Preschool, Kindergarten and Elementary Grade Level Events

Throughout the year, Sunset Mesa students participate in wonderful unit studies and events that are fun, fulfilling, and a delightful way to expand our core curriculum. The children experience music, art, literature, science, math, and drama through a broad variety of activities, guest speakers, and field trips. We love having parent volunteers help and participate with us! Here are just a few of the unit studies and events that make each grade level an exceptional experience:

Early Childhood Preschool, 3 Year Old Classes
Unit Studies include:
•Teddy Bear Unit, culminating with a Teddy Bear Picnic
•Marvelous Me, learning about ourselves and our friends
•Exploring Senses
•Falling for Autumn Unit, enjoying the changing seasons
•Amazing Apples
•Colorful Leaves
•Hot Air Balloons
•Pumpkins and Scarecrows
•Life on the Farm
•Thanksgiving Unit, complete with a traditional Thanksgiving Feast 
•Winter Celebrations
•Winter Wonderland Unit, icy and snowy fun
•Let It Snow!
•The Mitten by Jan Brett
•Winter Animals
•The Jacket I Wear… by Shirley Neitzel
•Gotta Have Heart
•President’s Day
•Children’s Literature
•Rumble in the Jungle
•Commotion in the Ocean
•Dino Dynasty
•Jelly Beans
•Rainbows
•Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!
•Butterflies and Flowers
•Mother's Day Tea
•Splishy, Splashy Summer

Early Childhood Preschool, 4 Year Old Classes
•Literature and pre-reading skills through author studies:
Eric Carle
Jan Brett
Dr. Seuss
and Others!
•Self-Awareness and Our Five Senses
•Nursery Rhymes, an introduction to rhyming
•Celebrate America Unit and American Presidents
•Desert/Rainforest Units , comparing habitats
•Polar Animals Units, a chilling experience!
•Nocturnal Animals/Diurnal Animals
•New Mexico ; our weather, events and traditions
•100th Day and 101st Day Celebrations
•Simple Machines Unit: wedges, levers, inclined planes and wheels
•Solar System Unit, an out-of-this-world adventure
•'Parent planned' Winter Party
•'Parent planned' Valentine’s Day Party
•'Parent Participation Day'
•'Parent planned' End of the Year Picnic and Field Day
•Crazy Days:
Silly Sock Day
Pajama Day
Hat Day
And More!

Montessori Preschool Classes
Units of Study:
•Solar System
•Human Body
•Continents and Land Forms
•Plants
•Insects and Spiders
•Amphibians and Reptiles
•Mammals
•Birds
•Science Experiments
•Children’s Birthday Celebrations
•Thanksgiving Feasts
•Winter Holiday Program
•Gentlemen’s Night
•Earth Day Celebration
•Ladies’ Night
•Mother’s Day Party

Kindergarten
•Field trips to Explora, Natural History Museum, and the Zoo
•Theatrical experience field trip
•Thanksgiving feast
•"Polar Express" Day
•Literacy Bags to take home on the weekend
•Author studies (e.g. Audrey Wood, Jan Brett, Laura Numeroff, Dr. Seuss)
•Teddy Bear Math week
•Star of the Week
•Weekly show and tell
•Friday Fun (e.g. thematic based cooking, art, and show and tell activity)
•Kindergarten graduation and field day

Prefirst
•Field Trips to Popejoy Hall for a play, the Zoo, Explora, and the Natural History Museum
•Reading buddy days
•Courtyard mass ascension of PreFirst Graders’ hot air balloons
•Christopher Columbus and Columbus Day
•Icky, Icky Pumpkin Guts- A Day to Honor "Short i"
•Veterans remembered
•Thanksgiving study (from a pilgrim child's point of view)
•December Holidays: Customs and Celebrations
•100th Day of School Celebration
•Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King- His Dream and Our Dreams!
•Science in a Blue Backpack presentations
•Presidents and Other Great Americans with Log Cabin Days (We're building WHAT in our classroom?)
•Valentine's Day Celebration
•Ireland, an Island Country, and Its Folklore
•A Celebration of Spring- What can it bring?
•Prefirst Flag Ceremony and Parent/Prefirst Graders Brunch
•Celebrating moms and dads
•End of Year Boo Hoo! Miss You! Party

First Grade
•The Pumpkin Patch field trip, a farm experience
•Old Town Scavenger Hunt field trip, New Mexico unit
•Shady Lakes field trip, Life Cycle unit
•Botanical Gardens field trip, Living Things unit
•“All About Me” presentations, building classroom community
•Apple and pumpkin math weeks
•Storybook character pumpkins
•New Mexico Fiesta,  a celebration with cooking, music, dance, and more
•Writer's Walk to Fame, a week of collaborative writing experiences
•Thanksgiving Celebration
•Winter Holidays Around the World, exploring cultural diversity and family traditions
•“I Have a Dream” Day,  events to commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr.
•100th Day of School- fun with “100” as the theme
•End of Year Blast

Second Grade
•Zoo field trip for animal studies
•Explora field trip
•Theatrical production experience field trip
•Community Farm field trip
•Community Awareness unit
•Flat Stanley Breakfast with our traveling flat guests
•Penguin Research Project
•Native American unit
•Author Biography project
•President Biography project
•Green Hat Parade (St. Patrick’s Day Celebration)

Third Grade
•Field trips to Explora Museum, Whole Foods Market, Popejoy Hall and Natural History Museum/Plantarium
•Various writing genres experienced during the year (personal narrative, explanatory, persuasive, and expository)
•Novel studies throughout the year
•Introduction to several reading genres
•Science units including Structure and Function, Healthy Science, Space/Our Planet and Scientific Thinking
•Math games and explorations
•Cultures and traditions around the world
•Poetry unit
•Seasonal arts and crafts units
•Study of communities and extending ourselves into our own Albuquerque community

Fourth Grade
•Field Trips: symphony orchestra concert, theatrical production, tour of Casa San Isidro and Coronado Monument, and a day in Santa Fe
•Fall Retreat to Manzano Mountains
•Genres of writing and literature infused throughout the curriculum and units of study
•New Mexico unit parent presentation day including state research and art presentations, along with a family potluck
•Biography unit with student oral presentations
•Community service project (sending various needed items to soldiers in Iraq)
•Spearhead Veteran’s Day Celebration for the school community (writing letters, learning and presenting music)
•Novel studies throughout the year with reading extensions highlighting literary devices
•National Parks research, poster, t-shirt, diorama, and PowerPoint presentation
•Hands-on Science!   Students hypothesize, investigate and draw conclusions throughout their hands-on studies of Engineering Toys, Survival, chemistry, New Mexico Earth Science, and the Human Body
•Seasonal art and craft projects

Fifth Grade
•Field trips related to curriculum
•Fall Retreat to Manzano Mountains
•Research projects related to curriculum
•Revolutionary Tea Party
•Living History Museum simulations
•Science projects including a biomes research presentation
•Million Dollar Project: A study on economics as students plan trips with a million dollar budget
•Musical performance
•"Pi Day"...or is that "Pie Day?" students have fun with both
•Novel studies and culmination activities, projects, and luncheons
•Government simulations
•Community service project
•Graduation events (talent show, favorite memories flag ceremony presentation, swim party, graduation ceremony, and graduation reception)