The Clock Craft

16/06/2008 (Monday)

a) The Happy Kids!
Well, another great morning! The kids came into the classroom happily except XR, JH and EG who needed some time to warm up. Eg said he slept rather late which made him feel sleepy. The others played with the toys. Meanwhile, I checked the kids’ “Space Book” on their homework. Some of them didn’t finish colouring the Jupiter. So, I called them individually.

b)Days and Months
Next, we gathered and recap on the song, “The Spinning Earth”. They laughed as they recalled how dizzy they were after spinning. Initially, they read not fluently. So, I got a 4-year old kid to read for me. My class was surprised at his good reading! Of course, they read and sang better after that. They recapped on how the Earth makes a day, the Moon makes a month and the Earth makes a year around the Sun.
Then, they read the vocabulary on “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday”. Then, they ran through the vocabulary on months, “January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December”.

c) Reading the time
The children recapped on writing 1 until 12. Then, they looked at the numbers of the clock. I asked them about the time. They learnt to read the time. Thus, they know when the other teachers are coming into the classroom.
Then, they sang the song, “Hickory Dickory Dock”.

“Hickory Dickory Dock,
The Mouse ran up the clock,
The clock struck one / two / three / four / five,
The Mouse ran down,
Hickory Dickory Dock”

During tea break, the kids had donuts. In fact, WY brought a “pao” for me which I shared with the other kids. J also brought “yoghurt” to be shared with his friends later in the afternoon’s tea break.

d) Craft: Clock
Next, we looked at the drawings and coloured clocks by each student. Then, the kids cut the clock. Each took a paper plate. They then pasted the clock onto the paper plate. Next, they were given a straw. They cut a portion which is longer than the other one. Then they had to cut a small hole at the end of each straw. This small hole will make it easier for the kids to poke the pin through the straws and then to hold it against the paper plate. They were quite independent except for cutting the small hole which they needed more guidance. Tomorrow, they will continue with the craft.