Can the Earth turn?

11/06/2008 (Wednesday)

a) A new game: Flying In The Space
I relieved Teacher Hui Ping's class as she was not feeling well. I woke the kids up. I gave them the chance to wake the other friends. They drank their water and gathered to march downstairs. They went to the playground. Some played with the slides, some with sea-saws and some with the bouncer. I actually helped the kids to jump on the bouncer; so that they could bounce as high as possible. Then, we went upstairs.
I showed the kid a new toy. It is called, “Flying In The Space”. I explained the parts of the board game. The player has to drag an oval scoop that has a hole in the middle. A marble will be put into that scoop to go according to the line from START to END. Then, they will score the points along the line. The board consists of many holes. If they are not careful, the marble will fall into the holes and the kid loses his or her turn. Each lesson, two well-behaved kids will be given the honor to play this game. They were very excited!


b) Song: The Spinning Earth
Then, we learnt a new song called “The Spinning Earth”. The children learnt that all planets can spin or turn around the sun. Take a look at the lyrics:


“ The Earth turns around (x2),
Once a day, every day;
The Earth turns around.


The Moon turns around the Earth (x2),
Once a month, every month;
The Moon turns around the Earth.


The Earth turns around the Sun (x2),
Once a year, every year;
The Earth turns around the Sun.”


I drew the the Sun, the Earth and the Moon to enable the kids to understand the picture. The Earth takes 24 hours a day to turn around and to make a day. So, we have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, the Moon turns around the Earth. It takes a month to make a complete turn. Thus, the kids learnt that there are “January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December”. Then, the Earth takes a year to make a complete turn around the Sun. So, imagine a baby growing from 1 year old to 5 years old.......as many of my kids are now. The kids were very attentive at this point!


c) Spinning makes me dizzy!
Next, we formed a big circle. I placed the red chairs as the Sun. Then, every kid imagined to be Earth! ZYg and YZ said.....”Wow, Teacher........there are now 20 Earths in this class because there are 20 kids now!” Everyone laughed!
So, we started turning around the Sun. While turning, we said the names of months. They were giggling as they were dizzy already. We did the second time and they were more serious.......wow, their faces were red.......dizzy! Then I asked, “Why don't we feel dizzy.....when the Earth spins?” YP said because we are inside. I told them......because the Earth spins really slowly!


d) Another fire drill.
Next, we prepared for tea. Suddenly, the fire alarm went off. The kids quickly lined up, hurried through the Emergency Door and then to the main gate. This time, they were all faster and efficient. Nevertheless, some kids ran instead of walking hurriedly. In fact, some kids gave me their half-eaten bread at the staircase!.....ha ha ha! J was faster than the morning's drill. Tomorrow there will be another drill. The kids are really looking forward to it!


e) I can make a clock.
Next, we talked about the clock. I drew a big circle. I recapped on the 12 numbers. Then, I tested them on the time. They were quite good. They were able to say,....3 o'clock or 5.30 in the afternoon. We used bowls to trace the circle. I gave each of them a piece of A4 paper. Then, we discussed. “How are we going to make the clock?”
YZ and EG suggested using paper plates. However, YP and ZY said it will tear. Then, for the needles; SY, YW and JN suggested using straws. I told them that I will buy good quality paper plates.
So, they traced the bowl. They were very independent. I only helped LX, XR, WY and JK with the tracing. Then, they tried writing the numbers. I assisted WY, XR, LX, JK and YW. Then, they coloured the clock. Zyg was creative that he coloured his clock as the Earth. ZY, JS, Syu, JN, YP, M, EG's clocks were tidy. In fact, JS drew eyes and mouth for his clock. He said it looks similar to his home's clock. The other kids needed less help from me such JH, JK and WY. They enjoyed seeing their friends' clocks. In fact WY and ZY were singing songs while colouring.


f) Spiderman
After clearing the colour pencils and crayons, the kids gathered to look at YZ's Spiderman Colouring Book. In fact, I only told 20% of the Spiderman's story. The kids knew even much more than me! They said his name was Peter Parker, they said Dr. Octopus was an evil man. They even acted out for me. Kids such as ZYg, WY, EG were very good at illustration. YZ kept asking them questions about Spiderman......well.....if adults like the movie......I'm sure kids too! Everyone thanked YZ for such a great book!