Primary 2 Blog Post

Hello , Primary 2 families!  Its been an eventful winter and we are looking forward to warmer temperatures…Spring is just around the corner!  The end of February began our study of Asia with the celebration of Chinese New Year.  Following discussions of the holiday, we collectively created a dragon, made lanterns, and ordered lunch from a local chinese restaurant to enjoy a lovely lunch with all of the kindergarteners.  For the next several weeks our class will be preparing our classroom for the Multi-Cultural Festival which will be held on the first Saturday of April.  We will present the continent of Asia with all of its diverse languages, cultures, beliefs, cuisines, holidays, and celebrations.  This is a very special event and we hope to see all of our families there.  Very soon a sign-up sheet will be posted right outside our classroom with recipes to make for it.  If your family has a special asian dish you would like to bring to share, please do so!

In addition to our study of Asia, our work in Practical Life, Math, Language, and Sensorial continues to bustle with great energy.  This month we are also going to focus on learning about the human body.  Fascination towards all the new materials and books proved very quickly that this  topic is quite interesting for the children already.  We have begun discussions  about the organs by starting with the heart and we have helped the children become aware of the function of the heart and how it pumps blood through the body.  An exciting group lesson will be given about the components of blood in which plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets will be visually represented for their understanding.  The skeletal system will be introduced and nutrition will also be a topic of study.  Lessons on how to fuel our bodies with nutrition have been a constant theme in our classroom all year so it is fulfilling to see the children be able to make the connection.  In addition to discussing and demonstrating healthy eating habits, everyday Sarah and I strive to build on their developing existence in the world.  We feel strongly during our study of the human body to especially make sure the children further understand the importance of the whole self…..mind, body, and spirit.  As we develop their knowledge of their bodies, we are thoughtful to help them make other associations as well.  Each day we use meditation as part of our morning routine and it is a short amount of time in which the children are asked to recognize their inner peace.  We ask them to visualize, love, peace, generosity, and happiness and to share with each other their thoughts. It is always a treat to hear their words and to see the children listen to and support each other.  These moments only take a few minutes of our day, but for the health of their little bodies, to include their minds and spirits, the whole self is greatly impacted!

As always, thank you for sharing your children with us each day and for supporting our classroom in so many ways!  We appreciate you.

Monica and Sarah