The holiday travels continue...

This last week we traveled to France and England. The children learned about the tradition of the yule log, both the one that is burned and the delicious cake. They made yule log ornaments to hang on their trees. The children were especially delighted to learn about the traditions of Mrs. C. Her mother is from England and Mrs. C. lived there when she was a student so they learned all about her childhood traditions. They learned about Father Christmas and how he is a tall, skinny man (not at all like our Santa). They also now know that children in England leave Father Christmas a serving of Christmas pudding (not really a pudding at all) instead of cookies. The best part for the children was to learn about the crackers Mrs. C. had next to her plate during her Christmas Eve dinner.

This is our last week before our winter break and we will be busy. On Monday and Tuesday, we will learn about Hanukkah. On Wednesday, we will study Winter Solstice. We have much more writing and math to do but we also have some fun assemblies all week. Friday will be our short but fun day. We will have a school sing-a-long, where the students will be performing the songs we have been practicing. We will, then, have a Polar Express Pajama party. Be sure to have the children wear their pajamas!!

We have been a travelin'...

If your students have shared with you already, we have been traveling the world! We are on a whirlwind tour of different states and countries to see how the holiday season is celebrated around the world. On Nov 29, we flew to New York City to see the lighting of the largest Christmas tree and ice skating at Rockefeller Center. On Nov. 30, we zoomed to Santa Fe, New Mexico to see the lighting of the farolitos or luminarias in the city center and learn about the Las Posadas (The Inns) that occurs from December 16 through December 24. From there we visited Sao Paulo, Brazil, where we learned that the summer weather made the holiday season very different from the one we know. From December 5-7, we spent our time on the African continent. First in South Africa, then onto Botswana and finally, Nigeria. The children learned that barbeques on the beach are another way to celebrate. Mrs. C liked the thought of the holidays occurring in the summertime! At the end of last week we ended in Madrid, Spain. We learned that the children in Spain actually look forward to January 6, Three Kings Day, since they receive presents that day from the Kings. Ask your child to share with you some of our adventures as we continue our travels through January 10.


We have also been writing so much more. We have learned the proper way to write a sentence and how to make it so much more interesting with our use of words. Math is zooming quickly as well. We have been learning geometry, addition and subtraction. We've had great fun as we learn so much!