Primary Room 6

April News

In April, students will embark on an exciting journey exploring islands and volcanoes. They will discover what Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands has to offer. They will also enjoy reading the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, which will help reinforce letter recognition and early literacy skills. The purpose of the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is to introduce young children to the alphabet in a fun and engaging way. Through rhythm the book brings the letters to life as they climb up a coconut tree. These engaging topics will allow students to expand their knowledge of geography, Spanish and literature in a fun and interactive way. We’re excited about next month’s topics!

March Recap

In March, students had a wonderful time becoming paleontologists and learning the different names of dinosaurs in Spanish! They practiced saying these names and enjoyed learning about what made each dinosaur unique. We also discussed what different dinosaurs ate including herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. The children learned that the Triceratops ate plants (herbivores), while the Tyrannosaurus Rex was a carnivore and loved to eat meat. For their dinosaur craft, students cut out a dinosaur template and added colorful pom poms to represent the dinosaur's body, spikes, and other features. In the math area students used mini dinosaur erasers to reinforce one-to-one correspondence and number recognition. At the end of the month, we explored what happened to the dinosaurs. The children were fascinated to learn about the asteroid that hit the coast of Mexico and changed the world. Students were amazed to learn that some dinosaurs went extinct while others evolved into birds.

Students were also busy celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday and St. Patrick's Day. For enrichment students made their own versions of Green Eggs and Ham. They used pretzels, white chocolate and, of course, green M&Ms. They then created hats to look just like the cat in Dr. Seuss books. This created such a fun celebratory month! To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the classrooms was filled with activities including shamrocks, gold and rainbows. In practical life students used rainbow erasers with thongs and spoons to practice their fine motor skills. In the math section they used gold coins to practice number recognition and counting in Spanish. For art, students used green tissue paper and a template to make shamrocks. They also got to explore textures and sensory skills by making green slime. They topped it with gold glitter then placed it in a black pot.

February Recap

In February we celebrated Valentine’s Day with an awesome class party. We enjoyed sensory play with colored rice that some friends helped me dye with food coloring and vinegar. We decorated our classroom with paper hearts, some with watercolor and coffee filters and red paper hearts folded in half to make a symmetrical painting. The children have been very busy making chalk drawings outside and request their teacher to draw them pictures. It’s also a fun time to review our letter of the week and what begins with that letter. This month we learned all about what it means to be a friend. We are working on having gentle hands, keeping our hands to ourselves, and to give our friends hugs and gentle pats when they are sad. Each day we practice waiting our turn and sharing our work when we are done with it. We have had a lot of rainy days this month, but that doesn’t stop us from having fun. The kids loved making clay sculptures and making their own play dough together as a class.

January Recap

This month we continued the winter spirit by exploring all about snow. To do so, we learned what items are best used during this weather. At the end of the week children brought in a winter item. Some of these items included a snow globe, snow wand, a penguin and so much more. 

The following week students made icebergs using food coloring, four plastic water bottles (cut in half), water, a polar bear, a beluga whale, an arctic fox and an igloo. They placed all the materials in the water bottles and left them freezing overnight. The following day they took out the water bottles and sprinkled salt on top. Next, they used a fishing rod made from a paint brush and string to lift the iceberg out. In this experiment students made hypotheses about what would happen and made conclusions about their results. We talked about how water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the chemical reaction that occurs when adding salt to ice. Some new terminology included: Fahrenheit, melt, snow, arctic, freezing point, beluga whale, igloo, and arctic fox. Students also spent time creating art projects such as an igloo, snowflakes, and a polar bear. This month was filled with a lot of winter information.

Another focus this month was incorporating The Mitten by Jan Brett. Students read this book in both Spanish and English. In the classroom, students played a dice game. The dice had a picture of all the animals from the book and the goal was to see which animal made it to the finish line first. Every time they rolled the dice they had to name the animal in Spanish. Also in Spanish, students worked on learning the five senses. They used a table to match an item to the body part of the five senses. 

December Recap

December was filled with a lot of celebrations! We began the month with learning all about Hanukkah traditions. Students learned the representation of the candles and how to light each one. We were fortunate to have a student bring in a menorah to explain the process. In the classroom, students were able to play Dreidel. For tokens they used blocks and seashells. The following week students learned about Kwanzaa traditions. They learned that each candle represented seven principles and what each color of the candle meant. The last week of December students spent time learning about Christmas traditions around the world. As a class students learned that in some Spanish cultures they celebrate for weeks. Specifically, they focused on Mexican traditions. They learned about Las Posadas, Los Tres Reyes Magos, La Rosca de Reyes, the type of food they eat and activities they do during this time. 



This month also consisted of learning about Europe. Students learned about multiple countries and food that originated there. Some of these foods were Belgian waffles, pasta, arancini and pizza. To bring this to life, students made their very own pizza. These used bagels, tomato sauce and pineapple. We then put them in the oven to have a wonderful cheesy pizza. The following week students learned about important landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Stonehenge, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. Students then made a craft of the Eiffel Tower using straws and popsicle sticks. They ended the month by painting the German flag. 

November Recap

This month we have spent time learning how to be a thankful and a kind person. We read “To Fill a Bucket”. As a group we discussed ways others fill our bucket. On another occasion, students were asked about how they can fill someone’s bucket. Students gave the examples of giving someone a hug, sharing, taking turns, and finding something that made others smile. Another activity we included in the classroom was filling someone's bucket on a weekly basis. I created multiple steps that included how students made others happy. These were individually printed and placed in an actual bucket. Students stuck their hand in on a weekly basis choosing a message on how they could fill someone’s bucket. At the end of the week we all spoke about how we filled someone's bucket. This month we were so thankful for all of our classmates that shared how they did something positive in someone else’s life. To incorporate the Spanish aspect into our classroom we have spent time learning how to translate thankful sentences. Some of these included, “yo doy gracias por…” “estoy agradecido/a por..”. Other simple phrases we learned were “si por favor”

October Recap

During October, Students blasted into space and learned all about the solar system. They shared their favorite planet and some fun facts. Later in the month they learned about equipment that is needed to travel to that planet. Alongside this, they also focused on studying Earth’s layers. Some facts included the layers temperature, elements, and thickness.

This month’s literature book was Going on A Leaf Hunt. We also read Baila Como Una Hoja for our Spanish program. After reading the books, our class walked around the school looking for different types of leaves. They were able to find a variety of shapes and colored leaves. Students chose a couple of leaves to take back into the classroom. With their leaves they created a 3D tree. Our students were able to learn how to say leaves, tree, branch, autumn and more in Spanish.