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Hello Families,

Happy New Year! As I sit here and write this newsletter, we are in disbelief that “2021” is upon us, we have all been through a lot of challenges and obstacles... and are truly grateful to begin the New Year in our classroom with our amazing and adorable students. The children had such a fun time with the “Holidays around the World” crafts and activities. We learned how to say “hello” in the native language of each country we explored and we learned about how children in other parts of the world celebrate with their families. It was so much fun to learn about some of their traditions and customs. We all enjoyed listening to music from around the world and the stories too. One of the highlights was discovering where we were off to that morning and getting to put a new stamp on our suitcases. We hope your child had an opportunity to share their suitcase discoveries with you and we hope you enjoyed seeing their amazing crafts (souvenirs) from their travels. The month of January is the perfect time of the year to explore all activities and materials that involve the Polar Regions We have spent the past month in holiday mode, We are sure the children and teachers are ready to move on and discover new materials on the shelves and explore all the wonderful things we see and do during the Winter season. We are so excited to welcome back all the children and look forward to getting back into a nice daily rhythm. Beginning this week, our class will explore and locate Antarctica on the globe. We will read stories and look at photographs of the Arctic animals and their habitat, discuss hibernation, and how animals live in the winter. We hope that the New Year brings you and your loved ones peace, joy and good health.

Warmest regards, Mrs. Rocafuerte, Mrs. Cinquina and Ms. Guglielmi

Our theme: Winter and The Polar Regions

Art:

Happy New Year banner

Antarctic collage

Ice painting

Snowflake cutting

Cultural Arts/Geography:

Antarctica and the Polar Region

Antarctica on the Montessori Globe

Animals of Antarctica sorting activity

Language:

Antarctica / 3-Part Cards

Where’s the Snowman’s Hat? (a prepositions game)

My Winter Book (reinforces left to right motion, builds vocabulary)

“The Mitten” by Jan Brett / sequence story

Sandpaper Letter/ Object Box [o]

How to build a Snowman/ sequence story cards

Math:

Introduction of Addition signs [+ =]

Introduction of Addition Strip Board

Feed the Penguins (1-10 counting work)

Counting Icicles 1-10 (one to one correspondence)

Antarctica number puzzles

Practical Life:

Practice putting on and taking off gloves/ mittens

Pouring blue water using a funnel

Transferring blue water with a pipette into an ice tray (transfer activities build concentration and fine motor coordination)

Transferring snowflakes from one vessel to another with a tweezer

Science:

Animals that hibernate, migrate and adapt

Montessori Penguin Puzzle

Sensorial:

Trinomial Cube

Snowflake matching (develops concentration and visual perception)

Snowman shape matching