This week in Reception 1, we talked about Halloween and Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), two fall holidays celebrated in different parts of the world.
We learned about skeletons, how they help the human body,
and that skeletons don't have to be scary.
We learned a skeleton dancing song and a Halloween spelling song:
"The Skeleton Dance" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e54m6XOpRgU&feature=fvwrel
"Halloween Song" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jYnmds8QDE
Cody points to the bones in our homemade skeleton
We cut out bones and assembled two skeletons to hang up,
and we colored and decorated "candied" skulls.
Our skulls decorated our room for the Halloween fun on Friday
Miss Jolian's beautiful Day of the Dead skull
With Mr. Bernard, we carved a pumpkin and rinsed off the seeds
so we could roast them and eat them later.
With Miss Melek in Spanish, we learned a new song about
calaveras (skulls) and talked about el Día de los Muertos.
Ms. Kristina read some scary stories, this one about
a swamp monster, from Jacob's book. And she acted
out the part of the hungry monster.
We also heard a new tale during storytime -- an American classic!
Narration by the legendary Bing Crosby
You can watch it here!
AWARDS
This week, Joshua and Mika got C.A.R.E. awards for achievement and responsibility.
Joshua's mom beams while he holds up his
Achievement Award -- Good job, Joshua!
Mika's mom gives him a big hug for his hard work
and Responsibility award
Reception 1 was also home to this year's MIS haunted classroom,
and several Reception 1 students (Alessandra, Cody, Devi, Hugo, Joshua and Mika)
helped scare the other children in primary. The children who helped got special
Halloween helper awards, and a packet of Gummi bears.
He looks quiet now, but...
Hugo popped up and said "b-b-b-blah!"
Alessandra sprang from a box and wiggled the mummy
This big boy was a chained-up, tormented ghost
Cody was a scary spiderman who joined us halfway through haunts
Joshua did an EXCELLENT job as a head in a box
Devi scared visitors as they walked by
More good stuff
On Tuesday, we celebrated Ms. Fathema's
birthday in after care.
birthday in after care.
The Three Musketeers
All bundled up for a cold fall day
Sporting the shades and cap
Pigtails are fun!
Learning more German with Mr. Bernard
Lucie sings the Handwerker song
Cody and Devi sing a verse
Jacob, Mika and Joshua sing
Gavrusha says, "Guten Morgen!"
In Reception 1, we are placing a special emphasis on helping children who do not speak a lot of German or Spanish to really concentrate on paying attention while in circle time with Mr. Bernard or Ms. Melek. Sometimes the English-speaking children tend to disengage when they are spoken to in a foreign language, so we're making an extra effort to help them acquire German and Spanish by getting them to listen and learn.
If you speak German or Spanish (or your native language),
anytime you practice speaking with your children or encourage them
to learn new words while out in the world, it is good
for their achievement in language-learning at school.
______________________________________________
For follow-up -- some questions you can ask your children:
1. Why do people celebrate Day of the Dead?
2. What do they do to remember people on the Day of the Dead?
3. Why do we celebrate Halloween, when it is scary sometimes?
4. What sounds and letters are in Halloween?
5. How many bones are in the human body of a grownup? (206)
6. Do babies have more bones than big people?
7. How does the skeleton help us?
8. Do bones bend?
9. How many bones are in the legs?
10. What is the head bone called?
11. How many bones are in your finger?
12. What letter does "October" start with?
Video about Day of the Dead
.
