A peek into the Olive Room

Geography: Continuing on our journey of Asia we talked about India.  India has the second largest population in the world.  India has periods of heavy rainfall called monsoons.  The world’s highest mountain range, the Himalaya, runs through northern India. We talked about the Taj Mahal a famous monument built out of love.  It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.  

Matching work of children holding Diyas for Diwali. Matching the head to the body.

Our last country of study in Asia was Korea.  There were picture matching cards which include images of popular foods like Kimchi and Bibimbap, Taekwondo a national sport of South Korea and the national flower (Mugunghwa) the rose of Sharon.

Cooking Project: Making "Gimbap", it is a Korean dish made from cooked rice and different variety of vegetables rolled in "Gim (dried seaweed paper)".  This project would not have happened without the help from our wonderful parents, Ryan’s mother and father and Roy’s mother. It was delicious and such a fun afternoon. A huge THANK YOU for All of you! Also, moms Thanks for the great pictures! Here are only a few. Our non-nappers were the cooks, and they made enough to share with the nappers for their afternoon snack.

Science: Amphibians were introduced.  The word Amphibian means two-lives. The children learned that Amphibians are vertebrates.  They lay soft eggs in water.  They spend part of their lives in water and as adults they live on land.  They are cold blooded.  Frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians (which resemble worms) are Amphibians. Our focus of study is the frog.  A frog skin is smooth, slimy and moist to the touch.  Toads have bumpy bodies.  The children were surprised that frogs and toads cannot drink with its mouth.  Water must be absorbed through their skin.  So, it sits in the water or wet ground to drink. 

You might be hearing your child saying a very big word – Metamorphosis!  We learned about the Frogs Life Cycle. The frog young undergo a change called Metamorphosis.  From a tadpole with gills to an adult air-breathing with lungs. Working with the parts of the frog puzzle and Life cycle puzzle.

Sequencing Life cycle cards with matching objects.

Montessori Week: We honored Maria Montessori by reading the book Our Peaceful Classroom by Aline D. Wolf.  Montessori children from around the world drew the artwork for the book.  Our children shared with us what their favorite Montessori work is.  We also, sang a couple of songs about Peace.  Here are the partial lyrics to one.

Light a candle for Peace By Shelley Murley   Light a candle for Peace Light a candle for love Light a candle that shines all away around the world Light a candle for me Light a candle for you That our wish for world peace Will one day come true

Additional Peace related activities. Push pinning a Peace sign. 

Walking a Labyrinth made with the Red Rods.

Fine motor work placing marker tops and plastic screw caps from apple sauce pouches along a path.

Nested circles to trace with glass gems.