“Whoever touches the life of the child touches the most sensitive point of a whole, which has roots in the most distant past and climbs toward the infinite future”-Maria Montessori
Dear Gumbo Limbo Families,
As we get closer to the last few weeks of school, the children have been busy getting excited, in and out of the classroom, by immersing themselves with both friendships and work. As we continue our study on Asia, we have been acquainting ourselves with the extensive maps and flags of this huge continent by coloring and and naming the countries along the way. If you are from or you are familiar with any customs, traditions, food, or children’s folk stories of these amazing countries, please contact me. We welcome any interest in giving a brief presentation during our circle time or sharing fun facts with the children. We also plan on having some traditional foods in the class throughout the study.
The Gumbos are excited to be working on animal projects at home. Several of the children have shared how and what materials they are finding to build their habitats. Treasures like rocks and grass from the garden or cardboard and other found objects are useful.
In the class we will be looking more closely at the different diverse peoples of Asia and their way of life. This study includes Russia, China, India, and Japan. We are also planning on adding a special tea lesson, showing tea as a big tradition throughout Asian cultures, including Arabic mint tea, chai tea served in India, and traditional black teas from China and Japan. We will add a little bit of honey to sweeten things up! We are also planning to focus on different writing, using traditional Chinese brushes on watercolor paper. We will have fun with writing our own initials and symbols in Chinese or Japanese.
Please be sure to have all Asian animals habitat/projects in the class no later than the 16th of this month or sooner, as the students love to present their projects at our circle times and also display them in the class.
Our Cultural Immersion day is on May 18th. This is when all the classes visit each others classes throughout the day and share all their work. We are going to transform our class into the world of Asia! The Cultural immersion is also combined with our Art Show. The classes are open for all families to visit, displaying the children’s Asian displays and work they have done in the class and at home. The individual art pieces are displayed outside on the front lawn. We will also auction off the Gumbo Limbo’s combined class Art piece (our big fundraiser for the class) later on in the late afternoon on the front lawn. This helps us raise funds for each class, which helps us purchase new materials and much needed things for the classroom.
Thank you all for attending the parent/teacher conferences. Important information was shared and it’s such a great time to talk about your precious ones. I really appreciate your time and the communication. If you have any other questions, need any other information or need to talk, please don’t hesitate to ask.
To celebrate our unique Gumbo community with friendships forged and hard work recognized, we are planning a fun filled end-of-year party. We will have fun activities throughout the class, fun games and special snacks. If you would like to contribute to a special snack or plan activities or games, please come in and share with us on June 8.
Love, peace, and many thanks – Ms.Nicole and Ms Pascale
