Pre-Primary Room

June News

For June, we're excited to explore transportation and California. We're ready to immerse ourselves in the vibrant cultures of California and learn about the various modes of transportation we use daily. Our month's featured book is The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone. This book promises to be enjoyable and educational, teaching kids the importance of hard work and personal initiative.

May Recap

In May, our pre-primary class celebrated Mother's Day with a delightful tea party to express our gratitude to the students' mothers. This event provided an opportunity for students to enjoy quality time with their mothers and facilitated meaningful interactions among parents and peers. It was a wonderful experience that the children really enjoyed. This day also benefits the children by demonstrating love and care, which contributes to their mental and emotional well-being.



In our Montessori curriculum, we prioritized practical life skills by guiding children through practical life, our students practice sensorial byfinding the fossils to match the dinosaur. Uncover the excitement with our dinosaur fossil activity! This thrilling adventure transports children to a world of dinosaurs and ancient fossils. The activity engages kids in digging, discovering, and learning in a fun and educational manner. As young explorers transform into paleontologists, they dig through a sensory bin filled with rice to find hidden fossils. Using their hands and boundless curiosity, they'll uncover one fossil at a time, sparking a passion for learning and exploration. Our students love the challenge of finding and identifying each fossil. The tactile experience of digging through rice and gently brushing off the fossils adds a hands-on element that enhances their learning and makes every discovery feel like a real archaeological find.

For enrichment, our class participated in music. Exploring music can be an adventure, especially when it involves freeze-dancing. In freeze dance, children learn to adjust their movements and manage their energy levels based on the music's tempo and mood, helping them develop emotional self-regulation skills. The game introduces structured rules that require children to control their impulses, follow directions, and practice starting and stopping on cue. It's a high-energy activity that offers brain breaks where children can have fun while trying to stay still and anticipate the next direction. Freeze dance is more than just a fun game; it offers significant educational benefits that foster children's holistic development. By participating, kids acquire and refine various skills. Such physical skills include motor skills, coordination, and balance. Kids explore different movements, express themselves through dance, and develop body awareness as they smoothly transition between dancing and freezing. It also boosts self-confidence and self-esteem as they showcase their unique dance moves.

April Recap

Our Pre-Primary class celebrated Easter in April by having an incredible Easter Egg Hunt on the playground. Our students had an exhilarating time on their egg hunt adventure! This engaging activity brought joy and honed crucial skills like following instructions and improved flexibility. The thrill of deciding where to hunt for eggs added an extra layer of excitement and critical thinking to their Easter celebration.



In our Montessori curriculum, we prioritize Practical Life skills by guiding children through various activities using sponges and squeezing. Squeezing a sponge teaches kids to use small muscles in the hands and fingers, which helps improve fine motor skills. The children also practice hand-eye coordination by aiming the water-filled sponge at the target bucket. During the students' circle time, we learn about the songs for the days of the week and the month of the year. Exposing the students to music allows the young brains to soak in the range of notes, tones, and words they will later use, and in doing so, build neural pathways that can influence and enhance cognitive ability for a lifetime.

For Enrichments, our class participates in cooking. Exploring cooking can be an adventure, especially when it involves a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree1 Recently, the children learned valuable life skills while creating this snack. They started by peeling a banana and placing it on a plate. Then, they arranged six apple slices as tree branches and topped them with blueberries for coconuts. This activity taught them patience, problem-solving, and creativity. Following each step required patience. They had to solve challenges like adjusting ingredients. Their creativity shone as they turned simple items into an edible masterpiece. Plus, it promoted healthy eating habits in a fun way. Cooking isn't just about recipes; it's about learning skills for life.

March Recap

In March, our pre-primary class is engaging in a thematic activity inspired by Dr. Seuss's Fox in Socks, where children design their own socks by attaching various shapes and patterns onto paper, which serves as a valuable educational experience. This initiative fosters creativity and facilitates the development of fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. By familiarizing themselves with the tactile properties of glue and discerning between different shapes, the children derive joy from the activity and acquire foundational skills essential to their cognitive and physical development.

In our Montessori curriculum, we prioritized practical life skills by guiding children through practical life; students engage in tasks such as categorizing eggs by color into corresponding bowls, fostering organizational skills essential for efficient work habits, and maintaining orderly environments. In language studies, exploring letters w, y, and x is facilitated through tactile methodologies, including sandpaper tracing and dot painting. Mathematical aptitude is honed through educational tools such as the spindle box, enabling students to grasp numerical concepts comprehensively from one to ten. Additionally, our science and cultural curriculum delves into the intricate ecosystem of rainforests, focusing on the biodiversity of its animal inhabitants and the critical role rainforests play in sustaining global ecological balance.



For Enrichment, our class participated in interdisciplinary activities to enhance various skills. Through gardening, students cultivate plants and nurture their math and science aptitude. Integrating movement and music activities like slithering like a snake and walking in the jungle further enriches their learning experience. They also explored Spanish vocabulary, such as learning to say tiger, which introduces linguistic diversity, expanding their cultural awareness about rainforest animals.

February Recap

In February, our class had a fantastic time learning about diverse cultures and building new friendships. Through fun and educational crafts, we celebrated the richness of humanity by depicting children from various parts of the world, showcasing unique skin colors. The activities highlighted the beautiful idea that, despite differences in clothing, food, and traditions, our commonality lies in our shared humanity.



The endearing book Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni became a cherished part of our learning experience. This heartwarming tale of two friends, one blue and one yellow, hugging and turning green, conveyed valuable lessons about friendship, blending colors, and embracing our unique qualities.

Outdoor play provided an opportunity for games that taught cooperation and friendship, fostering discussions about the qualities that make a good friend, such as kindness and understanding.

Valentine's Day brought us together in a warm and familial atmosphere. We exchanged small gifts and enjoyed delicious snacks, enhancing the sense of unity in our class. Additionally, we celebrated the Chinese New Year by crafting dragon puppets, making learning about Chinese traditions both enjoyable and informative. February truly became a month of exploration, play, and friendship in our shared adventure!

January Recap

Starting the New Year, our class Pre-Primary learned about all the different types of winter animals that live in the Arctic. We mainly focused on Polar bears and Penguins. The class did exciting activities that practiced sensorial Montessori work, such as rescuing animals from ice to rice pouring polar bear crafts. Since Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated this month, we reviewed and explained the concept of his “I Have a Dream” speech and discussed equality. For an easier understanding, we showed the class two eggs during circle time: brown and white. We talked about how different they looked, but they looked exactly the same when we cracked them open. 

Towards the end of the month, the class focused a bit more on hibernation. We sang songs about hibernation and studied some animals that hibernate in the winter, such as bears, snakes, frogs, and bats. The students also learned about some animals that migrate as well. During circle time, our class did a group activity sorting the correct pictures on the wall about which animals hibernate or migrate. During the final week, we discussed the fun activities and festivities that will be happening in February.

December Recap

In December, our class reviewed the holidays celebrated this month, such as Hanukkah, Kwanza, Las Posadas, and Christmas. The children enjoyed learning about the different traditions around the world. We also did crafts and worksheets that involved each holiday tradition, like making a Menorah, a kwanza wreath, sponge painting a poinsettia, and making a paper plate Santa.

We also introduced the season of Winter. Since it starts on the 21st, we discussed how the next season is Winter after autumn and what to prepare for. We talked about the type of clothing worn and the types of food to eat around this season. We also discussed how in Winter it snows. The children learned that California only snows in the mountains, and most students said they wanted to see it with their families.

During the Montessori period, the children sorted bows, placed ornaments on a miniature tree, placed wooden candles on a menorah, and learned how to spin a derided. We also read the book of the month daily: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. The children understood that the tree is like our parents; we need to appreciate everything given because they will do anything to make us, like the boy, happy and thankful for that.



Towards the end of December, Santa visited and read a book. The children also had the chance to give him their Christmas letter and take pictures. The following day was our Holiday recital, a nice gathering inside, and the children seemed to enjoy themselves. Lastly, we had a Holiday snack party filled with all these delicious snacks the children loved.