In the month of November the play group students were busy working on their autumn fall and harvest unit. They had the opportunity to bake apple pies and make apple juice since apples are part of the harvest season. Students had the chance to participate in all steps of the process from pouring the ingredients into the bowl to mixing it all together. The students really were engaged in this activity and loved sampling their final products.
Further exploring the autumn and fall harvest theme, the play group students learned the parts of the body by making their own scarecrows. When focusing on the scarecrow creations, they focused on the colors orange, green, and yellow and were incorporated into each lesson and activity. The vocabulary words during this unit focused on the body parts, straw, and scarecrow. Students also learned about farm animals. Students read farm stories, learned farm animal sounds, and counting crows and chickens. During their focus on animals, the colors they learned were brown, white, red, and yellow and were reinforced in all of their arts and crafts. The vocabulary focus during their unit on farm animals were chicken, hen, and rooster.
The month of November was equally busy for the preschool students. The students baked cookies and bread. Students had the chance to participate in all steps of the process from pouring the ingredients into the bowl to mixing it all together. Along with this, they have focused heavily on letter shapes, sounds, and words associated with those letters. They have spent a lot of time with their friend Mr. Frog, who helps them match words to their first letter. They have also improved their handwriting skills by tracing each letter in the sand. In preschool math, they have focused on counting and matching the numbers one through ten.
In pre-k and kindergarten, the students have been busy creating arts and crafts that also focus on the autumn and fall harvest as well. They drew beautiful drawings of tractors, made wonderful turkeys and Thanksgiving wreaths where students wrote down the different things they were thankful for.
The Swiss schools had a father/daughter day this month as well, so the Eichmatt School asked if the Beehive School could accommodate five fifth grade boys and give them some background on what it is like to work with young children. These five boys were well received by the preschoolers. So much so, they didn't want them to leave. I think the feeling was mutual.
Lastly, the students in all three grade levels have spent a lot of time preparing for the Christkindl Market held this past November 21st from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at the new location in Lindencham. They have been rehearsing their songs including
The Firetruck Song, This Little Light of Mine, I am Special, and Oh Light, which students learned in both English and German. Not only did they need to learn all of the songs, but they also learned several gestures that went along with the music. The preschoolers were also busy creating the beautiful candle holders with the crafter’s needle, which turned out wonderfully.
As you can see, the students of the Beehive are engaged both academically and socially and are buzzing with lots of energy. Looking forward to seeing what they accomplish next month.
