Today began with beautiful butterflies.
Our first grade class at Wiehagenschule read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" today. They have already heard the story in German, so we read it to them in English for a quick vocabulary lesson and immersion activity.
After reading and discussing the story, we gave them ideas for their artwork.
Each first grade student keeps a running notebook of his or her artistic creations, and we wanted to help make an addition. The butterflies shown above, then, were some of their lovely illustrations.
After our lesson with the first grade class, we moved on to third grade. The third grade students at Wiehagenschule compared Christmas in America to Christmas in Germany. Their festive classroom decorations helped to set the mood.
Jordan, Kelsey, and I first shared our Christmas experiences with the students. We discussed what we see on Christmas, what we eat on Christmas, and what we do on Christmas for American traditions. Then, we prompted the students to share their German Christmas experiences with us! They recorded their responses on a graphic organizer and helped us compare the celebration of Christmas in America to the celebration of Christmas in Germany.
Seeing the children express themselves creatively through today's activities was refreshing and encouraging. Our time at Wiehagenschule has truly been a blessing, and we will be sad to say goodbye on Friday.
Tomorrow we will visit the Christmas Markets in Lünen and eat traditional German schnitzel. I look forward to sharing that with you!
Cheers,
Johni (Mrs. L)