Recording: The Green Bean Growth.

Thursday ( 29/04/10)
a) Surprise!
· Before the class, I went down to befriend with the rabbit and carried it up like a baby to the class. The kids of course patted its head and touched its tail. I warned them not to touch its sensitive part which is the ears. The kids counted the number of toes. 4 toes on each leg and they saw longer claws on the back legs. I told them that I could feel its heart pounding. At first, it was pounding fast and then, it slowed down after feeling warm. The kids checked if it was a girl or a boy. Immediately, they saw its penis above the tail covered with fur. They giggled and summed up that the rabbit is so cute.
· We brought it down and examined the discharge. Yan Shan said that rabbit’s discharge should be big like humans. But….seeing is believing. There were so many pea-sized droppings and black in colour. It was dry and I picked up with a napkin to show the kids the exact colour. It has lots of green fiber. No wonder, some rabbits would eat their discharge the second time……Class: Yukkksss!.... Haaaa!

b) Our plant.
Jun Hong: How’s our plant now?
· We observed and saw that its stem is now green, unlike white as before. To help them understand, I showed them 2 video clips on seed germination.
· For the first four days, the seeds grew as bean sprout which could be cooked. Zhe Qing disliked bean sprout. J
Yun Xin: My mother said that every bean has a little hole whereby the little leaves would come out from there. That’s true. We checked our 2nd. Experiment’s beans in the class and it is true.
· First, the roots came out and then the stem shot above the ground. Then, the leves grew bigger. Flowers would bloom and if it is a fruit plant, fruits would start to bear. The class preferred to plant papaya compared to green beans. We should be planting papayas after understanding the theory of our 2nd. Experiment.

c) Recording.
· We recalled our 1st. experiment. I drew 4 plastic cups. One with no Oxygen, one with no water and one with no sunlight and one with everything. I also drew the seed germination simple diagram. Then, the kids started drawing. They were getting better at instructions, drawing and copying sentences except for the younger ones; who needed some prompting.
d) Our 2nd. Experiment: Pleasant or Unpleasant words.
· Today’s the 2nd. Day and we continued saying pleasant and unpleasant words. It is so hilarious to see the kids’ actions….haaaa! However, before going home; we saw that the pleasant cup shows prettier growth whereas the unpleasant cup; vice versa. Hmmmm……the kids are still thinking….”What actually will happen?” They have to figure out themselves.

The Rabbit Nest

Wednesday (28/04/2010)

a) "The Rabbit Song".
* We learnt a new song today. First, I wrote the lyrics on the board and the kids read twice together with me. Then, we practise the song a few times. They loved it! We even wenet hopping around while singing the song.

b) Habitat
* Rabbits live everywhere but Antartica which is very cold there.
Shi Jie: only polar bears live there.
Jun Hong: And also penguins.
* However, we can still find rabbits in snowy area during winter. Why?
Yun Wen: They have thick fur.
* Good! Some of their predators including dogs, cats and snakes. They have a good memory and thus, they can be trained. We can see them during magical performance or a circus.

c) Vocabulary.
* I showed them a poster of a huge rabbit which I drew and labelled. We read the body parts.
- ears, fur, nose, teeth, whiskers, toes, legs, claws and also tail.

d) Visiting our friend.
* We went down to make a nest for the rabbit. Rabbitrs make nest to feel comfortable and especially for female rabbits, before delivering babies. The nest could comprise of twigs, leaves and also grass. All kids went collecting and placed them in a basket. Then, Jun Yu was chosen to place the basket at a corner. However, the rabbit preferred to hide under the tank near the drain.
* Foo Soon lured it with some carrot sticks but it wouldn't come out. We wanted to count its toes and also take a look at its discharge. an Shan said that the discharge should be big but Yun Xin disagreed. Thus, we need to solve thsi question by seeing the actual ones. However, the school maid just washed everything away and left us nothing to see. Not giving up, we shall keep befriending the rabbit.

e) Pleasant or Unpleasant.
* Since we already learnt about plant growth, now we want to do another experiment. This time, we planted some green beans into 2 plastic cups. Cup "A" requires pleasant words. Cup "B" requires "unpleasant words". They kept asking me why??? I said, we could only see the results in about 5 days.
* Meanwhile, our bean sprout which was transferred on Tuesday has become a different plant. It's now all green....hmmm....what could it be?
Qian Joe: My mum says it would grow up into a big green plant.
Yun Xin: My mum said, there will be lots of green leaves.

You are growing!

Tuesday (27/04/2010)

a) Transferring our little plant.

* As it was going to rain, we hurried downstairs. Oops...it was already drizzling. So, I caried a flower pot with soil at the porch. The kids gathered and see how I used the spade to transfer the plant from a little plastic cup a bigger pot.

Teacher: Go home, and asked your mum, what would happen to this plant?

Qian Joe: My mother owns a nursery.

Yun Xin: My mother teaches plants in school.

Teacher: Awesome!

* Before coming downstairs, we comapred the other cups and the conclusion as follows:

* The cup with no water, the green beans remain seeds. The cup with no Oxygen, the plants grew slightly but turned out to be unhealthy. The cup with no sunligh, grew but the leaves becameyellow and eventually, were dying.

Yun Wen: Why are the leaves yellow?

* The sunlihght is needed for leaves to be green so as to make food and grow strong. The yellow leaves are not able to make any food.



b) Hello, Mr. Rabbit!

* We approached our little rabbit. It was hopping at a corner of the grass very near to the storeroom. As I tried to pat it, it was hopping very fast probably due to the thunderstorm and the wet weather. As I held it, the toes shot their clawa and this is a sign of unfriendliness as to protect itself. Thus, the kids learnt another fact.
* We watched video clips. First was on 3-day old babies. They really have no fur and Yun Wen said their eyes are blind. They aren't. Their eyes would open on the 10th. day. The y roll around and also crawl. Couldn't hop yet. The 2nd. was on how her mother feed her babies with milk. As we were watching, I asked the kids, "Who could remember how many babies can a mother have at one time?"
* Qian Joe: "3 to 8". * Teacher: "Very good, Joe".
* The 3rd. video clip was on how a rabbit make a nest. It was in the grassland looking for hay or dry grass to make a nest.

c) Discussion.
* We continued some theory about rabbits.
* Teacher: Why are some rabbits of different colour?
* Foo Soon: Because of different breeds or types.
* There are about 25 breeds. Normal or domestic rabbits, they live underground, called "burrow". Example: They would dig a hole under the tree root about 6cm. Wild rabbits make their nests on the ground. Wild and normal rabbits cannot stay together as they would fight. Wild rabbits are bigger and fiercer.
* They have powerful back legs to hop fast.
* They live in small groups.
* They need to exercise every day or else, they would get bone sickness just like humans.
* They have 17,000 taste buds on their tongue.
* Most rabbit are afraid of water. They would clean themselves. Very few like to bathe but beware because the water might made them sick and die easily.
* Their motion or droppings are pea-sized just like "kuaci". Sometimes, they would eat their own droppings because there is still a lot of fiber in the droppings. After second discharge, they won't eat the droppings again.

About Rabbit

Tuesday ( 26/04/2010)

a) Poem: The Rabbit.
* We learnt a short poem and hopped around the class. The poem sounded like this:
I saw a little rabbit,
going hop, hop, hop!
I said, "Please, Mr. Rabbit;
Won't you stop, stop, stop?!"

He flapped his big, long ears,
and had no words to say,
And before I could get near him,
he had hop, hop, hopped away!"

* I also introduced a simple measurement. The shortest snail is 0.1cm. The longest snail is 36cm. The shortest rabbit is 5 cm. The longest rabbit is 60 cm. I used ribbons to let them differentiate. Wow.......!

b) About Rabbit.
* We learnt that animals belong to many groups such as reptiles, mammals and also fish.
* We learnt that some features of mammals include having hair, giving birth and also warm blood.
* So, I drew a picture of rabbit and the kids watched carefully. Questions and questions were asked and the kids participated.
* A rabbit gives birth and has about 3 - 8 babies at one time. They milk their babies like our mothers do.
Natalie: Teacher, the babies are so cute.
* After birth, the mother would live them in her nest and roam around. The babies have no fur and do not open their eyes until about the 10th day.
Shi Jie: they are like snails because they don't take care of their babies.
* Not really, they feed their babies for about 5 minutes, once a day and they don't accompany their babies because not to attract predators. They have long ears.
Foo Soon: To listen carefully.
* Thus, their ears tend to move and flap around to listen to the moises. Furthermore, humans sweat but rabbits don't because they have fur. When they feel hot, their warm blood flow quickly to their ears and cool down. Then, it regulates their temperature. Which part of a rabbit has no fur?
Jun Hong: Mouth........... Teacher: Haaa......right. Any other places?
* Their feet have no fur, thus; they only sweat at their feet. If the weather is too hot, some rabbits die easily.
* Can a rabbit see behind their head?
Devin: No.
* Actually, they can see 360 degree, thus sometomes before we approach them, they would hop away.
A rabbit would scream if they are in pain or feel terribly scared. They would then use their sharp claws and sharp teeth to bite humans or predators. They hop very fast just like my kids in this class........haaa! Thus, I keep reminding the kids to be friends with the rabbit, as gently and caring as possible rather than screaming and scaring them. Until today, I feel that the rabbit is very happy to be with the kids.
* Yun Xin: Teacher, does a rabbit have sharp incisor teeth.
* Yes, it does. It has 28 teeth and as rabbits also eat tree barks and twigs; sometime sthey need sharp incisors to cut off the hard part of their food.

c) I CAN draw!
* Initially, most kids said they can't draw. I drew again and again, giving them an option to draw rounder rabbits or thinner rabbits. Rounder ones are easier to draw because we can use circle shapes.
* Most of them could draw them including Wei Jeen, Devin, Zheng Yuan and also Chun Kit. They praised Jing Kai's drawing; our Leonardo Da Vinci of the class.......haaaa!
* Natalie and Yan Shan needed more prompting. We went back early as there was a heavy rain.

Our new friend: Mr. Rabbit

Friday (23/04/2010)

a) Analysing the plants.
* The kids were so excited to check at their plants. Every morning, a kid (according to the namelist) would water the plants. We saw that the plant withOxygen, water and sunlight grew the fastest with small green buds. The plant with no water remained to be seeds. The plant with no sunlight is growing very slowly. The plant with no sunlight also grew but look yellowish and unhealthy.

b) Fixing antennas.
* We fixed the antennas on each snail. We used the glittering wire thread. The kids had the challenge of inserting the thread through the hole and twisted it to tighten the thread. We inserted 2 pairs as a snail has 2 pairs of antennas.

c) Examining our new friend: The Rabbit.
* The rabbit was given away by Teacher Yap to the school as it has already grown big. It is about 7 months old and is a male. We observed the rabbit. Before going down, the 6-year old kids shared a bit about this cute pet. These kids were in-charged to clean the cage and play with them every day.
Yun Wen: The rabbit is timid.
Jun Hong: It eats grass and leaves.
Foo Soon: It has long ears.
Teacher: Will it bite?
Yun Wen: No.
* The kids promised to be very quiet and we queued up to pat the rabbit fur. Wow......it was so soft and the kids loved the feel of it. Wee Hong and Chun Kit said the fur feels very smooth and nice. Then, we quietly let the rabbit run at the garden. It was quite scared of the kids because they started making little screams. They chased the rabbit and it hops quickly for shelter. After watching for about 15 minutes, I carried the male rabbit and put it in its cage. The kids immediately saw its discharge.

The Earth Day: Never, never, never give up!
Thursday (22/04/2010)

a) A movie and Making Enzyme.
Today is Earth Day and in the morning, all the kids watched a video clip entitled, +- 2 degree celcius. I recommend all to watch this 1 hour great documentary. After that, we did fruit enzyme, as a way to save the angry and sick Earth. To make the enzyme, kids peeled away the skin. Then they put in the skin pieces into their 1.5 l bottle. I assisted them with the mixture. We add 0.5 container of brown sugar and 5 containers of water. Then, they shook the bottle to mix the mixture well. The enzyme would only be ready in 3 months. Then we blended the fruits to drink the juice. Some preferred to eat the pieces of fruit.......haaa! Our lunch was vegetarian because a lot of process of breeding animals have caused pollution and the Earth to be sick. Being vegetarian can help make the Erath a better place.

b) Discussion.
Teacher: Kids, what could you remember from the documentary?
Joe: The Earth is angry.
Chun Kit: Flood is everywhere.
Zheng Yuan: Charity.
Kwong Yong: Kids were crying.
Foo Soon: The rainforest was burning.
Devin: Earthquake.
Yun Wen: Polar bear loses its home.
Shi Jie: The ice is melting.
* I was so touched by how mush they observed. Why is this happening?
Foo Soon: The Earth is too hot!
I asked why? Foo Soon said people burn things openly. The rest was speechless.
I explained a little bit about the usage of air-conds, wasted electricity and also the lack of trees.
Thus, enzyme ws one of theways to save the Earth. Enzyme releases O3 or we call the OZONE gas which helps to reduce the heat in the Earth. It also has Nutrient. When we open this bottle of enzyme 3 months later, you can feel the gas release just like when we open 10o plus or any soft drink. I explained in an easir way for the kids to understand. It has good bacteria that fights off the bad bacteria in the water, in the ground or even in the air. In fact, it can clean the polluted water. If we pour enzyme into the drain, the water will flow to the river, sea and finally ocean and can save many water plants and animals. That would save the polar bears which have gone hungry at the North Pole. In fact, they had to kill their own brothers for food. This was one of the scenes the kids could remember clearly. They looked at me honestly and I know, they don't want this to happen to any animals or even humans.
Of course, enzyme can be used as household products. Therefore, we can reduce production and save money too.

c) Drawing
* The kids drew just about anything related to Earth. Some drew the flood, the crying erath, the sick people, frefighers saving the victims, some drew animals, some drew the fruit enzyme.

The Rainforest Experiment.

Wednesday (21/04/2010)

a) Continuation of craft

* We continued with the snail craft. Some applied the glue and spin the yarn the the spiral pattern of the shell. Then, we thought of making the stand so that we can move the craft easily on our gameboard. We tried using cardboard. It looked fine but most crafts couldn't stand steadily. So, I asked the kids to think of a solution. Some said we can add straws on the board but it might look messy. I suggested mud clay but then if it hardens, it will be as heavy as a stone.



b) The Rainforest Experiment.

Since, tomorrow is Earth Day, I thought that understanding the rainforest would be a good understanding for young kids.

Teacher: So, what are the things needed for a tree to grow?

Wei Jeen: Sunlight.

Yun Wen: Water.

Teacher: and also Oxygen.

* Qian Joe did mention before that soil is needed but not necessary because we can also plant in the water.
* Thus, we prepared 4 small containers, laid some cotton in them. The first container is without sunlight, the second is without Oxygen, the third is without water and finally the fourth is with everything.
* Foo Soon suggested that we place the first container in a big drawer. Jun Hong suggested the shoe box found at our recycled corner. The kids agreed the shoe box was more suitable.

c) Watering our plants.
Yan Shan: What will happen to the beans?
Teacher: I don't know. It is now a baby and maybe it will grow big.
Thus, the kids will take turn to water the plants every day. The assistant would take turns according to the namelist. The 6 year-old would help to monitor.

The 3D Snail Craft

Tuesday（20/03/2010）

a) Review
* The kids suggested that we make a big book for every animal that we learnt. I thought that was a great idea. After all, for evety animal, I wrote the important facts on a manila cardboard.
* Thus, we recapped a few important words as a warm up.
* Example: the features, the diet, the snails' predators, the sizes and also its habitat.

b) The snail craft.
* Our craft has to be a 3D type as we would be playing them on a big gameboard. However, we can't play it first until we have a few animal collections to play with.
* Each kid was a given a cardboard paper. They drew a picture of the snail. Ha..ha...they looked very cute and come in different sizes. They have to draw on both sides and colour them. Then they cut it out.

c) The yarn shell.
* We used the yarn or thread to paste along the spiral pattern of the shell. It was challenging because the kids needed patience to do this. Most of them actuall tried persistently. We shall continue tomorrow.

The "Animal Kingdom"

Monday ( 19/04/2010)

a) The Thematic Title
* The kids thought of a few titles: Animals in The Wonderland (by Foo Soon), Wonderful Animals (by Qian Joe), Mysterious Animals and Animal Kingdom.
* Finally, 10 kids voted for "Animal Kingdom" and Yun Wen explained the meaning of Kingdom. Thus, we can learn any animals that the kids suggested.
* Foo Soon suggested that besides decorating a small rainforest, we can have big hand-made animals so that they can add onto their toys. Thus, we decided to make a mobile "board game" just like "snake and ladder" game. It has to be mobile because the kids need space in the classroom for their nap. The kids were excited.

b) A snail encyclopedia.
* For every page that is shared, the kids relate to what they have already learnt the last few days. The book taught us about: their diet, their habitat, how they lay eggs, how they grow, the look of their muscular foot, saliva, the various patterns of the shell and also their predators.

c) Continuation of "Rainforest" craft.
* The kids continued drawing the leaves, flowers and some even drew snails. They cut, pasted and decorated the notice board.

Snail Racing

Friday（16/04/2010）

a) Quiz: The Snail.
· I drew a picture of a snail. I asked the kids what they have learnt and observed.
Teacher: How many eyes does it have?
Yun Wen: 2 eyes on the longer antennas.
T: What’s the shorter antennas for?
Foo Soon: To smell and sense the surrounding.
T: Does it have legs?
Qian Joe: No.
T: It has muscular foot. What can you see after the snail crawls?
Devin: Saliva.
T: This saliva helps the snail to crawl more easily, even on sharp points; they don’t get hurt!
· It protects itself using its shell. It lays 80 – 100 eggs. The kids were shocked that its mother doesn’t care for its kids. Now, they learnt that animals are divided into 2 types, the caring and non-caring ones.
· Farmers dislike them because they eat their plants fast. They guessed the number of teeth but they didn’t get the right figure. A snail is the slowest animal but with the most teeth about 14,ooo that grow on the tongue called “radula”. Wow!

b) Snail Racing
· Zhe Qing brough a very active and nice adult garden snail. We found an adult snail, two smaller snails and a baby snail from our school garden. We labeled each snail with a sticker and the kids gather to see which snail would crawl the fastest.
· The baby snail came out from the shell but didn’t move. Zhe Qing’s snail was very active , moving fast. I even used the leaves to lure the others but they didn’t want to come out from the shell. Probably because we kept them the whole afternoon in a container; thus were frightened by the kids’ voices. Thus, we thought maybe they would be active again once left in the garden. We went downstairs and true enough, all the snails came out from the shells and started crawling. Now, we learnt that animals live actively and happily at their habitat.

Leaves Hunting

Wednesday ( 14/04/2010)

a) The Rainforest
* We sang "Mary Had A Little Lamb" and the kids got better at it. They are curious between a sheep and a goat which I explained in more details. The thick fur explains why sheep cannot be found in hot climate in Malaysia. Sheep live in a cooler climate and they are actually very thin after being skinned off the fur. However, the fur would grow again. The fur is used to made clothes and yarns.
* The kids recapped what we learnt yesterday. They remembered that trees need sunlight and water. I explain that the sunlight is needed as the grren leaves can make their own food or nutrition as marked by Shi Jie.
Teacher: Are trees important?
Yun Xin: Yes! We need them to make into paper.
Yun Wen: We can find shade under them.
Qian Joe: Trees made the surrounding cooler.
* I got them to breathe in and out deeply. Then, they covered their nose and hardly could breathe.
Teacher: Why?
Devin: We need air. Teacher: They are called Oxygen or O2.
* The kids learnt that during photosynthesis, trees will breathe out O2 for people and the animals. Wow! Trees are magical. We would breathe in polluted air with fewer trees in the world.

b) Leaves Hunting.
* As the kids wanted to make a mini rainforest in the class, thus; we had to analyse the various leaves available. We went to the garden and pluacked some leaves. We even picked some withered leaves which were already dried and brown in colour. Along the way, we saw a baby snail which caught the kids' attention immediately. Thus, I picked it up and made a small container home for it. The kids were so excited.
Yan Shan: Animals do not pass motion.
Yun Xin: They do!
Yan Shan: They don't!
Yun Xin: Teacher, do animals pass motion.
Teacher: Take a look at the snail.
* They could see the waste and Yan Shan agreed that animals do pass motion because they eat and grow! :) They observed the snail but we would learn it thgoroughly tomorrow.

c) Our mini rainforest.
* The kids chose what they wanted to do. Some coloured the tree trunk, some drew flowers, some drew leaves. First they drew small sizes but it was difficult to cut them. So, they drew bigger in size after noticing the easier ways.
* Woh! They even requested to make a mobile animal route (similar to Safari) in the classroom. Well, let's see if they are enthusiastic of what they suggested. One step at at time!

Let’s Vote： “Animals”

Monday （12/04/2010）
a) Song: Mary Had A Little Lamb
I introduced this song because the other day during story-telling time, they were confused between sheep and goats. All rams have horns but some female breeds might also have horns. Their thick fur allowed them to stay in a cooler place but not in Malaysia. They enjoyed the song as it has got a story.
“Mary had a little lamb,
Little lamb，little lamb，
“Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow,
Wherever that Mary went,
Mary went, Mary went,
Wherever that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.
It followed her to school one day,
School one day, school one day,
It followed her to school one day,
Which was against the rules.
It made the children laugh and play,
Laugh and play, laugh and play,
It made the children laugh and play,
To see a lamb at school.

· They could relate the story well as Yun Wen brought her pet cat today and everyone was laughing and chasing to play with it.
Then, we took a look at the newspaper cutting which the kids cut last Friday. Each kid put up their hand as I pointed at their picture. They gave the reason why the picture is related to Nature. Some has got animals like tigers, elephants and also dishes of chicken or beef. Some has got snad-mining, flood, plants, flowers; some has got pictures of beautiful clothes made from animal fur, some has pictures of healthy people because of healthy food and healthy air. Some cut Power Rangers as they said these heroes helped fight off criminals as well as assisted in disasters like hurricane, earthquake and flood.

b) Discussion: New Theme.
· The kids chose the topics that they preferred. Among: plants and flowers, water and mountain, animals, dinosaurs. Each kid was given 2 options to vote.
· The results: 13 for animals, 6 for plants, 5 for dinosaurs, 4 for water, 4 for dinosaurs.
· We discussed the [laces we could find animals. Among: zoo, safari, homes, sky, water, rainforest, cage and also garden. Jing Kai suggested that we learn from the biggest animal to the smallest. Devin wanted to learn about elephant while Foo Soon wanted to learn about iguana. We will first learn about the rainforest.

The Nature

Thursday (01/04/2010)

a) Body Movement
l We imagined ourselves travelling to the middle of the Earth. Thus, the kids started giving ideas that we could drive, cycle, ride a boat, ride a jet, a helicopter, a space, a trishaw, speedboat and etc. to get there.
l So, they listened to my instructions and as I clapped 2 times, they would freeze. I asked them what they saw along the way. Anything related to “Nature”. These were some of their responses:
Devin: I could see smoke. Xing Tong: I could see flowers. Zhe Qing: I could see Mona Lisa.
Foo Soon: I could see dinosaurs. Shi Jie: I could seemountains. Jing Kai: I could see sharks.
Chun Kit: I could see waves. Wei Jeen: I can see motorbikes. ZhengYuan: I can see lions.
Jun Yu: I could see rockets. Wee Hong: I can see jets. Chia Yen: I can see birds and etc.

b) Storybook: The Farm Animals.
l It was a story about a new born sheep and the other farm animals were excited. They quickly hurried to the shed and congratulated the mother and father sheep. Among the animals were the cock, hen, donkeys, geese and cows.
l The kids said we get milk from the cows but bulls don’t have milk. The sheep take good care of the baby just like human beings.

c) Thinking
* I asked the kids to go home and decide what they wanted to learn about Nature. We brainstormed topics related to Nature. They included: Mountains and water, Dinosaurs, Volcanos, Animals, Space, Pollution and recycling, plants and crops, plants and flowers, weather and The Earth stones.

What is “Nature” again?

Friday (09/04/2010)
a) Circle Time
Teacher: So, have you thought of what to learn for “Nature”?
Class: Dinosaurs,…..animals,….stars……Teacher, what is “Nature”?
· I have explained to them on Thursday. However, their enquiry made me realized that they are not ready to make decisions. I explained again.
· Only Zhe Qing brought books to share. The others said they would at weekend. She brought a few books. Some pictures were on Nature and seasons. Some were on Space and stars while some on animals. The kids were interested at the animal pictures.
Shi Jie: What’s a baboon? Devin: Yerrr……what’s gorilla?
· I explained that orang utan, monkey, gorilla and baboon are relatives of a big family. They asked me if bears eat people? They eat fish while Pandas eat bamboo shoots. Wolves are wild animals. So are monkeys, foxes and bears.
Yun Wen: What is wild animal?
· I explained briefly. They are not reared as they are not friendly. The tame ones are taken care of by people such as rabbits, dogs and cats.
Devin: What about leopard?
· They belong to the the big family of cats and tigers. Devin was also excited about whales.
· We also saw Woddpecker bird. Chun Kit said he pecked the tree because it likes the wood. Jing Kai says because it has a long beak to peck. Jun Hong said because there were tiny insects and worms on that tree.

b) Exploring the newspaper.
· As the kids are still confused about the Nature, thus, we have a cutting paper activity. Each of them take a big piece of newspaper, hunt for a related picture and cut them. Then, then can proceed to take another and another piece.
· Some kids chose animals and also animals that have been cooked such as fried chicken, grilled fish and other dishes. Some kids cut trees and flowers. Some kids cut factories and transports. We shall discuss the outcome next week.

The Battery Experiment

Friday (02/04/2010)
a) Case Study
* I told them a story to solve the case.
"Jimmy had a big rambutan tree that grows so high and its branches touches the wire cable. There are lots of rambutan fruits near there. How should Jimmy pluck?"

Wei Jeen: Chopped the tree. (...but there won't be anymore fruit in the future).
Devin: Climb. (....but you might get electrical shock).
Chun Kit: Shake the tree. (...but it might pull the wire cable. furthermore, it is too big for you to shake).
Kwong Yong: Carry a ladder. (......but when you pluck with your hands, you might get electrical shock).
Yun Wen: I know....use a long stick pole and tied a knife at its end.
Teacher: Which type of pole is better? Metal? Plastic? Wood? Paper?
Jun Hong: If the metal pole falls on your head, you will get injured.
Shi Jie: Paper is too soft.
Foo Soon: The stick might break.
Teacher: We will do an experiment to figure this out.

b) The Story of Thomas Edison
* When Edison was a 6-year old kid, he started a fire in the barn and many people thought that he was a mischievous and different child. Even the school teacher rejected him after 3 months in class. However, his loving mother bought him a Science Dictionary and he finished reading the whole book. Then, he started making different things. He sold newspaper at fire station and one day as he was trying to hopped into a train, someone pulled his ears to help him up. Unfortunately, his left ear was totally deaf a few yaers later. His right ear was 80% deaf too. One day, he rescued a boy from the railway track and was awarded with a job. His life changed as he found more opportunities inventing things. He improved the bulb because those days, bulb would burn out in a few hours.
* To do this, he experimented more than 10,000 materials for the filament. Finally, he suceeded finding carbon, a type of graphite. Thus, is pencil lead a conductor?

c) Battery experiment.
* I showed them 1.5 V and also 9V batteries. They observed the wires. Then, placed the wire ends to each positive and negative pole of the battery. The kids felt that the battery became hotter. This is "electricity". We placed a piece of small paper but the paper was not hot. We tried out with a piece of granite and it became hotter and hotter. Yun Xin tested with the thermometer and the temperature rose. Further discussions on Monday.........

Metal comes from electricity??

Thursday (01/04/2010)

a) Brainstorming
We already know that pencil lead is extracted from graphite, a type of mineral from the Earth. The kids know that graphite comes from the stomach. But what else can it be made into?

b) Recalling
* From yesterday's video clip, we learnt that some huge graphite could be recycled but by using hot temperature. Graphite can be found in brakes to make them smooth, in television, machines, bicycle wheels and in a lot of electrical items. It can also be found in a bulb.
* The reason for Edison's success at improvingthe bulb was because he experimented more than 10,000 different items for the "filament". Kids: "Wow"!
* I showed them the big "bulb" and they took a look at them.

c) How did people see without light?
* Qian Joe said, the people of the past used lanterns. Yun Xin said they used lanterns. Torchlight was not correct as it was not invented yet.
Teacher: What can you do with lights?
Class: We can wee. We can read at night. We can do homework.
Teacher: Where did the light come from?
Foo Soon: It came from the electrical cabels outside.
Everyone ran to the window and pointed at the cabels.
Teacher: What can you do with electricity?
Class: watch TV, play computer games, cook, use the hot shower, switch on the air-cond and etc.
Teacher: Where then do we get the electricity?
Qian Joe: Metal comes from electricity?
Teacher: ....Ahhh? Show me the metal items in the classroom.
* Immediately, they ran and touched the matress shelves made from metal.
Teacher: Do you feel anything?
Class: Nothing!
Wee Hong: What about the table legs?
They ran there. Nothing.
Zheng Yuan: What about the hot shower machine?
Shi Jie: What about the socket and wire linking the radio and fan?
* They went there but nothing!
Teacher: So, does metal come from electricity?
Jing Kai: Teacher, this is because the electrical wires are protected by the plastic cover. So, you can't feel anything.
* Tomorrow we shall continue the class with an experiment.