March 2015

In the month of February we traveled to China and had a blast exploring different aspects of the beautiful culture. The children practiced quantity to numeral association by using a work that contained both English and Chinese numeric symbols. They also had the opportunity to trace the symbols and learn how to say their name in Mandarin (with guidance from Miss Joy).

In art, the children made their own ink using water, an ink stick and an ink stone, they then used it to practice Chinese calligraphy by tracing the word “peace” with a brush. In cultural studies, the children were fascinated with the history behind the masks that people wear when performing Chinese opera; they were eager to learn what type of personality each mask represents.

We celebrated Chinese New Year and Miss Joy did a lovely presentation on the traditional clothing “qi pao” that is worn during the celebration. The children were so excited to try on the qi pao that Miss Joy brought to class, especially the boys! She also talked about the traditional food that her family enjoys to eat during their new year festivities and brought some delicious dumplings to share with the entire classroom.

We also took some time to focus on science and were very lucky to have Miss Catherine (Marek’s mom) join our class for a fun science experiment. The children learned about density by mixing water, oil and food coloring. They watched attentively as the water and oil separated and were even more excited to see that when the drops of food coloring were added they became “trapped” inside the oil. They then added a tablet of Alka-Seltzer and were surprised to see that the bubbles created by it allowed the food coloring to “escape” from the oil and disperse in the water.

In the month of March we will be learning about Community Workers. I will be posting updates and pictures on Bloomz as we move through the curriculum. 

---