Our Pomegranate friends!

Our Pomegranate friends!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Phonics “ng”

27/11/2008 (Thursday)

a) Permission is important
Eugene brought a small cake to school and it was in a box…so delicious.
One of the kids was so tempted to try that he dipped his finger into the cream and ate it.
Jin Nan and some other kids saw it.
Then, we talked about “permission”…and learning to ask when we want something. Otherwise, in the world out there, policemen would catch us if we take things from supermarket.
That kid apologized and gave part of his biscuit to Eugene as compensation.

b) ERP: The Little Red Hen.
We did the whole short story. Altogether there were 7 paragraphs.
We talked about the overall story; trying to relate the key words.
Plant, grain, wheat, reap, thresh, mill, bake, won’t, will.

c) Phonics: “ng”
We did phonics on “ng” sound. These included: king, swing, ring, thing.
Vocab: tyrtle, shark, crab, fish, octopus, tentacles.
English Workbook
We continued with the worksheet on “s”.
Vocabulary: snake, sock, seven, sausages, spade, scissors.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

I Can Be Fair!

26/11/2008 (Wednesday)

a) Toy sharing

l Shi Jie brought a paper folding. It has the sharp mouth and can be opened into 4 parts using fingers.
l Justin brought his “Stone” man toy of Fantastic 4. It has a button whereby the kids pressed to move his hands.

b) Story book: I can be fair!
l A good story of how a girl tries to share her things with people and yet to be fair to everyone. Sometimes, she can only share with a few people and in order not to hurt the other friends’ feeling; she has to explain to them. Each different group will take turn to play.
l Sometimes, we need to allow others to be first and we be in the middle or even the last! It’s okay because it is fun to be at anywhere!
l The kids related themselves to their friends. They recalled how some friends only shared his/her food with some friends and not everyone. They also recapped how some friends just screamed just because they accidentally cut queue.
l Moral: When you are fair, people will like you even more. We will have more friends.

c) ERP: The little red hen.
l We continued with the third paragraph and the fourth.
l New vocabulary: mill, tresh, reap, flour.
l Some even asked whther “flour” is pronounced as “flower” or “flour”.

d) Phonics and Homework
l We continued with the last exercise to identify the final blend consonants: ck, ll, ss.
l There are 2 pages of homework.
l Vehicles on land: bus, van. On the sea: ship, boat. In the sky: aeroplane, helicopter.
l Sentence writing: Bob flies a kite; Ann blows a balloon.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Water and our body

25/11/2008 (Tuesday)

a) Water
* Some kids were never serious at drinking water. They could be drinking consistently just because he / she knows that teacher is watching. The next week, they would be hiding or pretending to drink. However, all kids would drink a bottle be fore they go out to the playground at 2.30pm. I am very strict at this. Otherwise, they would not be able to go to the playground.
* The independent kids were usually Jin Shan, Eugene, Ze Yan, Jian Wei, max and Song Chuan.
* Thus, we analysed the water flow from our mouth into our organs. The main organ is our kidneys. They would filter the toxic from our body with clean water. With less water, the urine colour is very yellowish and is an unhealthy sign for us. Besides being sick, a person might have “stone” problems within their body after a long term.

b) Storybook: The Ants and The Grasshoppers
* Some kids have heard of this famous story but in Mandarin version.
* I drew the ants’ underground home….and they go…”Wow, so many tunnels!”….with the Queen Ant busy laying eggs.
* The ants worked together to gather food under the hot sun. They know that they would be hungry as there won’t be food in the winter.
* The grasshoppers teased them for being overworked! They continued singing and laughed at the ants.
* Finally, when winter arrived; the hungry grasshoppers were the ones crying searching for food. Then they came upon the ants’ home. They asked for food.
* The kind-hearted gave them some food despite their teasing.
* Moral: Be hardworking and not lazy. We must be kind-hearted so that we won’t have any enemies.

c) Phonics
l We revised on the blend sounds of “ll, ss, gg, ck”.
l Then they did an exercise to complete the sentence.

d) Organising Files
l The kids assisted me to organize their files.
l The gathered their art and craft and workbook to be given to me.

Monday, November 24, 2008

The Aedes Mosquito

24/11/2008 (Monday)

a) Corner Playing
Some kids preferred colouring (Shi Jie, Le Xin, Jin Nan), some playing The Aeroplane Board Game(Jian Wei, Zi Yang, Eugene) while some playing with blocks(Justin, Jin Shan).

b) The Aedes Mosquito.
Last Friday, Jin Nan, Jin Shan and Eugene mentioned about this mosquito.
So the kids learnt that this is a dangerous flying insect.
Only the females suck our blood in order to assist them to lay eggs.
The males feed on plants.
They have black and white stripes on their legs and body.
To avoid them, we must always ensure the flower pots are dry. Also try to ensure dry drains as the mosquitoes lay eggs in the water.

c) The Clapping Game
We pretended to hit the mosquitoes. We learnt these words: above, below, left, right, front and back.
It was very challenging as the kids had to liten carefully. Eugene, Xin Ru, Jin Shan and Jin Nan were attentive. The others tried very hard to follow......it was fun!

d) Mathematics
After tea break, we learnt “add” and “less”.
Most kids were independent. Le Xin and Jun Hong. Xin Ru has shown great improvement.

e) Phonics
We recapped on these sounds: ck, ll, ss, gg.
Then they did an exercise to circle the words with same consonant blends.
Words: dress, egg, pill, hill, clock, duck.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Alphabet: Small letters

21/11/2008 (Friday)

a) The Aeroplane Chess
We played a new game: The Aeroplane Chess.
It’s interesting to see how the kids had to tolerate one another to play fair. Otherwise, they are not qualified to be a player.
We had 4 sets of this game. So, everyone had a chance.
Meanwhile, some kids did their incomplete homework as well as Mathematics workbook.

b) Storybook: Big Penguin’s Surprise
The kids were excited to see the big pictures.
They learnt how a penguin couldn’t fly high despite having wings.
The baby penguin; Pugwug slid along the snow and bumped into big penguins. There he saw his mother having a golden egg.
Pugwug was excited to know that he was gong to have a baby brother or sister.
He thought of many tricks to play with the egg but it had no response.
When the seals attacked the adults, Pugwug had to be responsible to take good car of the egg.
It started to hatch and bit by bit, step by step; a baby sister was bornt.
Later, his mother survived from the seals and they rejoined as a happy family!

c) Alphabet: Small letters
The kids read the letters randomly.
They then took turns to write the letters individually.
Next, they wrote on their paper.
Some still wrote the letters “mirror imaged” especially: b, d, p, r, z.
Most of them were independent.


Alphabet Writing

20/11/2008 (Thursday)

a) Game
* After Corner Playing, the kids played a game. It’s called “The Magic Stick”. There were 2 groups of kids. Each at the side of a river. They dropped their Magic Stick into the river and had to find it. However, there is a very hungry Crocodile King. They had to “jump into the river” to find and quickly “jump out of the river” when the crocodile comes.
* Objective: i) Learn to listen, ii) Learn to observe, iii) Learn to work together.

b) Story book: The Pesky Fly
Thanks to Wen Yue’s mother for this book.
It is about how a fly journeyed from food to drinks to animals and to the mat.
The house owner “shoo”ed the fly! Finally, all “shoo”ed the fly!
Vocabulary: fly, shoo, cat, dog, milk, bread.

c) Writing: ABC
The kids took turns to write the capital letters individually.
They sang the song. Later, they took a piece of paper each to write the Capital letters. They learnt that there are 26 letters in the Alphabet family.
They could do this independently. Jin Shan, Jun Hong and Jin Nan needed some guidance. Xin Ru and Wen Yue showed good improvement!

d) Mathematics
They did 2 pages. One at counting the number of pictures. Another is to match the pictures to the numbers.

Insects

19/11/2008 (Wednesday)

a) Reciting Program
* After Corner Playing, we did the third paragraph of the poem, “The Little Red Hen”.
Third paragraph:
“Who will reap this whaet?” says the little red hen.
“I won’t,” says the dog.
“I won’t,” says the cat.
“I won’t,” says the pig.
“I won’t,” says the turkey.
“Then I will,”says the little red hen.
“Cluck! Cluck!”
So she reaped the wheat.

b) Lobster
* It was great to have Ze Yan back to school from holidays. He showed us his hand-drawn lobster.
Many kids were attracted.
* Then, he drew on the board and showed us. I guided him a little bit.
* He whispered to me that he wanted to draw many lobsters and give to his friends.
* We talked a little bit about lobsters.

c) Insects
The kids learnt that insects have 6 legs. Some can fly while some cannot. Usually, they have 3 segments of body.
They looked at an encyclopaedia and was amazed of the ants’ home which is underground.
They learnt that once the male and female ants got married (mating), the male ants would die leaving the female ant to be the Queen Ant. She would lay so many eggs and they become her colony. The insects just like ants have the similar “life cycle” like a butterfly.
Eggs --- larva --- cocoon --- adult.

d) Homework: Vocabulary
The kids have to do a page on the insects.
The scond page is to complete the missing letters to form words. “owl, shark, prawn, moon, rocket and the tortoise”. Then, they have to colour them.

Thank You, Mummy and Daddy

18/11/2008 (Tuesday)

a) English Reciting Program
After Corner Playing, we gathered to recite a short story.
“The Little Red Hen”.
The kids imagined how they saw this story from the top of a mountain.
First, a boy sang “The Wanderer Song”. Then he stopped on the mountain top to see this story, which was our “Short Story”.
First Paragraph:
A little red hen once found a grain of wheat. “Who will plant this wheat?” she said.
“I won’t,” says the dog.
“I won’t,” says the cat.
“I won’t,” says the pig.
“I won’t,” says the turkey.
“Then I will,”says the little red hen.
“Cluck! Cluck!”

Second paragraph:
So she planted the grain of wheat. Ver soon the wheat began to grow and the green leaves came out of the ground. The sun shone and the rain fell and the whaet kept on growing until it was tall, strong and ripe.

b) Revision: Assessment Words
* We revised some “Let’s Fly” words.
* helicopter, aeroplane, glider, airport, pilot, experiment and etc.

c) The “Thank You” Card
* We wanted to say Thank You to all parents for their support by bringing in books, items and sometimes delicious food. Their support for the kids’ concert was also very important.
* The kids drew their parents’ favourite pictures. They are very cute!

Our Rewards

17/11/2008 (Monday)

a) Corner Playing
* They chose their favourite play. They were chit-chatting. They also asked where the other kids

were?

b) Storybook: Flying Kites
They loved the colourful book. It was about Pooh and its friends. They had different shapes. Each kite was of different shape and decorated with beautiful tails to balance the tail....as what Jin Shan said.
Suddenly, the kites fell to the ground because of no wind. Each character started doing other activities.
However, the wind came back short while. Everyone started playing again.
The wind was so strong that it carried Pooh and its friends...haaaa!

c) Mathematics
The kids counted the number of Mail boxes that Pooh had. Then, they each came forward to write down.
We also learnt of ascending numbers. I am happy that Jun Hong, Wen Yue and Xin Ru had shown independence and improvement at completing these Maths. Exercises.

d) Rewards for my Little Footprints.....
It was a very challenging night for the 5 year old kid last Friday night. Although their rehearsal showed better and organized performance, yet Friday night was a far terrifying moment for these 5 year old and some 4 year old kids.
The fact that they stood on the stage to try their best despite the crowd's noise, laughter, camera flashes showed how brave they were! The process is what counts, which shaped every little kid to be stronger and better. Having greater confidence is what each and everyone is always looking for whether young or elderly!
I commented on everyone's contribution at that night. Their eyes glittered and I hope they would be forever when they unwrap their presents tonight.

e) My Favourite Moment
What's your most favourite moment at the concert?
Most kids drew Yun Wen blowing the bubbles. Zi yang drew himself as the pilot together with his other 4 friends. He even drew the BEN10 plan which we took weeks to accomplished!
Shi Jie drew herself, Jun Hong drew himself with his mother holding a camera. Wen Yue drew himself as Diamond Head. Eugene drew BEN10, Kevin 11, Diamond Head, the tortoise and also Max.

f) Phonics
* We did recap on phonics. Words: hump, help, nest, lamp, gift, box and pond.

Boomerang

12/11/2008 (Wednesday)

a) Corner playing and props
The kids played while I checked their props. We modified the unsuitable props.


b) Boomerang
They were fascinated about boomerangs.
They learnt how previous hunters hunted animals with boomerangs.
Today people used for sports.
Some boomerangs are special because they can return to the thrower.
Next, they decorated and cut their crafts.

c) Practice
I am proud to see how the kids work hard to improve their performance.
They are getting better.
Parents! We can’t wait to see you this Friday!
Boomerang Throw
We went to the garden.
Of course, they loved throwing their hand-made boomerangs.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Group Training

04/11/2008 (Tuesday)

a) Group training
I called the kids in groups to train them. Jin Shan, Zi Jun, Eugene are in-charge of the Aeroplanes, helicopters, gliders and parachutes.
Meanwhile, YZ, ZYg, LX and JW will take car of the Airport and Hot Air balloon.
Wen Yue, Ze Yan and Justin take care of the “Quiz” section.
Pictures were used as well as books and flash cards.

b) Continuation of Parachute Craft.
* We recapped the usage of a parachute as Jun Hong was absent yesterday. The kids explained quite well. Such as Jin Shan who was very attentive.
As we do not have toy people, we used paper cups as the parachute diver.
The kids each took a piece of rectangle paper and drew a person as well as label it as parachute.
Most were independent except Le Xin and Jun Hong who needed more guidance.

c) Performance Practice
Today, the kids dressed up while practising.
It was quite good except that the Narrators kept forgetting when to say their lines.
They enjoyed watching Hou Yi and Chang Er dancing and practicing kung fu.


Parachutes

03/11/2008 (Monday)


a) Corner playing and Props
* The kids chose their favourte blocks play.
* Some kids were called to complete their props. Justin's caterpillar, Zi Jun's and Jin Shan's masks.
* Shi Jie, Xin Ru, Le Xin and Jin Nan enjoyed helping them with the props.


b) Flying Rescue
* We read a storybook: HELICOPTERS
T : Why is a helicopter important?
Jin Shan: Put out fire!
Eugene : To give out food.
Yun Zhe : To save people.
T : Good answers.
* The book showed how animals were given food in the cold winter.
* How a boy was rescue from the sea. The army hung himself with a rope from
the helicopter. The boy was first given a safety float so that he can breathe well.
* The helicopters also report the traffic or weather condition in some areas.
* Besides that, the airship does the same thing. Just like the Olympics Coverage recently.
However, not many airship in the world due to its high possibility of fire accident. Nevertheless, an Airship need not depend on the wind as it has an engine to control its height and destination.
We referred to Yun Zhe's book for the pictures.


c) Parachute craft
* The kids saw my parachute sample how it flew down from a high place....Wah!
* Since we do not have toy people, we shall use cups as people.
* Today we used plastic bags. We twisted each the four ends and pasted to a thread each.
* The kids were so independent now at writing their names as not to mix theirs with others.
* Tomorrow we shall continue the craft.


d) Role-Play Practice
* Ha.... the kids loved the music background so much.
* We added a new role....Diamond Head.....actually as an important chance to its actor, WY.
* I felt that he needs to learn from every little step. I know he can do it!
* Hou Yi played the flute while Chang Er danced....on the moon.....haaa!
e) Musical Dance Practice
* For the first time, we practised together with Teacher Ang and his guitar. Lovely!
* The movements were quite messy...as they were so excited! I'm sure they will be better!

Participants' Gifts

10/11/2008 (Monday)

a)Quiz Recap
The kids recap on the quizzes.
They learnt to recognise more words and speak in more complete sentences.
But what are we going to give to the players?

b)Thumb print Bookmarks
We decided to make bookmarks for our parents and family members.
We chose the colour. Then the kids decided what they wanted to thumb print.
Eugene chose aeroplane and helicopter, Justin chose rockets, Jin Nan and Le Xin chose butterflies.
Then they outlined the printed colours to make them clearer.

c) Parents' day Practice.
This week is going to be a fun week plus challenging for the kids.
The kids practised to listen to cues, remembered their lines and performed more independently.
They performed the drama, Musical Performance, watch Jin Nan and Justin's story-telling as well as the Pilots' Presentation. They also performed “Pantun”. Good job!