Corbett Prep Pilgrims Arrive in America on the Mayflower

Dressed in their vests, collars, and aprons, PreK4 and Kindergarten Pilgrims and their teachers at Corbett Preparatory School of IDS set sail aboard the Mayflower to begin the journey to America.

Once they made landfall and ran down the gangplank, the Corbett Prep Pilgrims went straight to work learning about America’s past in the daily lives of the early settlers and the first Thanksgiving.

Reenacting the work the early settlers faced that first long, cold winter, the students set about making candles, washing clothes, making butter, woodworking, thatching a roof, planting and harvesting. The young Pilgrims enjoyed a visit from Squanto, who taught them how to use fish as fertilizer, and they were able to teach him how to build shelter, make candles and weave cloth.

The students, their teachers, and parent volunteers celebrated their hard work with a feast, complete with vegetables they “harvested” from their winter crop.

Corbett Prep’s “Living Thanksgiving,” bringing the Thanksgiving story to life, is a cherished tradition for the students of the Early Primary Division. This experience has evolved to incorporate the International Baccalaureate Programme of inquiry called How We Express Ourselves: Tell Me a Story.

“In this unit, the students gained an understanding of how history is represented through written and oral language," said Early Primary Division Leader Marla Vildostegui. "We introduce the students to a variety of fictional and non-fictional literature, including legends, to help them learn about the past and how storytelling has changed and developed throughout history."

This highly interactive unit appeals to multiple intelligences. To involve verbal linguistic intelligences, students read stories about Pilgrim life and write in journals. To appeal to naturalist and musical rhythmic intelligences, students worked with wood, planted a garden, and learned Thanksgiving songs to be shared with their families on Grandparents’ Day. All outdoor activities such as building, sawing, thatching, fishing, and washing appealed to the bodily kinesthetic intelligences.

Corbett Prep Early Primary teachers believe creating memorable experiences enables students to make real-life connections to curriculum-based studies. PreK4 and Kindergarten teachers will continue this engaging unit through December when they will take a look into how holiday traditions are passed down from generation to generation through storytelling.

For more information on Corbett Prep, go to http://www.idsyes.com.