Monday in Room 6

It was a productive Monday in Room 6 at UMS.  It is obvious that students are excited for the holidays and vacation--the energy level is high--but despite that, everyone worked very hard today! We are experimenting with some changes to our schedule--math earlier in the day and ending our day with social studies and free choice. Yesterday's free choice was a fun, happy time. Just look at the smiles in the photo below! I hope everyone has a great week.

Our study of winter holidays is in full swing! Students have 'traveled' to Mexico to learn about Las Posadas and poinsettias (we made beautiful glittery poinsettia art which will hang in the hallway soon!). They have also heard books and songs about Hanukkah and have played the Dreidel Game during our math station time. We have discussed our own family traditions and how we celebrate Christmas and other winter holidays. Students are working on a scrapbook that describes some of the the holiday traditions we learn about. Today, students learned about a Swedish holiday called St. Lucia Day. As part of the celebration, any families in Sweden drink coffee and eat special sweet buns that are served by the children (sounds good to me!). I switched this around a bit and surprised students with an end-of-day treat of hot cocoa and a sample of a cinnamon roll. I think most students loved this special surprise! I snapped a few (very quick) photos of our St. Lucia mini-celebration.