Carnation Flowers

06/05/2008 (Tuesday morning)

a) Humpty Dumpty and Corner Playing

The kids marched from the playground to the classroom. They hid under the tables, behind the door and chairs waiting eagerly for me…..ha ha ha! Some kids played with the blocks. ZY built a canon…wow! The girls did colouring on “Humpty Dumpty”. Meanwhile, I called the kids individually to read the flashcards on colours. We did only 6 colours which were “black, white, red, pink, purple, blue”.

b) Poem: Happy Mother's Day

Next, we formed circle time. I wrote a short paragraph on the whiteboard. It is actually a song but we read together as to reinforce their reading skills. We interpreted the meanings. The kids giggled at the meaning of “hugs” and “kisses” and they asked the meaning of “My Mother Is The Best!”

c) How is little SY?

They were very eager about little SY. In fact, they asked me before I began the class. I told them that I went to her house yesterday with Teacher Huang and Teacher Hui Ting. Her house is in Kapar about an hour’s drive from our school…which is very far. They asked if she cried? I told them that she looked very tired and pale. Of course, she cried for a while when we hugged her. However, she smiled seeing the little pictures which her friends drew for her. In fact, little SY said she wants SYu to draw another picture for her. I asked her what colour Carnation she wants for her mother. Quickly, she said “blue”. I told her that we would make a tissue flower for this Sunday’s Mother’s Day. Deep within myself, I whispered, “Isn’t it wonderful if she could at least celebrate Mother’s Day with her father…”

d) Craft: Carnations

After tea break, the kids gathered eagerly for flower making. Shhh......It's suppose to be a surprise for mothers! First, I introduced them the vocabulary words included "tissue paper, wire thread, scissors, plastic bottle". These were the steps:1) Fold the tissue paper.2) Cut along the middle line.3) Place the 2 parts as 1.4) Fold using your fingers for a bout an inch "in" and "out" like folding a paper fan.5) Use the wire thread to tie a knot in the middle of the folded tissue.6) Unfold the petals as if the Carnation flower is blooming. The challenging part was the folding part. ZY, YZ, JN, SC, SYu and SJ were able to fold individually. I even asked them to help their friends. I reminded to unfold the petals gently as to avoid the tissue being torn. Their flowers turned out to be really pretty and funny though...but they just love it. Tomorrow, we will colour them.