CELEBRATIONS ALL AROUND THE WORLD
Autumn has arrived, fallen leaves have begun to cover the ground, the days have become shorter and the cold has set in. It was time for us to address the theme of celebrations around the world with the Maples.
In the forest, in the classroom, through new experiences every day, the children have developed their knowledge and have learned more and more about each other. The atmosphere in the classroom is serene and the children have found their feet.
Young and old alike learn from each other and everyone has found their place.
HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY
Throughout this term, we’ve talked about celebrations all around the world. It has been an opportunity to travel virtually throughout the different countries and continents.
The parents of the class also took us on a journey, thanks to the presentations they made about their origins. We discovered wonderful celebrations steeped in history and good manners.
So we have travelled through Europe, Asia, America, Africa and talked about other continents. This led us to talk about the different populations, the various customs and typical dishes.
France/Poland
Thanks to Victoria and Antoine, we traveled to France and Poland and learned more about these two European cultures. Many thanks to their parents for the presentation 🙂
Mostra Celebration Greece
With Georgios’ dad, we flew to Greece and discovered the festival of Mostra celebrated according to the history of the country. Thank you so much for this journey through the island and through time.
VENEZUELA/SCOTLAND
Then Cameron’s mum introduced us to the dual culture that represents them through Scottish customs and beliefs and the discovery of Venezuela. What a wonderful trip. Many thanks!
CRAFTS
During this term and throughout the year, the children touch different materials, create shapes, objects, characters and animals according to the themes addressed and also develop their imagination as well as their fine motor skills.
Through painting, drawing, modelling clay, colouring and using natural elements such as painting with leaves, the children used their imagination and have created works about autumn and the various celebrations that we have discussed throughout this term.
CREATING A MAN WITH LEAVES
After going into the forest to collect raw materials, the children were given a role model that they were free to follow or not to follow. They had different kinds/colors of leaves available and they shaped their figure.
The children were also happy to give free rein to their imagination and create, through recycled papers, unused leaves, scraps of leftover fabric, all kinds of art and imaginary creation.
PRACTICAL LIFE
Practical Life is a key component of the Montessori educational approach. It involves providing children with hands-on, real-life experiences that contribute to the development of physical, intellectual, and social skills.
During this term, we focused on skills related to self care, such as closing/opening coats but also preparing a snack by pressing oranges (transforming oranges in juice), breaking chestnuts and eating them.
We also spent time practicing the abling frameworks that make it easier for children today to sit on their own, enabling more motor skills. Cleaning the classroom has also been part of our daily concern.
And care of the environment such as cleaning and composting – as part of the school’s Eco project .
Social skills such as pressing oranges for snack, cooking and breaking chestnuts and co-operating with others.
These activities help children develop their independence, coordination and fine motor skills along with concentration and a sense of responsibility. In repeating the same gestures children reinforce their self-confidence and acquire the necessary maturity related to their age and growth.
SENSORIAL
Sensorial life refers to our ability to experience and interpret sensory stimuli from the world around us. We focused on using our five senses. Our brain processes this sensory information and enables us to perceive, understand and respond to our environment. Sensorial life is crucial for our survival and helps us communicate, learn and connect with others. It is constantly evolving as we interact with the world, and can be enhanced or impaired by various factors such as genetics, environment and experience.
This was provided through a number of our activities.
Pink tower/ Brown stairs – Putting into order
PLAYING IN THE WIND
Opening/Closing
Magnets /Testing the attraction
Doing/Undoing
Touching/feeling
COOKING
During one morning, we created cookies with the Birch class. This activity enchanted young and old alike and we were happy to taste these cookies together 🙂
FINE MOTRICITY
In order to develop and work on children’s motor skills, we have, among other things, made a lot of use of scissors and carried out various cutting sessions.
LITERACY/PHONICS AND WRITING
This term we have reinforced our knowledege and understanding of phonics and began to read little words.
We have explored a range of new letters and sounds through actions, songs, story telling and games.
Jolly Phonics phase 2 introduces the sounds ck, e, h, r, m and d. We have learned these sounds whilst using new games about phonics
Through action of these sounds, children begin to use their knowledge of letter sounds to blend and segment words and listen more carrefuly in sounds that compose the words.
We also reviewed the sounds learned in the first term and strengthened our knowledges a, t, i, p and n.
The children also continue to write their names, the date and the sounds learned in class, using different matters to trace the letters in, and also practising with drawing shapes.
We are also focusing on spoken language thanks to our discussions during circle time about different subjects such as talking about their weekend, the books we are reading in class and putting the stories into the correct order. Children also enjoy the timereading at the library or in class, choosing and reading books.
NUMERACY
Regarding numeracy, we work each day on a different matter such as counting from 1 up to the current date, working on bigger than, smaller than, identifying different shapes and beginning to introduce the notion of addition.
Additions
Numbers and counting
Counting/How many/Ordering….
Shapes
SHOW AND TELL
Every Friday, the children are happy to share an object from home. It’s an opportunity for them to talk about what they like and introduce the class to their favorite object.
FOREST ACTIVITIES
Since the beginning of this term, the children have explored the forest and have become more comfortable and creative when playing with all of the forest materials at their disposal.
They also have gained more confidence during this term when it comes to climbing and balancing on trees and tree trunks.
CLIMBING / BALANCING
EXPLORING THE FOREST
During this period, we did a lot of walks through the forest to study the different changes related to the change of seasons.
CYCLING
Cycling is a great way to develop motor skills and every child is happy to practice the function of balance. It is a real JOY to ride a bike with the children through the forest because the children have a lot of fun.
JUMPING INTO THE PUDDLES
BUILDING A HOUSE
MUSIC
During this term, we practiced singing and playing instruments through walks in the forest but also for the preparation of our show .
SPECIAL DAYS
Electricity.
During this term, we worked on a joint project at the school about electricity. We have understood how electricity arrives in our homes, by what means. We also had the chance to do electrical experiments with Vlad.
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HALLOWEEN
After the All Saints’ Day holidays, we celebrated Halloween with costumes and activities organized in the forest and in the classroom. A true shared happiness!
FIREWORKS
Then we talked about the holiday celebrated in the United Kingdom, Guy Fawkes whose history we talked about. We then prepared fireworks based on paint and the creativity of each of the children.
DIWALI
The following week gave way to the Diwali lights in India during which we created beautiful candle holders and evoked this wonderful country.
THANKSGIVING
For Thanksgiving, in relation to the history of the United States, we created headbands of Indians and turkeys. The children also listened to the story about Thanskgiving.
SAINT NICOLAS
During the following week, the children got to know St. Nicholas and had a small cardboard St. Nicholas on this occasion.
CHRISTMAS
On the occasion of Christmas, many activities have been planned. Among them, an advent calendar that allows children to follow the progress of the days and to look for the corresponding day each day. So each child had the chance to have a little chocolate to taste!
Advent Calendar
Deers
Lovely deers have been created
GARLANDS
The children were introduced to garlands, which helped them learn how to fold and repeat the gesture.
Santa Claus
In all his forms, Santa Claus has invited himself into the classroom….
Christmas’ decoration
PREPARATION FOR THE SHOW
The children and the teachers put a lot of effort into the preparation of the Christmas show. We prepared the backdrop all together, chose the songs and adapted the gestures so that everyone could feel good and be an integral part of this beautiful show. A great progression over the weeks, always with a smile and with willing children. Well done!!:-)
SHOW
What a wonderful day! Joyful and enthusiastic children arrived. We helped them to change, to review the course of the show and presto…. The show flew by, at lightning speed. The Chestnuts and Maples can be proud of their performance as it was so successful… Beautiful songs, beautiful gestures and a beautiful choreography. Enough to make mom and dad proud, who came to applaud them, and their teacher happy to have shared this exceptional moment with them!:)
Dear Parents, I hope you enjoyed this page describing your children’s activities throughout this second term, which we had the pleasure of sharing together.
Have a nice time with your family and MERRY CHRITMAS hohoho….
See you next year
Dina
French with Marie
Durant cette deuxième période de l’année, nous avons principalement lu 6 albums de jeunesse (en lien avec les fêtes tels que Halloween, Noël, les formes, l’hiver…) :
De ces ouvrages, ont découlé différentes activités qui ont permis l’exploitation de ces histoires. Nous avons donné du sens à l’apprentissage, une façon plus ludique et une approche plus concrète.
A chaque début de semaine, vos enfants ont appris et chanté une nouvelle chanson (7 semaines = 7 chansons) :
La sorcière Gribouilla, La pluie qui mouille, Pétrouchka, Loin du froid de décembre, Vive le vent, J’ai planté un sapin, Petit garçon.
En parallèle, nous avons répété les chansons pour le spectacle de Noël.
Les objectifs de cette période ont été de :
– s’initier à la pratique de la langue française
– construire des phrases simples mais correctes
– oser s’exprimer en petit groupe
– tracer le bonhomme de chaque mois
– reconnaître et nommer les formes simples (rond, carré, triangle et rectangle)
– apprendre la lettre O et la lettre U
– reconnaître son prénom (et savoir l’écrire pour certains enfants)
– apprendre les nombres 3 à 5 (savoir dénombrer une collection)
– reconnaître de petits mots
– réaliser des activités de graphisme
– comprendre les albums lus en classe
– participer à des projets artistiques
– faire de la cuisine
– découvrir les fêtes de Thanksgiving et Saint Nicolas
– fêter Halloween
French Topic with Marie
The theme for this period is “Let’s celebrate.” We studied the differences between celebrations around the world and how each one organizes the festivities. We’ve read these books:
They played the bingo themed “Celebrations”
They learned two songs: “Quand les pieds font la fête” and “Noël”.
Finally, they prepared, decorated, rehearsed and performed the Christmas show.
