Cambodia, A Miracle, and the 100th Day of School

A Letter of Gratitude
In January we donated the $100 profit from our Christmas Sale to the M. B. School in Cambodia. We designated the money to be used for their "Victory Garden," and also sent along letters and drawings of Hawaii from the children. This week, the class received a letter of gratitude from the Cambodian children. Here are some highlights: "Thank you for your good kindness to Cambodian children. All of you are doing a good job, especially saving children in the poor country like Cambodia." The letter goes on to say that most of the children are from poor farm families who live in hunger and poverty. Many cannot give their children breakfast every morning, but with the food from the garden they can have a morning meal. If you would like to offer more support for this school on behalf of your child, please contact me.

The Miracle of Transformation
On Thursday morning, the children rushed into the room to check the chrysalis and found a beautiful Monarch butterfly drying its wings. Most had experienced the life cycle of a Monarch before, but that did not dampen the excitement and wonder of the moment. The most amazing thing to all of us was the size of the butterfly compared to the tiny transparent chrysalis it clung to. There were numerous discussions about how it could have folded its wings to fit into such a small space. Outside in the sunshine, we gathered in a circle, and the butterfly walked from one child’s hand to another. The children decided it was not afraid because they are such “loving kids.” We placed the Monarch in a tree so it could finish drying its wings and fly away to begin its miraculous cycle of life again.

Inquiry
Your children are making beautiful continent maps that include major landforms like the Andes Mountains and Amazon River of South America, the Himalayas of Asia, and the Nile River and Sahara Desert of Africa. We talk about compass directions and fill in the oceans on each map. Every morning, during Mindful Choice time, the children are engaged in interactive lessons on the SmartBoard that allow them to put the continents together to form Pangaea or to go exploring with Google Earth.

Next week, we will begin researching the continents to learn about people and animals, and how climates, landforms, and environments influence the way people live. Thank you for the magazines and artifacts from different countries that the children are already bringing in. We can always use more! Next week, I will begin showing your children my slides of the world. We will visit the Himalayas, Tibet, India, Brazil, Europe, China, and many other fascinating places where I have traveled and worked. I hope you, too, are preparing to share your travels and knowledge of the world with us.

A special thank you to V A for demonstrating and teaching Japanese calligraphy on Thursday. He did an excellent job of explaining the tools and techniques and teaching each child the art of calligraphy.

Our bulletin board highlighting our “Sense of Place” in the world is beginning to take shape with the information from the Oahu and Ancestor maps. Mahalo, again, for all you do to enhance our learning.

100th Day
On Wednesday, January 31, we celebrated the 100th day of school. The children brought in interesting collections of 100 things and explained how they counted them. Some children created art using 100 items. Check out the photo gallery for great pictures of their presentations and other classroom activities!

Posted on February 9, 2007 7:28 AM | Permalink