Over the past two weeks we have been focusing on our 'School Poll' to find out what the children who go to PJS call their mothers and fathers. Teachers have joined in the fun as well! We went from classroom to classroom in small groups and explained the purpose of our poll to the students in each class. We made sure that everyone that was in school that particular day had a chance to take our poll. The Preschool pollsters were there to answer any questions that arose during the process. It was a treat to visit the different classrooms and interact with children of all ages. Each day when we finished polling, we returned to our classroom to share our data with the entire class. We calculated how many children selected each name, and we wrote the corresponding numeral in the appropriate box. We circled the number so that we can easily refer back to it when we need to. Some children wanted to write their numeral independently and others asked for the opportunity to copy their numeral. So far we have polled grades K,1,2,3,4 & 5. We still need to poll the Toddler class and the children would also like to poll the front office. As soon as we have the final poll information, we will add together the data from each class to determine the total number of people who use each particular name for their mother and father.
Senora Victoria Shares a Cultural Tradition:
Senora Victoria recently shared an important cultural and family tradition with the children. She explained to the class the importance in Argentina of drinking mate. Mate is a beverage that is similar to tea. Mate is brewed in a unique mug or gourd and sipped through a special straw called a bombilla. Family and friends share the mate, passing it from person to person. Senora Victoria made a cup of mate for each child and they were able to try this cultural specialty. It was a special experience!
The Preschool Class Celebrates St. Patrick's Day:
Henry's mother joined us on Friday to help the Preschool Class celebrate St. Patrick's Day. There were shamrock cookies, an Irish flag, St. Patrick's Day treats and beautiful Irish music. It was a terrific way to learn about a traditional holiday that many families in Ireland and around the world celebrate yearly on March 17th. Thank you for sharing! On Thursday, the children made Irish soda bread in Learning Through Landscapes to celebrate the holiday.
Snapshots from around the Classroom:
As we continue to learn more about our family's cultures and traditions, please take a moment to fill out the following questionnaire. The children created this questionnaire during several of our morning meetings and are eager to learn more about your past experiences. Your answers will be emailed directly to me and I will share them with the class when we return from spring break. Please have fun and don't worry about using full sentences- a list is fine. If you are unsure how to answer a question you may simply write 'pass'. You may fill this out as a family, or you may log in again and fill it out separately. Finally, could you please send a family photo in to school with your child when we return in two weeks? Thank you in advance for participating!