Metal Insets
Last week, the Pre-K students were introduced to a new Montessori material, called the Metal Insets. They consist of ten pink, square metal frames fitted with matching blue metal insets. They are designed as a direct preparation for handwriting. The lesson allows the children to practice their concentration and coordination with a pencil. At this point, the students are tracing the shapes and then practicing drawing left to right lines. As the year goes on, they will learn to draw a variety of lines and patterns with the Metal Insets. This is always a favorite work in Pre-K so expect to see a lot of "shape papers" coming home. 😉
Geography
This week, we focused on geography! This is one of the highlights of Pre-K and students look forward to this special project every year. The children are introduced to the globe, maps, and the seven continents!
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| First, the children learn about the differences between land and water using the Sandpaper Globe. |
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| Then, using the Painted Globe, the students learn that the land is broken up into seven continents and we live in North America. |
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| The children learn that the world map is a flattened out version of the globe. They are able to use the puzzle to differentiate between the continents. |
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| The students work with the three-part cards to learn the shapes and the names of the continents. |
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| Next, students begin to make their own world map! They start by tracing each continent. |
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| Then, they punch out each continent using a pin puncher. This is a great activity to strengthen hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. |
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| The students will follow this process until they have traced and punched out all the continents. Finally, they will be able to make their own world map and label it! |
Already, this lesson has become a favorite in our classroom! Not only does the lesson introduce the children to geography, they also strengthen their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, develop their Language and handwriting skills, and learn about cultures in the world around them.
Did you hear?
Pre-K and Kindergarten are hosting a sock drive to benefit The Joy of Sox. The drive will run from Monday, February 1 through Thursday, February 11. We will be collecting NEW men's, women's, and children's socks. Please keep the socks in their original packaging. There will be boxes in school to collect the donations. You can view our promo video by clicking here.
Important reminders:
- EC report cards will be emailed home next week. There are no mandatory conferences at this time, but please feel to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
- Student council is selling Candy Grams! The cost is $1.00 per candy gram and the deadline to purchase is Wednesday, February 10th. Delivery date is Thursday, February 11th. Please see the email that was sent home for more information.
- There is no school on Friday, February 12th (faculty inservice) and Monday, February 15th (Presidents' Day).
- Enrollment contracts for the 2021-2022 academic year are due on Friday, February 26th.
- February is Black History Month when we will be celebrating Black history and culture. If you or someone you know would be willing to share with a class, a division, or multiple groups to enhance our celebration in any way, please email jmyers@holychildacademy.com. Looking ahead: March is Women's Month, April is Arab America Heritage Month and May is Asian and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month.
