National Spanish Heritage Month just came to an end, so we celebrated this week with lots of Spanish stories and activities.

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue, or Cristóbal Colón, as they say in Spanish.  Zeanny shared the enthralling story of Cristóbal Colón and his dream of sailing around the world to the Orient.  We learned that he requested support from the king and queen of Spain three times before they agreed to fund him, and that it was the queens offer of her jewels that convinced the king to provide the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria and a crew of 90 men.  We also learned that colón is the name used for currency in Costa Rica.

On Wednesday we spent the morning making pupusa’s, a stuffed corn tortilla made with masa (corn flour) and water.  We  added cheese, ground pork, and beans, or a combination of these, depending on preference.  They were delicious!  Some of you may have found one in your child’s lunchbox and had a chance to try it.

Zeanny also shared an exciting story of a town who was in need of help, tres brujas (three witches), a song about the days of the week, an hombre malo (bad guy) and a caja mágica (magic box).  It was all very exciting and scary!

We began learning about the artist, inventor, and scientist Leonardo Da Vinci.  We looked at the paintings of the Mona Lisa, said to the be the best known painting in the world, and the lesser known La Scapigliata (Head of a Woman).

We enjoyed cleaning out and carving a pumpkin brought in by one of the Sunnybrook families.  Thanks so much!

Students continued work on their dioramas and their lap books, which we displayed in their various states of completion on Thursday evening.

Everyone was excited for Bring Your Family to Sunnybrook Night.  Each child selected one or two materials that they wanted to introduce.  Henrietta chicken demonstrated how to give a tour of the classroom so everyone would be ready, and we got busy cleaning it up so it would be organized and spotless when everyone arrived.  It was a great evening.  The children really enjoyed showing you their school!

Friday students did a sink or float experiment for science.  They made predictions about which items would sink, and which ones would float, then tested each item and documented the outcome. They were also busy with sound games, building mazes with the rods, play dough, playing chase on the playground, finding letters in the daily message, writing journals, and painting.  These days go so fast!