Newsletter| May
Theme: Farm/Africa/Magnet
We planned the FARM Theme for our children in May! We visited the local farm, studied the life of farm and the farm animals. In geography, we continue to learn about the continent AFRICA. Our unit of STEM in this month is MAGNET.
Farm Animals
In our filed trip, we visited a farm and watched the sheep shearing. We saw a cow, pig, horse, sheep, goats, and few chickens.
We learned the farm animal family: adult male cows are called bulls, adult females cows are called cows, the young ones are called calves, etc.
We read a lot of books about farm animals and learned that cows can see colors, cows can live up to 25 years, cows have 4 stomachs, cows eat corn/hay/barley/beet pulp/grass/wheat, cows can give us milk/leather/meat, and milk can be made into cheese, yogurt, and butter!
Let’s play a guessing game - what sound does a cow make?
We made a paper bag pig.
I could use the egg holder to make a pig craft, too!
Africa
In continent Africa, we learned the African Song “Fung Alafia” with African Djembe Drum.
We introduced the country Egypt to our class. We explored the mysterious Egyptian culture and Egyptian mythology and we also tried on the beautiful costumes. Look how perky we are!
Do you know what animals live in Africa? The answer is zebra, giraffe, lion, elephant, rhino, and hippo.
living vs. non-living
What is living and what is non-living? Is a seed a living?or Is a stone a living? Let's watching them carefully! A seed needs soil, air and light to grow. It also can grow into a plant and reproduce. However, the stone is not changed at all.
Butterfly
We got 5 tiny caterpillars and began the journey of raising them. We observed and recorded their growth daily. At the beginning, the caterpillars only focused on eating, Then, one day, they stopped eating and stayed still without moving. Just over a weekend, they were all turned into cocoons. At the end, all the caterpillars broken the cocoons and turned into butterflies.
Take care butterflies
Butterflies' wings were wet when they just got out the cocoons. We were so worry to let them go right away. We decided to keep them until their wings are dry and ready to fly. We made the food for butterflies by mixing the water with sugar. We also feed them fresh watermelon and banana peel.
Now it is time to say good bye ! We will miss you butterflies!
We also caught a wild caterpillar and snails from our play yard and we were so eager to take care of them.
We feed the leaves, banana peels and strawberry to the snails and we brushed some water on the leaves to keep the snail hydrated. We also learned the parts of a snail.
The flowers are blooming in our front yard! Let’s cut some flowers and decorate our classroom.
It's time to make pressing flower work!
After taking care the classroom "pets", we need to prepare food for birds and squirrels.
Mother’s Day Tea Party
This is a bracelet I made for my mom with my heart!
I want to make a flower for my mom!
Mom, thank you for taking care of me 365 days a year and never be absent or give up. Now, let me to serve you a cup of tea and show you how much I love and appreciate you.
We are going to paint our beautiful memory as we paint this mug.
STEM— Magnet
We learned a magnet is a piece of metal that attracts, or pulls, some materials towards it. Every magnet has two ends. These are called the magnet’s north pole and south pole. The poles are the parts of a magnet where its forces, or magnetism, are strongest. We were very eager to find out what is attracted and what is not attracted by a magnet in our classroom.
Chinese Activities
We’ve learned all the sounds by the end of school year. Now we’re ready to spell!
We learned a little poem ” 滴答，滴答，下雨了”. We had a numerous fun in being a seed, a little grass, a flower, a frog, and ants!
We loved to sing the song “农夫在农场| The Farmer in the Dell”.
We all felt blessed in the story “The Good Shepherd”. Thank you dear God for loving us, protecting us, and bringing us home!
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep."
——John 10:11-15 ESV