Teaching Children About Martin Luther King
Each January we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., by learning about him and his work as a leader in the civil rights movement. The children agreed that Dr. King was an amazing peacemaker.
Teaching About Diversity
We read the book “The Colors of Us” by Karen Katz. It is a positive and affirming look at skin color. We then added a new work to our Peace shelf that celebrates all of the colors of us!
We enjoyed rereading the book “The Kindness Quilt ” by Nancy Wallace . We then all gathered by our kindness wall reading what acts of kindness students shared over the years. When inspired, our children can add their own quilt piece to our wall.
Lessons on France
To conclude our study of France, we learned about the Statue of Liberty. It was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States and is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. We discussed what the Statue of Liberty meant to so many as they arrived by ship to the United States. We discussed how countries can be friends to each other and help each other.
The work on our practical life shelves (also known as exercises of daily living), is designed to develop a child’s coordination, concentration, sense of order and independence, as well help to develop fine and gross motor skills, resulting in a self confident child! Three new works have been popular; ‘locks and keys’, ‘opening and closing’ and ‘smelling jars’.
Cooking Lessons
The kindergarteners had another happy and busy month in January. Besides Jule Kake they made banana bread and applesauce muffins. They had lots of messy fun grating apples and mashing bananas. To celebrate their arrival in Asia, they made chopstick rests to go with their Chinese dumplings.
The kindergarteners are incorporating games involving logic and reasoning that enhance their problem-solving skills in their academic afternoon session. They enjoy these games very much and are working peacefully together. Some of the kindergarteners have volunteered to show the class the yoga postures during our morning yoga!
The children returned from the Winter Break with lots of enthusiasm and eagerly exchanged stories about their holidays. They were happy to find the shelves filled with snowflakes, snowmen, mittens and ice crystals to pour, scoop, count, pin punch and match. It was a busy month filled with Presentations and Celebrations!
Chinese New Year
A few days later, we boarded our MPS Plane and took a virtual flight to China, arriving just in time for the Chinese New Year. One of the greatest traditions of Chinese New Year is to join together with family and friends, and that has become one of our favorite MPS traditions. The children were given a “Dumpling Lesson,” then each tried their hand at moistening the edge of the circular wrapper (similar to tracing a Metal Inset), placing just the right amount of filling into one side, folding it over and pressing the edges together. Everyone made a few, and then we placed the dumplings in a steamer pot with a layer of cabbage on the bottom to keep them from sticking to the pot.
Our resident artist, Miss Lauren, guided the Kindergarteners in a Great Artists Lesson on the French Impressionist Painter, Claude Monet, (1840-1926). We read a book about Monet’s passion for painting outdoors. He was fascinated by how light reflected off his subjects, such as the water gardens he created at his home in Giverny, France. The children enjoyed seeing pictures of his work, and delighted in creating their own Monet Masterpieces using pallets of pastel paints.