Farewell and Malay Culture

29/08/2008 (Friday)

a) Farewell girls!
* Before Corner Playing, the kids were reminded that SYu and YP would go to Year 6 starting from next Tuesday. They were kind of puzzled…….how would the class be without them?....
YP : Aiyoh, Teacher Jenny. We will still see you all……we are just next door…….haaaa!
* The kids read through some words to be assessed later: dinosaurs, river, volcano, plant-eater, meat-eater, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, T-Rex, Liopleurodon, Pteranodon, long, tall.
* The kids chose their play. Some kids preferred to draw and colour including SJ, JN, LX and ZY.

b) Eating with fingers.
* MERDEKA is this Sunday. We have talked about the 3 main races.
* Today, we talked about Malay cultures.
* Traditionally, in villages; Malays sit on mats to eat their meals.
EG : They use hands to eat.
ZY : We must wash our hands cleanly.
* Thus, Chinese and Indians would respect the Malays and usually eat with their hands when dine at the Malays homes. Similarly, The Malays and Indians also learnt to eat with chopsticks. Thuis, when loving and working together, MERDEKA has a greater meaning!
* The children sat in a circle on the mat. They wash their hands cleanly and each given a bowl with some Nsi Lmak. ZY and M actually asked for chili……haaaa!
* Initially, they felt awkward but then were happy seeing their friends’ gestures of eating with hands.

c) A small farewell party.
* We celebrated “Farewell” to Yee Ping and Shi Yun They were amazed to see the delicious chocolate cake with grapes and strawberries. We sang “I Love You” and “31 Ogos”. They were very excited and blew the candles together.
* They distributed the cakes to teachers and enjoyed the balance by themselves.

d) Fasting month
T : 2 important things would happen this weekend and next week.
ZY : Merdeka!
YP : Also Mooncake.
T : Mooncake is 2 weeks time. It’s the Malays fasting month. What is fasting month?
Class: We don’t know.
* They learnt that Malays do not eat and drink for about 14 hours. I used the clock to demo the length of time. They were very puzzled.
SYu : Why teacher?
* I asked them to find out the answer from their family.
T : So, you will be seeing many Malay people selling all types of “kuihs”.
One month later, they will celebate this occasion. Look at these cards.
* those were “Hari Raya” cards. They could see fireworks, kuihs, many happy people and ketupats.
ZY : It’s like New Year.
T : Yes, it’s Selamat Hari Raya.

Malaysia Flag

28/08/2008 (Thursday)

a) Things that fly……
* The kids were very interested about “aeroplane” and “flying”.
* Listening to my cue, they flew around. They flew as aeroplanes, birds, kites, balloons, helicopters, rockets, Pteranodons, vultures and pigs………..ahhh…….can a pig fly??.......They stared at me.

b) Poem: the Flying Pig
* We did a poem, “The Flying Pig”
The Flying Pig
“Dickery, Dockery, Dare
The pig flew in the sky,
The man in brown,
Soon brought him down,
Dickery, Dockery, Dare”

T : How did the pig fly?
YP : That is not a real pig. It’s a balloon type of pig.
JN : You need t pump in air.
ZY : No, it’s a pig-kite.
Class : Ahhh!
* It could be anything that is of a pig’s image. They enjoyed the rhymes.

c) Analysing the better plane.
* The kids reported to me of their homework.
JN : My mother and father don’t know anything about paper aeroplanes.
T : It’s okay. Anyone else?
YP : We shouldn’t fold the paper to many times. It would be heavy.
JS : We could just stick 2 long wings onto a paper.
EG : Teacher, look at my new paper aeroplane.
* We decided to test JS, EG and my new aeroplane to compare with yesterday’s aeroplane. Since they liked Eg’s, we invited Eg to show the children. It was better but mine fly the farthest. So, majority voted to make my model.

d) MERDEKA and Malaysia flag
ZY : Where do we celebrate MERDEKA in Kuala Lumpur?
T : Dataran Merdeka…….What can you see on Merdeka Day?
Class : Police…....fireworks…..aeroplanes.
T : many children and adults would be performing like when I was in primary School. Some potrayed as “hibiscus”. There are also car parades and marching bands.
* The kids learnt to sing the song “Tanggal 31”. They sang with patriotisme…..haaaa!
* We coloured the Malaysia Flag after recognizing some symbols.
T : What does red mean?
SYu : Blood……..
T : Yes, the y are brave to protect their country. What is blue?
YP : Working together…..all the states.
T : Yellow?
Class : The King and Quee’s colour.
T : Do you prefer to hang around the school or make as flags?
* Majority chose for flags.

ZJ, the plane engineer!

27/08/2008 (Wednesday)

a) What my parents said…..
SYu : Teacher, my father said the Queen’s dress is rainbow colour.
Eg : My father said it’s orange.
JN : My mother said it’s yellow.
JS : My father said it’s black.
T : Good try, kids! Both the Queen and King’s dress and suit are yellow, a royal colour. Long
ago, citizens were not allowed to wear yellow outfit but then, they changed the rule. Yellow
is a happy colour.

b) The sun
SYu, SJ and ZY brought their toy sunglasses. We discussed about it.
T : Why do we wear sunglasses?
JN : To protect our eyes.
T : The hot sun has got a burning heat which could harm our eyes after 10 to 20 years if we don’t take care of our eyes. So, do not look into the sun directly. What do you need to do when you go swimming?
EG : Put lotion.
JS : It is oil.
Eg : No, it’s not oil.
T : I’ll bring some sample tomorrow. If we do not take care, we might get skin problem after many years.

c) A folded aeroplane by ZJ
ZJ : Teacher, look at this!
T : Wow, what’s this class?
Class: A small aeroplane.
T : Did you fold it yourself?
ZJ : Yes, teacher.
T : Can you fold for us to see?
* ZJ took a square paper and started folding. Everyone was looking at him attentively as if saying, “he is so clever!”…..haaaaa!
T : We talked a little about aeroplane 2 days ago. Do we have aeroplanes during “Merdeka”?
ZY : Yes. They do performances.
T : They carry big flags and carve words in the sky.
ZYg : Teacher, can we fold that?
* So, the kids were given a rectangle paper each. They folded into a triangle and cut the balance paper. They tried recalling ZJ’s way of folding. LX, J, JH, SJ, XR needed more prompting. At a point when JH couldn’t do, ZY guided him and everyone cheered for JH. Yes, that’s the spirit of MERDEKA.
T : So, is Merdeka fighting or working together?
Class: Working together!!
T : Bring it home and ask your parents, “How can we make the aeroplane fly faster?”

d) Kuih Melayu (Malay desserts)
*The last lessons, we talked about the Malays, Chinese and Indians. Today we focused on Malays. I showed some desserts or “kuihs” which made by the Malays.
* 4 types: karipap, kuih gulung, kuh cucuk badak and kuih kacang. The kids have seen karipap and kuih kacang before.
Class: Karipap has curry. It’s hot.
T : Chinese curry puffs have eggs and sometimes chicken meat. Kuih gulung is green and has sweet coconut in it. Kuih cucuk badak is even hotter than curry puff. It has chilli dry prawn and coconut. What is kuih kacang?
Eg : It has nuts.
T : Actually, green or red beans but it’s fried.
* The kids took turn to taste the different kuihs. They were enjoying them.
T : Look at this newspaper. What kuihs do they have?
JN : It’s a hotel.
Class: There is Chinese, Indian and Malay kuih.
T : Can we enjoy these before Merdeka?
Class: No.
T : So where can you buy these kuihs?
Class: From the market.
Zy : From Malay people.
* We sang Negaraku and they enjoyed trying…..trying……to stand straight! Haaaaa!

51 years of Independence

26/08/2008 (Tuesday)

a) Malaysia’s Birthday
T : Who went home to ask your parents about Merdeka?
YP : Mother said there is Malaysia flag on Merdeka.
SYu, JN : Mother said it’s Malaysia’s birthday.
LX : mother said there’s fireworks.
T : How old are you?
Class : 5…….4……..6
T : Good. How old is Malaysia?
Class : We don’t know.
T : Malaysia’s Independece Day is on 31-08 every year. We
achieved it on “Thirty-first of August, 1957). So how
old is Malaysia?
* We did a sum of deduction. Malaysia is 51 years old.
M : Where do we celebrate?
T : In K.L., we always celebrate at Stadium Merdeka.
* We can see marching, fireworks and also air performance by jets.
ZJ : Teacher, I have a toy jet.
* We talked about jets. Good pilots are able to carve words in the sky. Example: MERDEKA……..wow!
* Each kid took turns pretended to be a pilot, flying with ZJ’s jet………..Thank you ZJ.

b) Year 6 Riddles
* After tea break, we had visitors from the Year 6 Class. They were here to play “Riddles” with my class.
* My class sat in their 4 respectively groups.
* 6 years old took turns to guess the answers.
* As the 5-year-old were unable to ask questions, teachers guided them. Then they had a better idea. They took turns to draw their answers on a piece of paper. There were altogether 6 questions.
Only 1 group was able to get all answers correct. They were very happy and enjoyed themselves.

c) Ali, Leela and Mei Ling.
* These were our 3 new puppet friends.
Ali : Hello. I am Ali. I am a Malay boy. I live in Malaysia.
Mei Ling : Hello. I am Mei Ling, a Chinese girl. I live in
Malaysia.
Leela : Hello, I am Leela. I am an Indian girl. I live in
Malaysia.
* They sang Negaraku, Malaysia’s song. They had to stand straight to respect the country.
T : Why did Teacher invite these 3 friends? Why can’t I just
have all Chinese?
Class : So they can play together.
T : Before 1957, we were under the British colonies. Until today, there are many races in Malaysia. They were under the control of British, having no freedom to do their things. Thus, as years go by; more people got educated. The Late Tunku Abdul Rahman was a smart man who graduated from Britain. This Malay leader discussed with the British. However, with the unity of all races, we finally achieved MERDEKA.
T : What is this?
Class : A flag.
T : Why is there red stripes?
XR : Because it’s nice.
SYu : Because it’s birthday.
T : Related to body
Class : Blood.
T : Yes, it represents the courage from everyone.
T : What about blue colour?
Class : It’s the sky.
T : Good try. It’s the unity of all races.
T : Ask your parents, “What colour is Our Queen’s
dress?.....Why it is that colour?”
* The class repeated. Only JN said it was yellow.

Whoever You Are

22/08/2008 (Friday)

a) Storybook: “Whoever You Are”
* This is a story about multi-racial people around the world. Kids realized that Malaysia has 3 main races namely, “Malays, Chinese and Indians”.
* Despite their skin colours, they have the same heart and blood colour. They cry when they are hurtful. When anyone smiles, he or she is always beautiful.
* In Malaysia, we celebrate Merdeka on 31/08.
* We love Malays’ Nasi Lemak, Indians’ Roti Canau and Chinese’s halal pao or Chicken Rice.
* We respect all to have a peaceful country.

b) Interviewing Teacher Karen
* Teacher Karen is an Indian. YW said she is afraid of Indians but love Roti Canai. So, to prove the integrity of the storybook, we went down to interview her.
Kids : Excuse me, Teacher Karen. What colour is your
blood?
TK : Red.
Kids : Excuse me, Teacher Karen. What colour is your
tongue?
TK : Look. It’s like yours, pink.
Kids : Thank you Teacher Karen.

c) If I were a dinosaur…..
* The kids thought for a while, which dinosaur they would like to be.
* SJ wanted to be a transformer dinosaur: from Pteranodn to Stegosaurus and to a Liopleurodon.
* Quite a number like being the sea reptile, Liopleurodon.
* Others wanted to be Megalosaurus, T-Rex but WY chose to be a“Diamond Head” Dinosaur...a new undiscovered dinosaur…..that’s very creative!

d) Rehearsal: Our Stegosaurus Story
* They were better versed today and less dependent. However, a number of kids were absent.
* They were very funny but imaginative.

e) Games Promotion
* 6-year-old class came to promote their Games activities for next Tuesday.
* My kids were very excited. So, the 6-year-old enrolled them. They wrote their names on the application form. Some 5-year-old could write while some needed prompting.

How can we make it stand?

21/08/2008 (Thursday)

a) Creating our own lyrics.
* The joyful kids thought of word substitutions for “Compsognathus” song.
T : Why did the dinosaur climb over the mountain?
ZY : Looking for meat
JN : Looking for plants
ZYg : To drink water.

* “The dinosaur went over the mountain, (x3)
To eat Camarasaurus meat.
To eat Camarasaurus meat,(x2)
The dinosaur went over the mountain, (x3)
To eat Camarasaurus meat”.

“ The dinosaur went over the mountain, (x3)
To drink some clean water.
To drink some clean water, (x2)
The dinosaur went over the mountain, (x3)
To drink some clean water”.

b) Fixing “the legs” problem.
* Our Stegosaurus model kept falling down. Their legs were not stable.
* We discussed together.
SYu : We can use big rocks.
JN : We can use 100 big rocks.
ZY : We can use bottles.
YZ : Let’s use the eggs’ plastic case.
T : We have used that but it wasn’t strong enough. What can we put under the plastic bottle to make the legs stable.
SC : We can use the rocks.
T : But it would be heavy for you to carry the big
Stegosaurus down.
SYu : We use 100 Plus cans.
T : Good ideas! Let’s try.

* They worked together to paste the bottles containing rocks. We haven’t got enough cans. Thus, we will continue again. We pushed the Stegosaurus and were happy to see it stand again.

c) Drinks for Sales!
* All kids were happy because each has got RM1 to buy a drink from the 4-year old stall.
* ZYg and XR forgot to tell their mothers. M was absent. LX misplaced her money. So, I lent them RM1 each. Everyone helped LX to look for her money but failed.

d) Balancing our kite.
* The kids learnt that they had to becareful with their kites.
* First, we made 2 holes at the top of the kite while 2 more holes at the bottom of the kite.
* They learnt to insert the string. It was a challenging task for them. ZY, JS, JN, YW were more independent. The others needed more guidance.

18/08/2008 – 20/08/2008

Dear Parents,

I went for a school training. Thus, other teachers relieved my place.

Thank you,
Teacher Jenny

Decorating My Kite.

15/08/2008 (Friday)

a) Storybook: If I Had A Dinosaur
* T :What would you do if you had a dinosaur?
YP : It could play with me.
* They listened to this interesting story. The T-rex could do many things:
i) playing slides , ii) as a bus to school and even faster, iii) accompany to swimming lessons,
iv) assist mother to carry shopping items and also v) to eat up one’s unfinished food.
* However, they had to think of consequences. Example:
i) Where would it sleep?
ii) Could one bring it to a birthday party?
iii) Could one bring it to the seaside?

b) The shape of a kite.
* We talked about kites. Some had flown kites before.
* I introduced the torpedo shape just like a fish and aeroplane.
* Then, we talked about the materials to make a simple kite. Newspaper would be preferable as it is lighter. They also need some qood quality string.
* They should avoid using cellophane tape or too much glue. Otherwise it would be too heavy to
fly!
* Next, they observed how strings are tied to the kite.

c) Let’s fly!
* The kids saw a ready-made kite. They learnt to hold it high. Then they flew it around, taking turns.
* They liked it. We would be going to the open-field and they could each fly their kite.
Decoration
* The kids would have to decorate their kites.
* Each was given a Pteranodon colouring paper. They coloured and cut it out. They would be pasting on the kite at the next lesson.

d) Decoration
* The kids would have to decorate their kites.
* Each was given a Pteranodon colouring paper. They coloured and cut it out. They would be pasting on the kite at the next lesson.

How did dinosaurs extinct?

14/08/2008 (Thursday)

a) Movement Rhymes: Jack
* They recited together and moved around with actions. It tested their attention and alertness in the class.
Jack be nimble,
Jack be quick,
Jack jump over,
The candlestick.
SYu asked the meaning of candlestick. Some kids explained by looking at the word, “candle”.

b) Poem: What happened?
* The kids learnt to listen, recited and understand some vocabularies.
* I was rather amazed that they could understand the poem without much explanation!

What happened? What happened?
The dinosaur has extinct!
What happened? What happened?
Let’s really try to think.
Too cold? Too hot?
Some changes in the weather?
No sun? No food?
A lack of feathers?
What happened? What happened?
The truth is nobody knows…..

* They learnt new vocabulary: extinct, weather, happened.
* They recited a few times with better expressions.

c) Discussion
T : Why are there no more dinosaurs?
JN : The earth was too cold and hot.
ZY : There was volcano explosion.
YP : The shooting stars attacked the Earth.
ZJ : They had no more homes.
ZYg : No more food and water.

Their answers were all almost accurate. Of course, there were a few theories.
The volcanoes’ explosion caused a black blanket surrounding the Earth. It was too hot for the dinosaurs and died. It later became too cold again and the others died. Lack of food and water caused them to eat one another. Some scientists believed the meteors caused the death.
* The kids learnt that the map we had today was unlike the previous due to the
weather changes.

d) Role-Play Practice
* Everyone was present except JW. They practised saying their introductions. YZ, M, ZJ, LX, WY needed more guidance to focus and say their roles.
* Next week they would practice at the school’s hall.

Pteranodon: The Flying Reptile

12/08/2008 (Tuesday)

a) A boyfriend or a girlfriend?
* The kids were laughing at these two words. I explained that they are just normal friends who are boys or girls.
* U shared a story of my fiend, a man called Roy.
* He has a shelter home for the handicapped and orphans. His noble heart has given many hopes to lost children.
* The kids were amazed with Roy’s great deeds.
* SYu said she went to an Orphanage Home before. YZ asked whether we can visit one which is nearby our Kindergarten.
* They liked the idea of performing their “Stegosaurus Story”to the orphans.
* T : I love the idea. Now, we will have audience for our Role-Play.
Let’s check with the school first about this matter.

b) Poem: The Shoe-House
* We recited this poem as the old woman not only raised her own children but also orphans.
* Then we discussed some vocabularies: broth, bread, whipped, bed. In fact, some kids realized how much their parents love them as they were not whipped before.

The Shoe-House
“ There was an old woman,
Who lived in a shoe,
She had so many children,
She didn’t know what to do;
She gave them broth,
Without any bread;
Then whipped them all soundly,
And put them to bed.”


c) Pteranodon: The Flying Reptile Discussion
* It existed during the third period of Dinosaurs’ World.
* It’s length was 1.80 meter. It’s height also 1.80 meter. It weighed about 17kg similar to many 5-year-old child.
* It had a big brain and good eyesight. It was a meat-eater. In fact, they even eat dead bodies of their own species.
* It had no tail and sharp teeth. Its body looked just like humans.It had hollow and light bones unlike people.
T : What’s the colour?:
YP : Must be brown.
ZYg : The beak is yellow.
YZ : It must have a tail.
T : A very short tail. (He was not convinced. He checked his book and agreed with me.)

d) CD: The Flying Giant.
* The kids watched ZYg’s CD. They were amazed at how Pteranodon walked. It really looked like humans. They had colourful head and very thin wings to fly.
* They learnt its sound which they could role-played in their drama.
* It flew beautifully and down to the sea to catch fish. However, it had to be carful not to be caught by Elasmosaurus and Lieuplorodon.
* It flew around searching for new homes.It could see many dinosaurs from the high sky.

e) Introduction: Role-Play
* The kids got into their positions.
* SYu and YP introduced themselves and our drama.
* They learnt to stand properly and to speak confidently.
* They were more confident than before.

Parasaurolophus

13 / 08 / 2008 (Wednesday)

a) My Story Sharing
* JN came back from Melaka and shared with us her story. She went swimming twice and enjoyed herself. She also went to the zoo.
* J said he had a swimming pool and EG said he was lying. It was actually a foldable swimming pool. That was agreed by EG and he apologized.
* JH said he like swimming too. Last time, his father brought him swimming.

b) Poem: The Shoe House
* We did a recap on “The Shoe-House”
* Read along with me. Then, they read independently.
* They explained the meaning of the sentences. They were quite good.

c) Parasaurolophus
* Why did it have a crest?
YP : Because to breathe because the air can flow in it.
T : Good try!
* The crest enabled Parasaurolophus to blow a loud sound like trumpet. They can warned the others of meat-eaters presence. They were plant-eaters.
* Diffferent Parasaurolophus had different types of crest. The crest enabled them to smell very well.
* The males would use it to attract the females. Thus, the crest could be brighter.

d) Maiasaura and Pachycephalosaurus
* After tea-break, we discussed these two dinosaurs.
* Maiasaura was known as “good mother” dinosaur. They dug holes and to lay eggs. They took care of their eggs in a herd to scare away the meat-eaters. They raised their dinosaurs until they were older; just like our parents.
* Pachycephalosaurus or Old Bonehead had a thick skull. It was as thick as 25 metre.
* Thus, they could charged their enemies such as T-Rex. They even fought among one another to prove the stronger Bonehead. Sometimes, they did that to attract a female.
* They had sharp eyes and could smell very well.
These two were plant-eaters.

e) Homework: Creating My Dinosaur World.
* The kids will decide the scenery of their jungle. Normally, it has volcanoes / mountains / trees and rivers / seas.
* Then, they will cut the pictures of dinosaurs on page 2. They would decorate them on page 1.
* Then, they will tell the story to their parents.

f) Our Special Present.
* I showed the kids kites. They were very excited. Just like flying
Pteranodon.
* The kids would have to touch up the kites before flying them. They
had to work hard to deserve this present.

Our Crowns

11/08/2008 (Monday)

a) Songs
* We sang “Good Morning To You”, “A Birthday Song” for Xin Ru and also “Goodbye Song”.
* We did a recap on English Reciting Program: “Work While You Work”.
Good Morning To You,
Good Morning To You,
Good Morning To Everyone,
Good Morning To You,

Ding Dong Bell,
Ding Dong Bell,
We are going home,
Goodbye teachers, goodbye friends,
See you tomorrow.

Work While You Work.
“ Work while you work,
Play while you play;
One thing each time,
That is the way.
All that you do,
Do with your might;
Things done by halves
Are not done right.”

b) Our Crowns
* The kids chose their laminated picture for the “Stegosaurus” Role-Play. They cut the pictures and then pasted to the colour paper.
* Next, they looked for the correct label and pasted to their crowns. Thus, they elarnt to recognize words.
* Then, I measured around their head and stapled it. They were happy to wear it around as that is
their identity.

c) XR’s birthday
* Everyone sang a birthday song of 3 languages for XR. They were very happy especially seeing the chocolate cake and the party packs.
* We ate together, shared among ourselves and also distributed for the other teachers.

d) Role-Play Practice
* The kids learn the cue of “Position” and also “Attention”.
* YP and SYu introduced themselves and about the title of our Role-Play.
* Then, each kid came forward to introduce themselves and about their role-play character.
* Then, they started acting with little prompting from me. They were more vocal and confident.
Some kids like LX, ZJ and YZ needed some prompting to behave.

Reading Session and Our Crowns.

08/08/2008 (Friday)

a) Reading session
* The kids had their first individual reading class by Teacher Phang. Today’ title was “Look”.
As reinforcement, I also did the book with them yesterday but as a whole.
* The other kids chose their play. Some kids preferred drawing and colouring including ZY, JS, SJ, SYu, LX and ZYg. They had to learn sharing the colour pencils.
* I also checked their homework and continued with the Space Assessment.

b) English Reciting Program:
Work While You Work.
" Work while you work,
Play while you play;
One thing each time,
That is the way.
All that you do,
Do with your might;
Things done by halves
Are not done right.”

* A short story about Bobby who likes doing many things at one time. One cannot play toys and
roller skate at the same time. One also cannot does homework or study halfway as it would give
negative effect to them.

c) Our Crowns
* The kids chose the group they wanted to be in: 1/2/3 or 4. Each group was given a box of colour pencils where they are responsible to take care of.
* They collected their relevant colouring pictures from me. The pictures were the casts they held in their role-play of “Our Stegosaurus Story”.
* SYu and JH had to draw their own pictures as they were “people” casts. YZ drew his own Liopleurodon. Everyone actually had shown improvement in their work. Example: WY, ZJ and LX had put in more effort to finish their colouring. In fact, they were colourful. Some kids came to me with suggestions such as ZY, M, YW and ZYg.

d) Mathematics and Role-Play
* In the afternoon, we practiced our role-play of “Our Stegosaurus Story”.
* Then, we did our mathematics on simple “addition”.

The Pre-Dinosaur Sea Creatures

07/08/2008 (Thursday)

a) The Giant Sea Creatures.
* Today’s kids were very active….thus I started giving the kids names of “NoisySaurus”……none of them wanted that label, of course! They learnt to control themselves.
* Introduced the Pre-Dinosaurs Period. There were already lives in the sea such as jelly fish and shellfish. Kids talked about their experience about jellyfish.
* During Dinosaur’s period, then came huge sea creatures. Some included Liopleurodon, Ichthyosaurs and Elasmosaurus. Liopleurodon had the longest and largest jaw with sharp teeth…like a sea monster. Its length was about 25m and very heavy.
T : Do you think it can live on land?
EG : No, teacher.
Kids : Yes, teacher.
T : We shall find out from ZYg’s CD.
* An Elasmosaurus had a long neck and swam with flippers. The kids looked at the Encyclopedia books for the picture.
* Ichthyosaurs looked like a fierce sharp and can swim fast although it was smaller in size.

b) The Sea World.
* The kids watched the jellyfish, Ichthyosaurs and Elasmosaurus.
* The kids were surprised to see the gigantic Liopleurodon. It was 100 years old. It scared away all the sea creatures.
* However, due to a storm, it landed on the beach and slowly died. Allosauruses were waiting to eat it.

c) Role-Play Practice.
* This was our second practice.
* We used tambourine as the signal.
T : “Cling cling” Position.
* The kids went to their respective positions quietly. Hmm..surprisingly!
* They performed with less prompting compared to the first time. They came in at the right time.
* Guidance were given for them to speak Englsih confidently.
* JN, YW and JS actually put in great effort. The rest were better behaved.

T-Rex Jigsaw Puzzle

06/08/2008 (Wednesday)

a) Cretaceous Period
* The kids argued that T-Rex was during Jurassic period. Thus, we searched for books. T-Rex existed during Cretaceous Period. Other dinosaurs included Stegosaurus and Diplodocus as well as Pteranodon.
* I drew a huge T-Rex. The kids were given points for every fact that they said.
EG : It eats meat.
ZY : It has sharp claws and teeh.
JN : It uses the claws to hunt for meat.
ZYg : It uses its string tail to protect itself.
T : Why does it have two tiny front legs?
SYu, Eg: To hold its food.
T : Good answer!
* It has two tiny legs because its body could not hold the weight of its heavy huge head. Its tiny front legs were used to raised itself up from rest and also to hold its food.
* The King of The Dinosaurs.

b) Individual gesture
* The kids pretended to be a T-Rex. JN, JS and YP were quite good at it. Some kids tried even though they were shy.
* Some kids preferred to potray as a group. Thus, we did it in a group after individual try out.

c) English Reciting: Greetings
* We recapped on the greetings. They were able to read with some prompting. Take a look:
a) Hello, how are you today?
I am fine,thank you. And you?
How are your mother, father, brother and sister?
They are very well, thanks.
b) This is my teacher, Mr. John Smith.
I am pleased to meet you, Mr. Smith.
What’s your friend’s name?
His name is Bill.

d) Homework: Jigsaw Puzzle
· The kids learnt about jigsaw puzzle.
· They had to work together with family and then try
assembling it as the given T-Rex picture.
· Then, they would compete with their parents and
see who is faster.
· Next, they would paste into the box on page 4.
· Objective: motor skills, intrapersonal and
logical-mathematical skills.

e) Workbook: The Dinosaur World
· The kids learnt about the length, height, weight
and other features.
· YZ said “The Giant supermarket” is equals to 2 T-
Rexes! Wow!! And equals to 500 children as the
weight is 5000 to 7000kg.
· Then, they learnt to fill in the blanks. They also
coloured the picture.

The Inner Crystal

05/08/2008 (Tuesday)

a) The blindfolded game.
* The kids played hide and seek waiting for me to hunt for them as dinosaurs.
* Game: Who’s tapping?
* As ZJ brought a Musical CD to share with us about a song of “Happy Friends”, so we played this game.
* A person sat in the middle of the group, blindfolded. Then, they passed around the marker pen accompanied by the music. Once the music stopped, the person holding the marker pen would stand behind the blindfolded person.
A : Hello.
B : Who’s tapping?
A : It’s me!
B : Are you YZ?
A : No!
B : Are you JW?
A : Yes, I am!

b) The inner crystal.
* WY’s mother lent me books on these.
* Some kids tend to speak unpleasant words. (Although this has reduced a lot in my class). Some tend to scream to solve problems. Some unable to control themselves and hit their friends.\
* Our body has a frequency which would form crystals. Negative actions/thinkings/words would produce ugly and horrible crystals.
* All the kids wanted to have the beautiful formation. Thus, they need to practice the good values every time.

c) Understanding “acting”
* Awards are given to good performers.
* Good performers are those who perform well with courageous. Everyone has his first time and it’s wonderful to try. They must be disciplined at the stage to perform well.
* We recapped on the various casts of our “Stegosaurus Story”.

d) A Trial
* The kids sat at their relevant places.
* Then, I called the characters and they came out to try their
gestures. Some kids needed some prompting as they were shy. Half
of the class needed some guidance. However, I praised them as
they could speak English more confidently. They enjoyed
themselves…haaaa!
* The casts:
a) Mother and baby Stegosaurus: JN, YW
b) Pteranodon : YP, XR, SJ
c) Liopleurodon : ZY, ZYg, YZ
d) Elamonsaurus : WY, JW
e) Velociraptor : Eg, Max
f) Spinosaurus : ZJ, LX
g) T-Rex : JS
h) Megalosaurus : SC
i) People : J, SYu, JH
* This story was their creation. While acting, ZY and ZYg came
forward to give ideas.

Malaysia Flag and Carnotarus

04/08/208 (Monday)

a) Songs
* The kids sang their favourite song “The Dinosaur Song” and
marched around.

* Then we sang “The Compsognathus Song”. This time round they were better.
YP brought a Malaysia flag. We talked a little bit about "Merdeka”, which is similar to Malaysia’s birthday or rather Independence say. We sang “Negaraku”. They were amazed as this was the first time we sang it. They stood straight like soldiers.

b) Carnotarus was not Megalosaurus
* The kids argued that “Niu Rong” is not Megalosaurus. So, we checked different books for the answer. True enough “Niu Rong” is Carnotarus.
* Carnotarus and Megalosaurus are meat-eaters. Both had 2 strong back legs but 2 small front legs. The back legs had 3 toes with sharp claws.
* Carnotarus had 2 horns whereas Megalosaurus hadn’t any. Both had strong jaws with sharp teeth. Carnotarus was about 7.5 metres while Megalosaurus was about 9 metres long.

c) The signs
* After tea break, the kids gathered to look at their Stegosaurus Model craft.
* We needed to put up some signs. “Please Do Not Touch”, “Stegosaurus Craft”, “The Dinosaur World”.
* We needed to do some final touched-up on the giant model. These included spikes and eyes.
* We divided ourselves into groups to do the different tasks.
* Last Friday, we discussed together to strengthen the legs. So, we decided to make them heavier by adding some stones. Thus, we went searching and digging some stones at the sandpit.
* Thus, today; we continued improving our craft.

The Casts

01/08/2008 (Friday)

a) English Conversation.
* Dialogue.
A : How do you do?
B : I am fine, thank you. And you?
A : I am fine, thank you.
B : How are your father, mother, brother and sister?
A : They are very well, thanks.
* First, they walked randomly. When the music stopped, they chose a partner and greeted him or her. We did for a few times. They enjoyed themselves a lot.

b) Numbers and Words.
* We learnt numbers but by words. We learnt: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten. Then I pointed randomly and some couldn’t read. I wrote the words randomly and invited the kids to write the numeric numbers. Some improved kids included XR, LX, ZJ and WY.
Then they did the worksheet in their mathematics workbook. I reminded the kids to write the date for every exercise given.

c) The Casts
* We recapped the casts for “Our Stegosaurus Story”.
* YZ : Teacher, is it enough for everyone?
* T : Let’s count. Yes, there are 19 casts for all. Do all of you prefer to choose your cast or
do you want me to pick draws?
* All wanted to choose. They were quite co-operative. They didn’t cry as promised earlier. SYu was very tolerant. Only YZ got upset because he didn’t get what he wanted. However, after a while; realizing that it’s useless to cry, he approached me for the role he wanted to be. I allowed. He wanted to be the Lieuporodon, the gigantic reptile fish in the ocean.

d) Hooray, Reward Day!
* Yesterday afternoon was Reward Day. The first five kids who had collected the most stars would be recognized. Some had improved, some worked very hard and some behaved well in the class. The five kids were Ze Yan, Shi Yun, Zi Yang, Justin and Jin Nan. The rewards were a nice booklet. Most of my kids like to draw in small books. So, I thought this would encourage them to use up the time and not wasting.

Full moon eggs

31/07/2008 (Thursday)

a) Storybook: ‘How did dinosaurs eat their food?”
* As we read, the kids stopped to say if they were plant or meat-eater. At one point, JS said Lambeosaurus was a meat-eater. ZY and EG disagreed. To avoid the chaos, we checked an encyclopedia immediately. The class agreed totally that it was a plant-eater. YP was doubtful why plant-eaters also had claws. They needed them to protect themselves.
* They learnt some new dinosaurs’ names. Some dinosaurs spit the vegetable just like the kids. Some asked people to carry the cups just like the kids. Some eat noisily just like them!
* The second half of the book said, “No, dinosaurs were actually very polite. They have manners.”
The kids laughed and related to themselves.

b) Choose your props.
* The kids decided their favourite dinosaur and then chose the prop. They pretended to be that dinosaur while their friends guessed.
* Most kids preferred to be Pteranodon, the giant flying bird during dinosaurs’ age. XR, LX and JN were brave enough to act. ZYg and JW preferred to be T-Rex. The other kids chose to watch rather than perform.

c) Tea break: Full moon eggs.
* Teacher Hui Ping took some red eggs for the kids to celebrate her kid’s full month occasion.
* The kids cracked the eggs themselves and thought themselves as Oviraptors, the egg-stealer.
* Most of them were independent to crack and to clear the shells. They loved it!

d) Our blue Stegosaurus.
* The kids got more excited to see the standing Stegosaurus.
* As EG sat on the craft yesterday, the legs had sunk. They were more careful after the incident.
*We discussed how to strengthen the legs. So, we stuffed more newspaper into the dinosaur!
* ZY : “Wow, it’s so fat!”
* YZ : “We can leave it outside the kindergarten and scare away all the thieves.” Haaaa!
* SYu, SJ, XR and LX were responsible for a tree. M, WY, EG and ZYg for another tree. The
other kids helped me with the Stegosaurus.
* M and WY needed prompting as they were rather dependent at times. After showing them more
guidance, they were able to produce a nice one.
* SYu’s group was independent. Good job!
* Today, we cover the Stegosaurus with blue paper and pasted the plates. JH and ZJ pasted the
spikes. We needed to decorate the scales in the next lesson.