Rubbish and Recycle

16/04/2008 (Wednesday)

(i) Sharing
Today, JS was excited about his Animal Book. So, I asked him if he wanted me to share with his friends. He was happy about it. So, after drinking water, they gathered to look at the pictures. We read the animal names from A to L only. We would continue the rest tomorrow. They saw the Anteater which we couldn’t find it at the National Zoo. Then, they distinguished between iguana and chameleon. They also saw the differences between a leopard and a jaguar. A jaguar has brown round spots on its body but a leopard has different type of brown spots. ZY asked whether they are faster runners than cheetahs. Of course, cheetahs are the fastest runners even defeating lions.
(M/I: Interpersonal, Naturalist, Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical skills)

(ii) Colouring and Individual Focus
Then, the kids continue their colouring for their “Garden” picture. Hmmm…I could feel that the kids are more friendly and willing to share colour pencils with their friends. Less quarreling. Meanwhile, I called a few kids to do reading of the “Alphabet” chart. I realized that kids go home and share with their parents what they learnt in school. WY could actually sing the “ABC” song very well compared to Monday. SJ was actually independent in recognizing the letters. ZYg still mixed them up at times. M, JN and SYu were asked to recognize the words rather than the letters. They read through “Axe, Ball, Clown and Door”.
(M/I: Interpersonal, Spatial, Linguistic skills)

(iii) Flashcards and Blindfold
Next, we recapped on the flashcards: Earth, Sun, Water, Air, Animals, People and Trees. Then, I pasted them on the whiteboard. We played the blindfold game. YW insisted that this blindfold game is different. I grinned at her and explained that it’s a modified game. I blindfolded the kids individually. They had a stick pole in their hand. After spinning them for 3 rounds, they had to hit or point randomly at the words. The kids were laughing because some of the blindfolded kids almost hit their friends instead….haaa. YP, YZ, YW, ZY, M, EG could read the words independently and also explained the meaning. WY, JN, SYu, JW, JH, ZYg, JS, SJ and J required more guidance. The objective of this game was to recapped the importance of the Natural Elements. (M/I: Interpersonal, Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical skills)

(iv) Rubbish and Recycle
After tea break, we had imaginary trips to the kids’ homes. We rode on a motorbike.
Teacher : I would like to look at your dustbin.
YW : Why do you need to look at our dustbin?
Teacher : I need to know what do all of you normally throw into the dustbins.
ZYg : We throw the leftover food.
JN : We throw bones.YZ : We throw Coca-Cola cans.
ZY : We throw 7-Up cans.
ZJ : We throw tissues.Teacher : Do you throw away unwanted clothes?
YP : I threw a skirt because the zipper had spoilt.
JN, YZ : We don’t. My mother will mend it.
EG : I throw vitagen bottles.
JW : I throw the ice-cream wrappers.
ZYg : I throw the sweet wrapper.
Teacher : Some people throw newspaper and pampers too.Children : Yuksss….!

Then, we talked about the carriage of rubbish to the landfill.
YZ : Why not send the rubbish to the Recycle Centre first?
Teacher : Only the rubbish thrown into Recycle Bins would be carried to there. What do we do with the
landfill’s rubbish?
They learnt that the rubbish would be buried there. They didn’t realize that the landfill would be completely used up one fine day! YW said that the rubbish could be thrown into another land. I told them that we are having shortages of landfills. Then, they showed their worried faces. So, what should we do? “Recycle”.
Then, the kids came forward individually to the white board and circle the recyclable items. They realized that plastic, cans and paper could be recycled. I added on that glasses too could be recycled. As for the leftover food or bones, they were not sure. I told them to ask their parents. (In the next few lessons, they would learn about “Compost”).
(M/I: Interpersonal, Naturalist, Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Intrapersonal skills)

(v) Recycle Bins
Next, we gathered downstairs to explore at the 3 Recycle Bins placed in the garden. They had to identify the different colour bins. They learnt that “blue is for paper”, “brown is for glasses” and “orange is for aluminum cans”. In fact, they asked to look inside the Recycle Bins. I showed them because the bins were not fully occuoied yet.....Haaa....I gave them a task to bring some newspaper for tomorrow’s lesson.
(M/I: Interpersonal, Naturalist, Linguistic skills)