Week of 2/4

Hello Koala PM Families!
 
It was another busy week in the Koala Bear Room! We had a chance to visit China, checked back in with Punxsutawney Phil, and began learning all about Valentine’s Day. Here are some of the fun activities we did:
 
Activities:

• On Friday of last week, Naya’s parents came in to visit and teach us all about India. They brought in a globe to show us where India was, showed us photos of Naya in a beautiful Indian dress that she wore to a family wedding when she was a flower girl, talked about the different types of food, dance, and music that can be found in India, and even gave us a delicious snack (Spiced Puri), and a yummy drink (Mango Lassi). The students loved tasting these new treats!
• We circled back to our Groundhog Day discussion from last week and learned that Punxsutawney Phil did NOT see his shadow over the weekend. We were all excited at the idea of an early Spring!
• On Tuesday, February 5th, we introduced Lunar New Year. The students learned that this year is the Year of the Pig, and that in the Chinese culture, red and gold are two colors that represent good luck and fortune, and wish away all the bad luck. While watching a Traditional Chinese Fan Dance on the Interactive White Board, the students used red, yellow, and orange watercolor to paint a beautiful Chinese fan for themselves.
• We learned what the words “estimate” and “actual” means. We examined a small cup and a plastic quart to estimate how many candy hearts would fit into each object. After each student had a turn to observe and then make their estimation, we counted out the actual number of candy hearts it took to fill to the top. The students were mesmerized and excited by this counting activity, and were very tempted to sneak a piece of candy as we counted! Our results are currently hanging outside of our classroom!
• I gave the students cardboard hearts and asked them to estimate how many candy hearts it would take to cover the surface of the heart. The students pointed out that the heart was a flat surface, and maybe it would take less hearts to cover as compared to the cup and container. They did such a great job with their estimates, and then successfully counted out 65 candy hearts (with a little assistance!) to glue on top of the cardboard heart.
• We did a writing activity by using the prompt, “Love is…”. We asked the students to finish the sentence with whatever love means to them. After they wrote out their answer, they then drew a picture to describe their answer.

Some Books We Read:

• “Lanterns and Firecrackers”, by Jonny Zucker
• “Bringing in the New Year”, by Grace Lin
• “My First Chinese New Year”, by Karen Katz
• “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse!” by Laura Numeroff

 
Letter of the Week:

• D! A “D”ynamite letter!

​Dates to Remember:

• Montclare will be closed Monday, 2/18 and will re-open on Thursday, 2/21.
• If you’d like to participate in a Valentine’s Day card exchange, please send in your children's Valentine’s Day cards. We will be having the students hand out their cards on Thursday, February 14th in class.

 
Have a great weekend!
 
Laura and Desiree