// Weeks of Feb 25 & March 4 //
For any Birthday Celebrations.... please be aware:
// Curriculum Update: Week of Feb. 18 //
This week in the Cultural area, we explored the seven continents of the world with the aid of a jigsaw puzzle world map and “The Continent Song”, which is a fun and educational way to learn about the continents.
The Continents Song lyrics:
“Tell me the continents,
Tell me if you can,
North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa,
Don’t forget Australia,
Don’t forget Antarctica,
Tell me the continents, Tell me the continents,
Tell me if you can.”
In the Math area, we have been working on the Number Rods. This Sensorial material enables the children to understand quantities from one through ten in a concrete way and also builds the foundation for future math activities.
// Presidents' Day Week //
// Week of February 11 ❤️ //
This week...
The month of February got to off a great start in the Triangle Room. We began the week with our Music Special. When singing our favorite songs in Music class, Mr. Sebastian uses audiation, where the children recall song lyrics on their own in the absence of music. This is a recall process which allows the brain to give meaning to musical sounds. Some of our favorite songs that our friends like to sing and recall are “Hello Everybody Yes, Indeed” and “Ally Galoo Galoo”! In the Spanish Special, we learned the word turtle in Spanish -“la tortuga” and ant-“la hormiga” and sang the song “La Arana Pequenita”-“The Itsy Bitsy Spider”
In Movement Class, we learned to transfer balls from one big bucket to another using small pails. This fun activity strengthens gross motor development and hand eye coordination and for Art, we created a wintry scene using pom poms with white and blue paint white to create the look of artificial snow.
// Week of February 4 //
// Curriculum Update: Week of Jan 28 //
It was an exciting and special time in the Triangle Room. Our classroom enjoyed celebrating the birthday of 8 friends who turned 3 years old during the holiday break and in the month of January.
We are continuing to work on the development of our pre-writing and language skills with the help of a traditional Montessori language material called the Metal Insets. This week we focused on tracing the outline shape of a circle. This exercise helps to develop hand-eye coordination, pencil control and refine hand movements in preparation for writing.
We also introduced the Sandpaper Letter “a” and practiced its phonetic sound with matching objects.
Although we had limited park time this week due to the frigid temperatures, the children enjoyed their time indoors with their friends, singing and dancing to their favorite songs.
// Week of January 28 //
// Week of January 21 //
Our field trip to Theater of NJ featuring Eric Carle’s “The Hungry Caterpillar” and his other stories was an exciting and memorable time for the Bridge Program. The children enjoyed watching the show with their families, friends and teachers. The children were asked what they liked most about the show. The majority of them responded with “I like the caterpillar”, “I like the butterfly” and “I liked the chameleon too!”
Due to the weather, we were unable to go outside this week. We enjoyed a lot movement time indoors and utilized the movement classroom, dancing to new songs like “Freeze Dance” , “Chicken Dance” and “Baby Shark”. We also enjoyed melon tasting during circle time, using our sensory skills: seeing, touching, smelling and tasting.
// Week of Martin Luther King Day //
// Curriculum Update: Week of Jan. 14 //
This week we focused on activities that help to develop our pre-literacy and pre-writing skills . We reviewed the Sandpaper Letter “b” with objects and traced the letter with two fingers to reinforce the sound. We also created our own Sandpaper Letter “b” in the art area to practice at home and build more confidence. We also have started to practice tracing lines using a marker. These activities require focus, concentration and a strong pincer grip.
We are excited to take our first field trip to see “The Hungry Caterpillar” playing at the theater of NJ. To prepare our class for the field trip, we read the book “The Hungry Caterpillar” and we created caterpillar necklaces using different materials. Please feel free to contact with any questions regarding the field trip!
// Enjoy Photos from the week of Jan. 14 //
// Curriculum Update: Week of Jan 7 //
During our first full week back from our break, our children settled right back into their daily routines. New winter-themed activities were introduced in all areas of the classroom. We explored the life cycle of a penguin, from its beginning from a small egg to an adult bird.
In the Art area, the children are enjoying crinkling paper and glueing it on to a snowflake picture and sponge painting with a snowflake stencil. We also learned a new song called “Five Little Snowmen” which teaches how to count backwards. The children enjoy singing this song especially on our walks to the park as they notice all the changes the of the winter season.
// Week of January 7 //
// Curriculum Update, New Year! //
Welcome back and Happy New Year to all! We are all excited to be back from our holiday break and welcome new changes into the classroom. During circle time, we introduced our new month, new year and new season on our calendar. We invited our friends to share their experiences during the holiday break. Some children talked about their travels to different places and we were happy to hear one friend share their story of welcoming a new baby sister. We were also happy to welcome a new friend into the Triangle Room!
Even though this week was short, the children busied themselves with old and new classroom activities.
In the upcoming weeks, we will continue to explore the changes the new season brings and introduce new seasonal art activities.
// HAPPY NEW YEAR! //
// Hibernation Week: Curriculum Update //
As we near Hibernation Day, our classroom was busy getting ready for the occasion. During circle time, we talked about hibernation and which animals hibernate. We created our own hibernation cave and decorated it with cotton and shredded plastic to create the look of artificial snow. Each child had a chance to explore the cave using a flashlight and some children pretended to hibernate.
We ended the week completing many fun-filled seasonal art crafts which the children are excited to share with their families.
We hope everyone has a safe and happy holidays and look forward to seeing everyone in the New Year!
// Hibernation Week //
// Curriculum Update: First Week in December //
This week in Triangle Room, the children explored many new activities in the classroom which include themes for the holiday season. We were busy in the Art Area stringing beads and bells through pipe cleaners to make a bracelet and continued to work on size discrimination while making our tree art project. We used large, medium and small triangles to make a tree.
In Spanish, we introduced new concepts ‘la cama’-bed, ‘la silla’-seat, and ‘la mesa’-table and sang the song “ There are Seven Days” -“Siete Dias” in Spanish. In our Music Special, we danced to the rhythm of Classical Music using scarves. We are continuing to move our bodies in our Movement circle doing yoga poses and singing songs using different body movements such as the “Hokey Pokey”
Next week we will be talking about bears and hibernation . We are so excited to celebrate Hibernation Day on the last day of school!