Kindergarten students in Mrs. Wyatt and Mrs. Dyson’s class at Mocksville Elementary learned about December holidays celebrated around the world.

They learned about traditions in Mexico, Australia, Germany, England, Sweden, and France. Hanukkah and Kwanzaa were shared, as well.  The kids were amazed at the similarities and differences of some of the celebrations.

High school intern, Ms. Lewis, taught the difference between wants and needs. Students were able to learn quickly that most things, especially on their holiday wish list, were wants instead of needs and why. They still had fun coming up with one thing that they would want for Christmas.   

First grade was busy in December. Students learned about problem and solution.  They learned how Santa’s team worked to solve problems to help him deliver presents on Christmas Eve.

Students learned how to ask questions. They watched and read several wordless movies and books.  They had to pay attention to details in the pictures and videos to help understand the story. Students asked questions before, during and after the text using question words to help them formulate the questions.

Mrs. Keaton’s class had two special readers: Mr. J. Keaton and Mr. M. Davidson read aloud holiday books to the class.

Miss Hall’s second grade class learned about subtraction with regrouping and had fun preparing for the holidays. Student activities included Grinch Day and Gingerbread House Day.

Mrs. Fletcher’s third graders “traveled” around the world learning about Christmas. Students visited England, Australia, Sweden, France and Venezuela. They learned about different customs, foods and traditions. They learned about each country and then made a craft.

Julie Marklin talked about Hanukkah to third graders. On Dec. 18, third graders participated in a Lovefeast ceremony led by Don and Linda Giles. Mrs. Giles goes over the traditions, customs and shows many of her handmade china pieces. Students sing carols and enjoy sugar buns and Moravian coffee, a highlight of the Christmas Around the World study.

Fourth graders have been working on geometry. They used photos and magazines to find parallel, perpendicular and intersecting lines. Students traced the lines in the photos, cut them out and pasted them onto their poster board for everyone to be able to see their work.

Mrs. Parker’s fifth grade class enjoyed Christmas-themed activities. They finished units on theme and summarizing, spent a couple of days learning about idioms and drawing them.  In math they are working on fractions. They learned how to write fractions on a number line and reviewed how to simplify fractions. They are still working on equivalent fractions and will continue to do so next week.

Students have been spending a lot of time learning about and writing their opinions about several topics. Fifth grade classes participated in Elf Day, Grinch Day and Pajama Day.