Holidays Around the World

For the past week we have been learning about the different holidays celebrated around the world.  The girls have really enjoyed learning how people from Australia to Liberia celebrate this special time of the year.  Below are two videos of the girls creating their own fireworks display...ask your daughters where in the world people celebrate with these fun explosions!

Gingerbread Activities

The Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Baby, The Library Gingerbread Man, and The Jalapeno Man.  These are just some of the different gingerbread books we have been reading as a class.  We have done a variety of activities with the books such as retelling a story and comparing two versions using a Venn diagram.  Yesterday, the girls made their own gingerbread man by using a glyph.  Ask your daughters which version of the Gingerbread Man is their favorite!

 

STAR of the Week

Our Pre-First STAR of the Week is Katie Sarver.  Here she is presenting her box to her classmates.  The girls can't wait to see what Katie brings in for show and tell!

Cinderella

What little girl doesn't like a fairy tale?  Our Pre-First girls had so much fun this past week reading different versions of Cinderella.  We did many activities with the stories, including a Venn diagram comparing two stories as well as a writing activity where the girls had to pretend that they had a fairy godmother.  The girls got really creative with the writing project and one even said she would wish for a tie-dyed ball gown.  The best part of our week was when we took our first field trip to the Meyerhoff to see Cinderella in puppets set to symphony.  Here are some books that we read together: Cindy Ellen, Bigfoot Cinderella, and Egyptian Cinderella.

Grandparents' Day Play

After a week of practicing their lines, both at school and home, the girls finally got the chance to put on their acting shoes.  They did a FABULOUS job of performing their First Thanksgiving play for their grandparents and special friends.  Below is a snippet of the action--we hope you enjoy it!

 

Pilgrims and Indians

We are getting so excited for our First Thanksgiving play, which we will put on for our grandparents tomorrow morning.  The girls have been rehearsing every day and sound outstanding!  On Friday, we took some time and made hats for our characters.  Take a look below and check out our handiwork.

Math Centers

Centers are a great way to engage children and keep things moving while reinforcing the concepts that we have been working on in class.  The girls worked around the room in 4 math centers: ladybug addition, dice bingo, number line packets, and computer.  They had a great time and loved working at the different stations.  Make sure you ask your daughter which one was her favorite!

Leap Frogging Number Lines

How can you make learning about number lines fun?  By adding a frog that hops along, of course!  The girls worked with number lines today to help them with addition stories and develop their number sense.  We will continue to work with the number line this week. 

Here's a fun way to reinforce this concept at home:  grab a fun cookie cutter and cut 20 shapes out of Model Magic.  Number them 1-20 and let them dry.  Have your daughter put them in order and give her simple addition problems to solve.  Keep your unique number line in a safe place for a snow day :-)

Mindfulness

The girls got their last petal for their Daisy People on Friday by learning about mindfulness.  We read the story Zen Ties and used stick people to describe different feelings.  The girls played with cooked and uncooked spaghetti noodles to show how to relax their bodies so they can be "in the moment".

Picture Day & Pilgrims

Today was Picture Day in the Lower School and the girls were all very excited to strike a pose in front of the camera.  We started our unit on the First Thanksgiving last week and talked at great lengths about the Pilgrim's voyage from England to America--make sure you ask your daughter for some fun facts.  Today's lesson focused on what happened when the Pilgrims finally got to America--we talked about their hardships and how they survived their first winter in New England.  Click here for a virtual journey aboard the Mayflower.

Welcome Parents!

Pre First is buzzing with activity!  We have had such an exciting school year and wanted to share our accomplishments with you.  Come back and check our blog as often as you can--we look forward to seeing you all soon!