Montessori Curriculum – Cultural & Language

Book choices for today:

Mexico ABC’s   Sarah Heiman
Mexico   David Marx
Mexico    Conrad Stein
Numbers / Los Numeros   Clare Beaton
The Numbers Day at the Park   Spanish Missy

Geography: (first circle)

Need for lesson – Paper plates, paints, brushes, and pipe cleaners to make plato de colores. If you have a brightly colored plate from Mexico or pictures of some bring them in to show the children what they look like.

Geography 16

Let’s think about some of the things we learned about Mexico. We know that in Mexico the people speak mostly Spanish. Some popular foods are pineapples, mangoes, papayas, chili peppers, tortillas. Why is it again that corn tortillas are eaten there a lot? In Mexico corn is the most grown crop. How do they make the tortillas?

We also learned that if we go to Mexico we will see many brightly colored things. Festive colors like yellows, reds, oranges, greens and blues are an important part of everyday life in Mexico. Brilliantly colored piñatas can be seen all over. What is a piñata? Baskets, clothing, and pottery are also seen with bright colors. Artists hand-craft colorful “platos de colores”, which means “colorful plate” in Spanish. They are beautiful. These plates are useful as dishes as well as works of art that may be hung up or displayed on a table.

At the art table today you can make a “Plato de Colores” with a paper plate.

Additional Works:

Review Spanish colors and numbers. Using your sombrero, teach the children the ‘Mexican Hat Dance’ song or just have fun trying on a sombrero while enjoying a special snack from Mexico.

(Second Circle)

Need for lesson – A Biome Card Set. As we begin to look at different continents, especially Africa, it is important to look at pictures of different ecological areas. Keep it simple, show pictures and talk about what make an area say, a tropical one. Mention that you have already talked about deserts. Just briefly look at large areas of land and highlight some characteristics of the differences seen.

Song (CD) choices for today:

Diez Ninitos   Songs in Spanish for Children
Los Numeros   Cha, Cha, Cha Spanish Learning Songs
Colores   De Clores
Mexican Hat Dance   Folk Dance Fun