OLE! Our Trip to Mexico!

My students and I recently completed one of my favorite units of study in our Kindergarten curriculum - MEXICO! This unit typically takes 4 full weeks to complete and is one of the most talked about memories of kindergarten among students. Many ask why we cover this in the winter vs. around Cinco de Mayo, which would seem like the logical choice. Well in all honesty, in an effort to be politically correct, we are able to have a very fun and festive celebration at the end of December!

To begin, we hook students by transforming our classrooms with bright, colorful decorations and artifacts from Mexico, for example posters, maracas, banners, music, and more. We begin by reading Blue Bug Visits Mexico by Virginia Poulet and discussing the different lands of Mexico, as well as the climate. With my assistance, students color a map of Mexico and use the key to make note of these special lands. Students also make a suitcase and pack it with items they can't survive without during our travels. We display our suitcases on a large bulletin board, as we will need to access them throughout our trip (i.e. store completed projects and papers in them for easy take home!). A picture is worth a thousand words! Enjoy the picture walk below that will help guide you through our recent travels. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about particular lessons and I can explain further!

Our Suitcases:

Land of Mexico Book

  

    

Mexican Flags:

Flag Compare and Contrast