May 2014

In April we traveled the world map and found ourselves in South America. We explored culture and life within South America.  We looked at the flags of various countries, and explored a variety of fauna and flora native to the country.

As part of our study of South America, the children experimented with a dozen different musical instruments. They enjoyed discovering that the agogo bells have a couple different pitches, the cabasa makes a really interesting sound, and there are a couple of ways you can shake a ganza.

We were all very excited about the book fair this month as well. We had a couple guest readers from the elementary classrooms and we found some time to discuss how to take care of the wonderful books that are brought into our classroom.

Ms. PJ is expecting a baby in August. Towards the end of the month, some of the children had started to notice the size of her belly and were asking questions. We had a circle and the children asked questions and shared stories. Many of the children shared stories that they had heard about being in their mother’s belly or being born. Some children wanted to share where they fit in the birth order of siblings and cousins. One child was concerned that Ms. PJ would have to leave school. Ms. PJ explained that the baby was due in August and that she planned to stay until the end of the school year. Another child wanted to know how long a mom carries a baby and another wondered why it took so long to grow a baby.

In early May we are going learn about flowers. In late May our study will move towards insects. We will be learning about their characteristics, body parts, and the life cycle of butterflies.