This week we began discussing many holiday cultures and traditions. First, we explored and learned about Hanukkah, an eight day Jewish “festival of lights” celebration. Students discovered the joy of playing the dreidel game with gelt, transferred candles into a Menorah, painted the Star of David, read books about Hanukkah, and made a booklet of vocabulary words. The EC community also had the opportunity to participate in a special Hanukkah presentation from one of our MSBG families who taught us about their own family traditions when celebrating this Holiday! Kwanzaa was another Holiday observed in December that we discussed. Students learned about the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa. Making a kinara was an art activity this week as well as trying the process of weaving a mat. Kwanzaa colors were represented throughout many works and the game Mancala was introduced as many families incorporate this into their celebrations to remember the heritage and ancestry. Our next food preparation work this week was frosting and decorating a cookie! One of their favorites! We also ended the week with a beautiful extension of our sensorial materials called the “sensorial Christmas tree.” Students work together using our red rods and knobless cylinders to make and decorate a tree.
Montessori School of Bowling Green