Sunnybrook Montessori School

Montessori preschool & kindergarten in New Hampshire's North Country

African Adventures

Outside Fun

Outside Fun

It was wonderful to get outside and play in the sunshine and snow!  The children made chipmunk houses, went sled surfing, played hide and seek, pulled each other around in the sleds, and chipped away at the snow and ice to create sculptures.

sled suring

sled suring

continent map

continent map

African animals

African animals

We began exploring Africa this week.  We learned about the equator, the part of the earth that is closest to the sun, and saw that it runs through the middle of Africa.  In this area of Africa there is a tropical rain forest, with animals such as the okapi and gorillas.  Moving away from the rain forest we learned about the mild zone, the grassy plains, and the deserts, with various animals and styles of living.  We saw pictures of different types of homes in Africa, animals, people, and the landscape.  We observed that African people have dark skin, and learned about melanin, which makes skin darker.  We discussed how our skin darkens when we spend a lot of time in the sun, and how people that live near the equator have darker skin than those who do not.  We learned the names of many African animals, and enjoyed playing games with them.

pin punching Africa

pin punching Africa

writing a letter to a friend

writing a letter to a friend

table setting

table setting

sweeping up a spill

sweeping up a spill

sound sort

sound sort

sandpaper letters

sandpaper letters

reading word strips

reading word strips

puppet show

puppet show

play dough and color sorting

play dough and color sorting

pattern blocks

pattern blocks

metal insets

metal insets

magnetic letters

magnetic letters

girls and blocks

girls and blocks

geometric solids

geometric solids

drumming

drumming

color sort

color sort

brown stair tower

brown stair tower

multiplication board

multiplication board

sand dough

sand dough

At the art table we used sand dough to create sculptures.  The children also colored pictures of African masks, and made their own.

African Mask

African Mask

African Mask making

African Mask making

art

art

painting

painting

water color painting

water color painting

Masks

Masks

African animals in Spanish

African animals in Spanish

Zeanny began teaching the Spanish names of the African animals.  We played an animal sounds game.  When Zeanny said the name of an animal, everyone made the sound of that animal.  We also read De la cabeza a los pies, by Eric Carle, and acted it out.

Spanish animal names

Spanish animal names

animal sounds

animal sounds

reading

reading

Friday students were so busy working all day long!  They were so engaged with all of their math, reading, writing, art, etc., that we never made it to a science project.

journals

journals

bank game

bank game

circle match

circle match

drawing

drawing

division board

division board

journal

journal

letter sound game

letter sound game

long chains

long chains

They were so excited when Mima the Mime (our friend Gerrie Scott) performed for us.  She began by pouring tea for everyone.  Next she did some hula hooping to music, then tossing and catching with her juggling sticks.  She did some charades, and we guessed what she was acting out.  For the finale she did more hula hooping and juggling sticks.  The children all agreed that it was “AWESOME!”

Mima hula hooping

Mima hula hooping

Mima juggling sticks

Mima juggling sticks

mima charades throwing
mima charades throwing

 

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