, The Great Wall of China. Students were amazed at how long the wall is. Some students got an opportunity to share their experience visiting the monument.
For enrichment in Spanish students practiced the letters H, I, G, F in Spanish and even traced those letters. For art students completed a finger painting in the shape of a heart for our Valentine's celebration. For cooking, students made their own friendship fruit bowl!
January Recap
January was full of fun activities! We used the weather as a great learning advantage. We introduced the new season (Winter) to the students and discussed the type of animals that hibernate during this time. They were also surprised to learn how these animals' body temperatures dropped and their metabolism changed, slowing everything in their body down.
Our book of the month was The Mitten by Jan Brett. It described some winter animals going into a mitten as a signal of hibernation such as a mole, a rabbit, a hedgehog, an owl, a badger, a fox, a bear, and a mouse. Students were intrigued to learn what hibernation means and what animals do to prepare for it.
As we continue our alphabet journey, we have achieved up to the letter Q. We engage in daily interactive singing, physical movement, and/or real-life comparison to expand our knowledge of the letter of the week and the number. We compared land and water animals. We demonstrated the difference in body types of animals that live in water such as their fins and flippers. We looked at different cycles of snow such as blizzards through an interactive video. For enrichment in Spanish, we made a booklet of the different types of weather and explained some differences and similarities. In music, students were introduced to a great composer who still today has made a huge impact on music, Beethoven. They completed a coloring sheet and listened to his famous symphonies. In art, we did the famous Van Gogh painting (The Starry Night) on aluminum foil and painted our own art piece. For cooking, students created their own cheerios necklaces all by themselves! They felt accomplished and proud of their work!
December Recap
December was full of fun and amazing activities! Students learned about all the celebrations around the world. We learned about the difference between Hanukkah, Kwanza, and Christmas. Students had a fun time discovering the similarities and differences in each celebration. We compared a menorah with a kinara. A menorah holds nine candles and on other hand, a Kinara holds seven candles. Students were fully intrigued to find out more celebrations like Christmas existed around the world. Our book of the month was The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.
Students continue practicing their alphabet letters and numbers. We are currently on letter N and number 13! We engage in daily interactive singing, physical movement, and/or real-life comparison to expand our knowledge of the letter of the week and the number. We also did dot art of the letters L, M, and N.
In addition to our Christmas celebration, students worked on making a snowman using white paint to make a snowflake effect to make a fun decoration for our classroom! Students also made their own little Christmas tree using popsicle sticks that they painted with green paint and pom poms. We also practiced our Christmas songs daily to put on an amazing performance!
November Recap
In November, our theme revolved around harvest and healthy bodies. We reviewed some fall harvests through an interactive video that mentioned various foods such as pumpkins, watermelons, carrots, etc. We also looked at the life cycle of a pumpkin on flashcards and had students participate by placing the cycle in the correct order. We talked about healthy foods that keep our bodies healthy.
During circle time, students had the opportunity to share what their favorite vegetable or fruit was. The book of the month was Fill a Bucket which went hand–in-hand with our Empathy Program. We used the bucket concept in our daily routines by teaching students to be friendly and "bucket-filling" towards other friends or family. We focused on the letters i-k. We had items and pictures for each letter. We emphasized each letter through phonic songs and rhythms. Students also learnt about their continent, state, and country. We paid our respects to the flag of America by listening to the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance. Since Thanksgiving was in November, students used their handprints to create the turkey feathers on our door. Students also created their fall trees using cotton balls dipped in paint representing the fall leaf colors. We made an acorn by painting the students’ hands with orange paint. In Spanish class, we learned the different parts of the turkey's body. Students colored their turkeys, and then, with the teacher's assistance, they cut and pasted each word in the corresponding body part.
October Recap
October was a spooktacular month! The students enjoyed learning all about the changes happening in the new season of Fall, such as the weather and leaves changing their colors. To celebrate the season, the students made their own leaf hunt using their handprints with orange, red, and yellow paint. They also created a leaf hunt around the whole playground where they could pick out dry leaves or leaves that were changing colors. The book of the month was Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger. During the month, the students continued practicing their alphabet with interactive songs emphasizing phonics and relating them to objects in the world. They also practiced through dot art and a daily recap every morning.
Another focus was exploring and learning about emotions. We used different scenarios where the students experienced happy, sad, angry, or upset emotions. We had a read aloud book where spooky monsters, in honor of Halloween, felt different emotions depending on other friends' behaviors towards them.
For enrichment in Spanish, we reviewed our five senses. The students created a potato body that included gluing the eyes, mouth, nose, hands, and ears. In music, the students colored "The Carnival of the Animals" by Camille Saint Saens. As we listened to the great composer, we described what we heard and explained how it made us feel throughout the songs. In cooking, we made apple donuts using sliced apples, Cheerios, strawberries, and yogurt. For art, the students created their own Picasso art, placing the eyes, nose, and mouth on their pumpkin's art. This art made them reflect on Halloween.
September 2023
As we start the academic year, students can establish a s routine that allows them to learn the foundation of the classroom and its structure. During circle time, we discussed "What do we do at school?" We provided examples of properly picking up our work and cleaning up after ourselves. We also discussed how to use our words with other friends and teachers when struggling to succeed in an activity. The book of the month was The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn.
We also discussed our letters of the week, beginning with the letter A. Students practiced dotting the upper-case and lower-case letters A and B. Students had a fun week creating lots of art projects. Students also painted their very own school buses. Along with painting our school buses, students were able to make a connection with the song "Wheels on the Bus." They also had the opportunity to assemble their unique bodies! They used small, different-colored construction paper to build up their body. Concerning the book of the month, students made their kissing hands for their families. We also introduced our seven continents. We learned our continent's song and associated what animals live in which continent. Students also learned what continent we live on and what animals originate from North America.
Summer 2023
Wow! What a fun summer! We had such a fantastic time. We learned about many different topics, ranging from the celebrations of the Fourth of July to outer space. Afterward, we studied farm life and learned about all the animals that live there and how the food we get at the grocery store comes from a farm.
We also cooled off with water days where the children splashed, played in kiddie pools, and ran through the sprinkler. After all that excitement, we finished off the summer with a carnival. The kids had so much fun playing games, winning prizes, and eating yummy food.
Curriculum for May:
Themes: Dinosaurs & Africa
Geography: Africa
Literature: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Enrichments:
- Art
- Computers
- Cooking
- Music
- Spanish
Reminder:
- Please check your child's bin to ensure they have weather appropriate clothes and they are the correct size- please label all your items
- Check in with the teacher to see that everything on file is up-to-date
Upcoming Dates:
Teacher Appreciation Week
April 16th-18th, 2024
Mother’s Day Tea Party
May 10th, 2024
9:00am - 10:00am
Parent/Teacher Conferences
May 14 - 15, 2024
School Closes at 3pm
Memorial Day
May 27th, 2024
School Closed