Primary 3
May News
I’m so excited about the month of May! We are going to be learning all about Dinosaurs and fossils. I love this topic because there is so much to learn, plus can you even imagine this enormous creature roaming the Earth?! We will also be focusing on the continent of Africa. We will learn about the landforms, plants, animals, climates, and cultures of Africa. We also get to watch caterpillars grow and go through metamorphosis to become butterflies. It is going to be a lot of fun! We are all looking forward to Mother’s Day Tea as well. We hope you can make it.
April Recap
I hope everyone had a fantastic Spring Break! In April we are going to be learning about the Earth and Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Island). We will be learning the Layers of the earth, how we should take care of our planet and the oceans of our planet. We will dive into learning about the animals, landscapes, and culture of Oceania as well. It’s going to be so much fun!
We celebrated earth day by learning some ways to keep our earth clean. We talked about how we recycle, reuse, and reduce for our planet earth. We also learned about the Oceans of Earth and Oceans and plastic. The students shared with their friends each week something different e, f, g, h, an item related to spring, then brought a thing to recycle, and the last week was brought in their favorite book. Our literature book was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault. The story is about the alphabet to recognize the capital and small letters and recognize the order they come in.
March Recap
This month was filled with SO MUCH FUN! It was exciting to learn about the Rainforest and about some of the animals that live there. We learned about the layers of the rainforest and how there are animals that live in the various levels. We learned about the continent of South America as well. We learned that the largest rainforest in the world is the Amazon Rainforest and most of it is in the largest country in South America, Brazil.
We also had a blast dressing up for Dr Seuss week and reading a ton of Dr Seuss books! They are so much fun to read and listen to. We also learned about St Patrick’s day. What a jam packed month!
February Recap
February was a great month. We spent most of the month talking about Cultural Awareness & Friendship. Our continent of discussion was Asia and the famous places, the people, culture, and traditions in Asia. We also learned about some of the flags in Asia, what the symbols and colors on them mean, and the traditional food and clothing. The students shared with their friends each week something from their culture, favorite book, who is their furry friend, and something that begins with the letters p,q,r, or s. Our literature book was Little Blue & Little Yellow by Leo Lionni. It was about friendship that nothing could keep them away from each other if you have a true friend and knowledge that teaches children about primary colors and what happens when we mix colors.
For Zoology, we talked about Asian animals, for example, panda bears, elephants, and silkworms. We talked about the life cycle for the silkworm and put it in sequence on our work in class. We did the 3-part cards for the elephant, named all the body parts, and labeled them. We also talked about Asia plants by doing our 3-part cards and making our cherry blossom tree with our fingertips. We learned about the famous landmarks in Asia and created many fun activities, including making our own Great Wall of China.
January Recap
In January our thematic focus was winter animals and hibernation. It was very exciting for the children, especially since many of them got to experience snow for the first time! We learned that when it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer in the Southern hemisphere and vice versa, and how it needs to be very cold for snow to fall. In this topic, we also learned about Antarctica and the animals that live there. We’ve learned about how animals stay alive during the winter months (hibernation, migration, or do they remain active?) In zoology our focus was on penguins and polar bears. In botany, we learned that many plants cannot grow because it is too cold and there are some plants that not only survive cold winters, but they flourish. In science we learned all about ice, icicles, snow, and ice bergs. How cool! ;)
It really was a blast!
December Recap
December has been full of fun and excitement! We discussed many holidays, including Dwali, Kwanza, Chanukah, and many more. It was so fun to see how different cultures celebrate all over the world! Ms. Stephanie even talked about Las Posadas, a celebration they have in Mexico. We learned about the continent of Europe and many of the holidays are celebrated there as well. We talk about the parts of a mammal and the criteria to be defined as a mammal.
Our literature book for December was The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. It was about unconditional love because no matter what the boy asked the tree, the tree was still always so happy and loved to see the boy. It is also about being grateful because no matter what the tree gave the boy the boy always wanted more from the tree.
The children were so excited about singing the songs they practiced so hard on and about giving the gifts they made to all you mommies and daddies. They performed perfectly and I am SO proud of them. Santa came to visit as well, What an amazing month!
November Recap
In Room 3, November proved to be an amazing month. We spent most of the month learning about Harvest and how to keep our bodies healthy. The students shared exercises and what they could eat to stay healthy. During their Montessori work, the children explored keeping their bodies healthy by learning about the food pyramid. We explored different parts of the world by learning the "50 Nifty" state songs and focused on California. The children also shared items that were native to California. Our Literature book for November was Fill a Bucket by Carol McCloud, which encouraged children to behave positively, be friendly, and help others when their emotional buckets were empty. In Zoology, we talked about living vs. nonliving items using picture cards and sorted them into living and nonliving categories. In Botany, we learned about parts of trees and different types of trees.
We also had a fun art session where we painted pinecones to learn about their texture and different sizes. Additionally, we painted with our fingers using primary colors to be introduced to Jason Pollock's ways of painting. The children also learned about the parts of the USA flag, including what the stripes and stars represent, and had a great time making their own flags. We talked about the different groups of food and categorized pictures of food by doing the Montessori 3-part card work. Overall, we had a lot of fun in November with our Harvest Feast and learning about gratitude!
October Recap
We had a blast this past October! We learned all about the continent of North America, including the flags of Canada, the United States, and Mexico. We explored the native plants and animals of North America, learning about their characteristics and habitats. In addition, we talked about our feelings and learned strategies to manage our emotions while also maintaining our five senses. One of the most exciting parts of the month was creating art and decorations for Halloween and the Halloween Parade. We had a great time making spooky and creative designs that helped us get into the Halloween spirit!
September 2023
We focused on learning about one another and the classroom rules. We learned about each other, what makes us the same, what makes us unique, who makes up our families, etc. We learned about our world, how many continents, and their names. We knew the differences between living vs. non-living, plants vs. animals, and magnetic vs. non-magnetic. We had SO much fun exploring and learning. What a great way to begin the school year.
Summer 2023
What a fun summer! We took a step back from our Montessori work and focused on fun and new themes. To begin our summer, we learned about our country’s Independence Day. We celebrate the 4th of July because it represents the day America became separate from British rule. For outer space, we learned about the eight planets in our solar system and how they all orbit around the sun. We had a fun week dedicated to learning about ourselves and what makes us unique. The children got to decorate rocks to show that there is Only One You. In us down by the farm week, we learned all about farm life. We reviewed our farm animal knowledge and how farmers are a big part of our community. To end our summer, we had a fun carnival! All our friends were very excited to spend time with their families and wrap these two past months.
As the summer progressed, we were sad to see one of our friends leave, but we got many new friends from our pre-primary classroom. We are excited to see your children learn and prosper this school year.
Curriculum for May:
Themes: Dinosaurs & Africa
Geography: Africa
Literature: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Enrichment Programs:
- Art
- Computers
- Cooking
- Music
- Spanish
Reminders:
- 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