Our Pomegranate friends！
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Recycling Bins
Friday (27/04/2012)
a) Recycling Bins.
There are many types of recycling bins. Usually, the common ones include Recycling Bins for plastic(brown), paper (blue) and tin plus aluminum (orange). Some also included bins for plastic, chemical among others. Items which are not recyclable are placed in trash or dustbins.
The kids made a big circle while I poured some mixture of recycling items in the middle of the circle. Altogether there were 5 boxes for plastic, tin, aluminum, paper and also clothes.
The kids took turns to place the items. The first group placed the items wrongly. Thus, the 2nd group inspected their segregated items. The third group checked again and finally we checked together. By the end of it, the segregation was good and tidy!
b) Magical Castle Games.
Jia Xun suggested Snake and Ladder game. Shawn suggested a crocodile game which he said we can play from I-phone. Rei suggested a fish game. Finally, the kids taught that Snake and Ladder would be more suitable and easier to play at outdoor.
I sketched a ladder while kids helped with the numbers. I drew 2 snakes beside the ladder. The kids said the winner would get to wear a crown!
Then, we sketched on the classroom floor. The kids took turn to play and they enjoyed most when they stepped onto the number whereby they were swallowed by snakes to the “Start” position.
c) The Ball Game 1 and 2.
We brainstormed on games that we can play in Magical Castle. We thought of the dart game but it uses magnets but it might be unsuitable for outdoor. Thus, we modified by using a “stickable” ball to throw and aim at a point. We had 2 pictures as the aiming point. The “Smiley” faces and also the “Circles”.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Binocular Crafts.
Thursday (26/04/2012)
a) Wei Lok’s storybook: Animal Airways.
It’s a very nice story of animals from different countries. The elephants of Africa board the aeroplane to visit its animal friends around the world. Tigers from India, camels from Egypt, Pandas from China, Racoons from South America, Hedgehog from New York USA, snakes from India and penguins from South Pole.
The book has got a long aeroplane flip from first to last page; which attracted kids’ attention. Thus, we can find lots of creative and wonderful books!
b) Songs: Rainbow, Green Grass Grows All Around.
We further recapped on the importance of trees. Kids recalled what they learnt on Earth Day lesson. Trees take in the poisonous CO2 from factories gases and human respiration. Trees absorbed water thus avoiding flood and landslide! Trees are homes to many animals. Next Friday, we are going to Tzu Chi to learnt about recycling activities.
The Rainbow Song
Red and yellow and pink and green
Purple and orange and blue
I can sing a rainbow,
sing a rainbow,
sing a rainbow too.
Listen with your ears,
See with your eyes,
and sing everything you see,
Now you can sing a rainbow,
sing a rainbow,
sing along with me.
Green Grass Grows All Around.
And in this egg
there was a bird
the prettiest bird
that you ever did see
and the bird in the egg
and the egg in the nest
and the nest on the branch
and the branch on the tree
and the tree in the hole
and the hole in the ground
and the green grass grows all around all around and the green grass grows all around
c) Castle crafts
We thought of ways to make binoculars, telescope and other decorations. Hiro suggested that we use paper but kids were reminded that paper get wet in the rain. Thus, Si Suen suggested plastic bottles.
6 kids assisted at making binoculars. The others assisted at cutting letters for the castle signboard flags. “MAGICAL CASTLE”. Some assisted at cutting the banner to the word “WELCOME”.
We shall continue with games tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The Rainbow Colour.
Wednesday（25/04/2012）
a) The design.
The kids and I discussed about the wall paint. A few suggested that we draw pictures. However, mostly wanted it to be painted. They said that the bricks with cement won’t look nice with pictures. We thought of colours and finally different ideas have produced rainbow colour.
We went through the colour of rainbow which was “Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo (dark blue) and violet (purple and pink mixture). For Chinese version of Rainbow Colour, violet is purple. Thus, I shall use purple not to confuse kids.
Kids were divided into 6 groups. 4 groups for each side of the wall, 1 group for the stools, 1 group for the castle top.
b) The Painting Activity.
Only a few kids remembered bringing old t-shirts. Anyway, they were given an apron, a brush and a bowl of paint to share with.
I poured paint into the bowl. The kids poured a little water and they mixed it thoroughly. They were co-operative at painting. They learnt the mixture of different colour produced different colours.
Red + Blue = Purple. Yellow + Red = Orange. White + Blue = Light Blue.
Then, they helped at washing the brushes, bowls and clearing the area.
Tomorrow, we shall continue with the inside items such as binoculars and etc.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Book Sharing: Mammals.
Tuesday (24/04/2012)
a) Jia Jia’s book Sharing: Mammals.
Jia Jia brought her book to share and it was such an interesting book for all. Kids immediately asked the definition of mammal.
Humans belong to mammal group. Mammals have warm blood. Kids touch their forehead temperature. It’s usually warm but compared to fish temperature, it’s cold! Mammals have hair; and they give birth unlike birds that lay eggs.
There were so many examples of Mammal pictures. These include Macaque (a type of monkeys), gorillas, red faced monkeys, porcupines, dolphins, platypus, bats, Armadillo, tigers, hares and many more. The kids were interested at Armadillo, porcupines, bats and the red-faced monkeys.
b) Wall-E Book Continuation.
We recapped on our handmade storybook pages. The sentences included: “Rubbish Dump”, “Eva and Wall-E save the Earth”, “Space people go home to Earth”, “3Rs”, “Earth is safe”.
Then, I showed the kids on how I cut the Wall-E’s eyes with a penknife and pasted with glass paper.
Tuesday (24/04/2012)
a) Jia Jia’s book Sharing: Mammals.
Jia Jia brought her book to share and it was such an interesting book for all. Kids immediately asked the definition of mammal.
Humans belong to mammal group. Mammals have warm blood. Kids touch their forehead temperature. It’s usually warm but compared to fish temperature, it’s cold! Mammals have hair; and they give birth unlike birds that lay eggs.
There were so many examples of Mammal pictures. These include Macaque (a type of monkeys), gorillas, red faced monkeys, porcupines, dolphins, platypus, bats, Armadillo, tigers, hares and many more. The kids were interested at Armadillo, porcupines, bats and the red-faced monkeys.
b) Wall-E Book Continuation.
We recapped on our handmade storybook pages. The sentences included: “Rubbish Dump”, “Eva and Wall-E save the Earth”, “Space people go home to Earth”, “3Rs”, “Earth is safe”.
Then, I showed the kids on how I cut the Wall-E’s eyes with a penknife and pasted with glass paper.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Earth Day Movie: Wall-E
Monday (23/04/2012)
a) Earth Day Movie: Wall-E
• This movie was produced about 4 years back and it introduced the life of Ecosystem in year 2110, the future! Earth has been too contaminated with rubbish and people have stayed in a big spaceship called “Axiom” which was fully equipped with hi-tech equipments. Everyone always sat on a couch. They never walked and always had a Notebook Screen in front of them. They didn’t even know about their surroundings!
• Scientists had built hundreds of robots called Wall-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth Class) to clean the planet. Wall-E found a plant not knowing of the importance. Eva, another planet was sent from Axiom searching for plaants. When Eva found the plant, she took it home to Axiom. Meanwhile, Wall-E which loved being with Eva discovered that he missed her. Thus, after many adventures in Axiom, both of them finally managed to bring the plant to the Captain. At that time, robots have empowered humans and prevent them from going back to Earth. Both teams battled and humans won! The Axiom humans also dicovered that they could walk and do many things relying on their muscles. Back to Earth they charged and Earth was re-born! Hooray!
b) Class Discussion.
Teacher: So, what’s the story about?
Kids: Wall-E and Eva saved the Earth that has got lots of rubbish! They have no friends except the cockroach. Eva searched for the plant because to give to the Captain. People became so fat and short. They didn’t even know that they could walk until they had to defense themselves from robotic controls! Finally, the Earth became save and plants are everywhere!
c) World Book day.
• 23rd April is World Book Day. Thus, people share stories, read them and even make them. Today, we are making a Wall-E storybook to share with others about Earth Day which was yesterday; 22nd April, 2012.
d) Wall-E Storybook.
• We discussed the contents of the story.
Page 1= Earth Day and Book day.
Page 2= Earth is a rubbish dump!
Page 3= Wall-E and Eva save the Earth.
Page 4= Spaceship people go home to Earth.
Page 5= Earth is happy.
Page 6= Remember 3Rs “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”.
• We learnt step-by-step drawing of Wall-E.
• We would finish the storybook by tomorrow.
Monday (23/04/2012)
a) Earth Day Movie: Wall-E
• This movie was produced about 4 years back and it introduced the life of Ecosystem in year 2110, the future! Earth has been too contaminated with rubbish and people have stayed in a big spaceship called “Axiom” which was fully equipped with hi-tech equipments. Everyone always sat on a couch. They never walked and always had a Notebook Screen in front of them. They didn’t even know about their surroundings!
• Scientists had built hundreds of robots called Wall-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth Class) to clean the planet. Wall-E found a plant not knowing of the importance. Eva, another planet was sent from Axiom searching for plaants. When Eva found the plant, she took it home to Axiom. Meanwhile, Wall-E which loved being with Eva discovered that he missed her. Thus, after many adventures in Axiom, both of them finally managed to bring the plant to the Captain. At that time, robots have empowered humans and prevent them from going back to Earth. Both teams battled and humans won! The Axiom humans also dicovered that they could walk and do many things relying on their muscles. Back to Earth they charged and Earth was re-born! Hooray!
b) Class Discussion.
Teacher: So, what’s the story about?
Kids: Wall-E and Eva saved the Earth that has got lots of rubbish! They have no friends except the cockroach. Eva searched for the plant because to give to the Captain. People became so fat and short. They didn’t even know that they could walk until they had to defense themselves from robotic controls! Finally, the Earth became save and plants are everywhere!
c) World Book day.
• 23rd April is World Book Day. Thus, people share stories, read them and even make them. Today, we are making a Wall-E storybook to share with others about Earth Day which was yesterday; 22nd April, 2012.
d) Wall-E Storybook.
• We discussed the contents of the story.
Page 1= Earth Day and Book day.
Page 2= Earth is a rubbish dump!
Page 3= Wall-E and Eva save the Earth.
Page 4= Spaceship people go home to Earth.
Page 5= Earth is happy.
Page 6= Remember 3Rs “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”.
• We learnt step-by-step drawing of Wall-E.
• We would finish the storybook by tomorrow.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Earth Day
Friday (20th. April, 2012)
a) Earth Day
22nd is Earth Day. The Earth is sick and we hope to save it making it a better place.
Q: What do you do when you want a drink of 100 Plus?
Kids: We buy from shops. Lorries sent them to shops. In fact, most consumer products are sent by ships, trains or planes from overseas. Factories would produce them whenever customers want more. Factories have got to order aluminum cans from material supplier. Suppler would have to order from miners. This is an example of ecology relationship.
Q: What happens when people start to fill up the Earth with drink cans or other rubbish? There will mountains of rubbish everywhere.
Kids: Recycle to make other things. Or they can burn the rubbish.
Rubbish if left alone would caused problems such as air pollution, toxic gas being released such as CO2. It would affect us in many ways. The rubbish are brought to a big dump area and usually being buried. Burning would cause the released of CO3.
The concern is, “We buy whatever we want. But…..the resources will finish and humans are not doing enough to protect them. Paper comes from matured trees which take about at least 7 years to be planted before being fallen down.”
b) 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
We can reduce buying products. Example: We should drink more water as it is healthier than carbonated drinks. We can boil water rather than buying bottled water.
We can reuse. Rei shared that she give away her clothes to her cousins. Jia Xun said she gave Teacher Re Hong her baby clothes. When we reuse, to preserve Earth resources, reduced transportation and manufacturing that releases gases and smoke. We can also save money to use it for emergency or other activities.
We can recycle. Recycling Bins can be found at many places including shopping centers and schools. The common bins are for items of Plastic, Glass, Paper, Aluminum and Tins. However some items cannot be recycled, they should be returned to the manufacturers. Examples: battery, handphone and computers. Light bulbs or broken glasses should go into trash.
c) Video Clip: Garbage Dump.
* Kids saw how rubbish from our small dustbins go into rubbish trucks which ended up in big dumps. Those could be recycled would go into a Recycling Centre. We saw how people around the world lived in the dump to collect recycled items; so that they can sell and earn a living. Kids kept saying that it’s dirty and smelly but again, we must say a BIG Thank You to them. They have made our Earth a better home!
Friday (20th. April, 2012)
a) Earth Day
22nd is Earth Day. The Earth is sick and we hope to save it making it a better place.
Q: What do you do when you want a drink of 100 Plus?
Kids: We buy from shops. Lorries sent them to shops. In fact, most consumer products are sent by ships, trains or planes from overseas. Factories would produce them whenever customers want more. Factories have got to order aluminum cans from material supplier. Suppler would have to order from miners. This is an example of ecology relationship.
Q: What happens when people start to fill up the Earth with drink cans or other rubbish? There will mountains of rubbish everywhere.
Kids: Recycle to make other things. Or they can burn the rubbish.
Rubbish if left alone would caused problems such as air pollution, toxic gas being released such as CO2. It would affect us in many ways. The rubbish are brought to a big dump area and usually being buried. Burning would cause the released of CO3.
The concern is, “We buy whatever we want. But…..the resources will finish and humans are not doing enough to protect them. Paper comes from matured trees which take about at least 7 years to be planted before being fallen down.”
b) 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
We can reduce buying products. Example: We should drink more water as it is healthier than carbonated drinks. We can boil water rather than buying bottled water.
We can reuse. Rei shared that she give away her clothes to her cousins. Jia Xun said she gave Teacher Re Hong her baby clothes. When we reuse, to preserve Earth resources, reduced transportation and manufacturing that releases gases and smoke. We can also save money to use it for emergency or other activities.
We can recycle. Recycling Bins can be found at many places including shopping centers and schools. The common bins are for items of Plastic, Glass, Paper, Aluminum and Tins. However some items cannot be recycled, they should be returned to the manufacturers. Examples: battery, handphone and computers. Light bulbs or broken glasses should go into trash.
c) Video Clip: Garbage Dump.
* Kids saw how rubbish from our small dustbins go into rubbish trucks which ended up in big dumps. Those could be recycled would go into a Recycling Centre. We saw how people around the world lived in the dump to collect recycled items; so that they can sell and earn a living. Kids kept saying that it’s dirty and smelly but again, we must say a BIG Thank You to them. They have made our Earth a better home!
Castle Building: Day 4.
Thursday (19/04/2012)
a) The Castle Roof.
* Today we continued with building the roof.
* The class was divided into 2 groups. A group to make flags using paste table cloth so that it won’t get wet under the rain. Another group would help at building.
* I mixed the cement mortar. The kids took turns to place the bricks. Rei, Si Suen, Wei Lok, Hiro and Shang Hong got better at handling the cement mortar using the trowels.
* Next, they quickly placed the plastic crystal on top of the bricks. They looked just stunning!
b) The chairs.
The extra cement mortars from yesterday; got hardened despite having water on it and covered up in a pail!
Thus, the kids suggested that we made the 2 pails into chairs. That’s another good idea! They hoped that kids can sit there and chat during playground time.
c) The Flags.
Shawn, Alisa, Jia Jia, Yu Xi and a few more helped to design the flags and paste them onto the straws. They used permanent marker pen to design.
Then, they placed a few on the castle pots!
d) Magicland Castle.
* We have eventually finished our building except that kids request to paint it! We wanted visitors to our castle fell happy all the time! We voted on names and finalized with Magicland Castle. We hoped to add on some games within the castle. The kids and I thought of a few such as Hide and Seek, puzzle or Snake and Ladders. We would finalise it after Earth Day and Book Day activities.
Thursday (19/04/2012)
a) The Castle Roof.
* Today we continued with building the roof.
* The class was divided into 2 groups. A group to make flags using paste table cloth so that it won’t get wet under the rain. Another group would help at building.
* I mixed the cement mortar. The kids took turns to place the bricks. Rei, Si Suen, Wei Lok, Hiro and Shang Hong got better at handling the cement mortar using the trowels.
* Next, they quickly placed the plastic crystal on top of the bricks. They looked just stunning!
b) The chairs.
The extra cement mortars from yesterday; got hardened despite having water on it and covered up in a pail!
Thus, the kids suggested that we made the 2 pails into chairs. That’s another good idea! They hoped that kids can sit there and chat during playground time.
c) The Flags.
Shawn, Alisa, Jia Jia, Yu Xi and a few more helped to design the flags and paste them onto the straws. They used permanent marker pen to design.
Then, they placed a few on the castle pots!
d) Magicland Castle.
* We have eventually finished our building except that kids request to paint it! We wanted visitors to our castle fell happy all the time! We voted on names and finalized with Magicland Castle. We hoped to add on some games within the castle. The kids and I thought of a few such as Hide and Seek, puzzle or Snake and Ladders. We would finalise it after Earth Day and Book Day activities.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Castle Building: Day 3
Wednesday (18/04/2012)
a) Our Guest Builder.
l We were so happy that Mr. Hoo, our Principal could guide and assist us at our Castle Building. He told us that our proportion of cement to sand is incorrect and we didn’t mix them thoroughly. So, we observed and learnt from him. We did it in 2 sessions; in the noon and the evening.
b) The Noon Session.
l The kids took turns to cement, to carry and to arrange the bricks accordingly with teachers’ guidance. Three teachers altogether; Mr. Hoo, Pik Xia and myself.
l We managed to build the 2 towers until about 5 bricks height.
c) The Evening Session.
* We tried to mix the cement mortar by ourselves with less assistance from Mr. Hoo…….hey…..it wasn’t that tough after all…..although we needed lots of energy.
* I told Mr. Hoo about the class’s design with windows and doors as well as the castle decoration.
Thus, kids helped around to build and we actually manage building 2 windows. We had to add on cement mortar in between holes of bricks so that they become strong and solid.
l Kids got rather tired. Thus; I gave them paper to sketch on their castle building activity. Meanwhile, the 3 teachers kept building and improving the Castle.
a) Our Guest Builder.
l We were so happy that Mr. Hoo, our Principal could guide and assist us at our Castle Building. He told us that our proportion of cement to sand is incorrect and we didn’t mix them thoroughly. So, we observed and learnt from him. We did it in 2 sessions; in the noon and the evening.
b) The Noon Session.
l The kids took turns to cement, to carry and to arrange the bricks accordingly with teachers’ guidance. Three teachers altogether; Mr. Hoo, Pik Xia and myself.
l We managed to build the 2 towers until about 5 bricks height.
c) The Evening Session.
* We tried to mix the cement mortar by ourselves with less assistance from Mr. Hoo…….hey…..it wasn’t that tough after all…..although we needed lots of energy.
* I told Mr. Hoo about the class’s design with windows and doors as well as the castle decoration.
Thus, kids helped around to build and we actually manage building 2 windows. We had to add on cement mortar in between holes of bricks so that they become strong and solid.
l Kids got rather tired. Thus; I gave them paper to sketch on their castle building activity. Meanwhile, the 3 teachers kept building and improving the Castle.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Craft: Clock
Tuesday (07/04/2012)
a) Time Reading
l The kids observed my clock and we recapped on reading time. Basically, kids can read 1 o’clock, 1.30pm (one thirty) but rather difficult to read a quarter to and before. Eg: 1.15pm, or 1.45pm. However, we’ll keep practicing reading the time in our daily activities.
b) The World Time.
l Time around the world differs from one another depending on the “Time Line” our country lies on. We wrote the time of different countries on the board based on the results from website www.24timezone.com.
l Each kid was given a worksheet with 3 empty clocks. They had to choose 3 locations to draw the hands of their clock. Example: Malaysia 4.30pm (17/04), China 4.30pm(17/04), London 11.30am(17/04), New Zealand 8.30pm(17/04), USA 1.30pm (18/04) and etc.
c) Craft: Clock
l Each kid was given a piece of paper consisting numbers from 1 until 12. Then, they cut into pieces placing in a bowl. Then, each took a paper plate from me. They used glue to paste the numbers onto the plate. Some kids needed my assistance at numbering the clock so that they know the proper place to paste the numbers. Then, they decorated their clocks. We’ll be cutting the straws for the short and long needles in the next lesson.
a) Time Reading
l The kids observed my clock and we recapped on reading time. Basically, kids can read 1 o’clock, 1.30pm (one thirty) but rather difficult to read a quarter to and before. Eg: 1.15pm, or 1.45pm. However, we’ll keep practicing reading the time in our daily activities.
b) The World Time.
l Time around the world differs from one another depending on the “Time Line” our country lies on. We wrote the time of different countries on the board based on the results from website www.24timezone.com.
l Each kid was given a worksheet with 3 empty clocks. They had to choose 3 locations to draw the hands of their clock. Example: Malaysia 4.30pm (17/04), China 4.30pm(17/04), London 11.30am(17/04), New Zealand 8.30pm(17/04), USA 1.30pm (18/04) and etc.
c) Craft: Clock
l Each kid was given a piece of paper consisting numbers from 1 until 12. Then, they cut into pieces placing in a bowl. Then, each took a paper plate from me. They used glue to paste the numbers onto the plate. Some kids needed my assistance at numbering the clock so that they know the proper place to paste the numbers. Then, they decorated their clocks. We’ll be cutting the straws for the short and long needles in the next lesson.
Monday, April 16, 2012
The Plastic Crystal Stones.
Monday (16/04/2012)
a) The Door.
· The kids and I were discussing about the Watchtower castle if they would like a door. Most of them wanted. Some even suggested that we have windows. Most importantly, they wanted the sharp pointed roof so to look like a castle. We even want a place to put the binoculars and periscopes.
b) The Plastic Crystal Stones.
· I showed the kids some plastic pink crystals to be decorated on bricks with cement mortar. This would be placed on top of the castle. They are used as decorations and also as weapon to discourage enemies or thefts climbing into the castle.
· The kids grouped themselves and each group was given a brick to do that task.
c) Cementing the Brick Wall.
· Meanwhile, the kids took turn to spread cement mortar on the floor and bricks. They had to be fast because it gets dry easily. It really was a challenge because the brick arrangement also has to be straight and not crooked!
· Kids said that we probably would take a long time to build the castle……..I think we really need assistance from the expert! We have to think on that…..maybe it’s time to get assistance from an experienced person such as Mr. Hoo.
a) The Door.
· The kids and I were discussing about the Watchtower castle if they would like a door. Most of them wanted. Some even suggested that we have windows. Most importantly, they wanted the sharp pointed roof so to look like a castle. We even want a place to put the binoculars and periscopes.
b) The Plastic Crystal Stones.
· I showed the kids some plastic pink crystals to be decorated on bricks with cement mortar. This would be placed on top of the castle. They are used as decorations and also as weapon to discourage enemies or thefts climbing into the castle.
· The kids grouped themselves and each group was given a brick to do that task.
c) Cementing the Brick Wall.
· Meanwhile, the kids took turn to spread cement mortar on the floor and bricks. They had to be fast because it gets dry easily. It really was a challenge because the brick arrangement also has to be straight and not crooked!
· Kids said that we probably would take a long time to build the castle……..I think we really need assistance from the expert! We have to think on that…..maybe it’s time to get assistance from an experienced person such as Mr. Hoo.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Picture Recording
Friday (13/04/2012)
a) Vocabulary recap.
·
We read flashcards to recap words learnt.
b) Photos.
·
We recapped about yesterday’s trip to Butterfly
and Bird Park. Kids were really happy. I showed them photos that we took as the
kids and I were photographers.
·
First, we saw ourselves in the bus, then at the
Butterfly Park, we saw lots of colourful but different sizes butterflies. We
saw how the workers prepared pineapples and also hibiscus flowers with nectar
for the butterflies. We saw the caterpillar, the pupa and got to compare moths
to butterflies. We even saw long neck turtles, Japanese Carp fish, some
tortoises, some monitor lizards and etc.
·
Not forgetting, the kids saw photos of different
tourists such as Hollie from England.
·
In the exhibition room, we saw lots of beetles,
stick insect, leaf insect, millipedes, and many more.
·
Then, we saw photos of kids having lunch at the
playground.
·
Next, we were at Bird Park. We has tour guides
who showed us to many birds. We even fed birds and later watched the Bird Park
show. We saw photos of Hornbill, owl, cockatoo, parrots, sparrows, eagles,
peacocks, pea fowls, egret and also pelican.
c)
Picture Recording.
·
Kids drew their favourite moment at the park. It
was indeed an unforgettable holiday!
a) Vocabulary recap.
·
We read flashcards to recap words learnt.
b) Photos.
·
We recapped about yesterday’s trip to Butterfly
and Bird Park. Kids were really happy. I showed them photos that we took as the
kids and I were photographers.
·
First, we saw ourselves in the bus, then at the
Butterfly Park, we saw lots of colourful but different sizes butterflies. We
saw how the workers prepared pineapples and also hibiscus flowers with nectar
for the butterflies. We saw the caterpillar, the pupa and got to compare moths
to butterflies. We even saw long neck turtles, Japanese Carp fish, some
tortoises, some monitor lizards and etc.
·
Not forgetting, the kids saw photos of different
tourists such as Hollie from England.
·
In the exhibition room, we saw lots of beetles,
stick insect, leaf insect, millipedes, and many more.
·
Then, we saw photos of kids having lunch at the
playground.
·
Next, we were at Bird Park. We has tour guides
who showed us to many birds. We even fed birds and later watched the Bird Park
show. We saw photos of Hornbill, owl, cockatoo, parrots, sparrows, eagles,
peacocks, pea fowls, egret and also pelican.
c)
Picture Recording.
·
Kids drew their favourite moment at the park. It
was indeed an unforgettable holiday!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
A Holiday in K.L.
Thursday (12/04/2012)
a) Butterfly Park
l Today was a fun day because it’s our holiday trip! We are photographers! Alisa said we were exploring everywhere and it was so much fun!
l We saw so many tourists at Butterfly Park. We interviewed them. At first, kids were scared. Then, after watching how I communicated with them, they started to be braver. “Good morning. How are you? Where are you from? Nice to meet you! Thank you and goodbye!”
l Some tourists were from Uzbekistan, Africa, Saudi Arabia, England, Sri Lanka, Japan and Australia. We met Holly, a 5 month old baby from England. She has grey and greenish eyes. We sang the song, “I Love You” for her! Later at Bird Park, we also saw many tourists and some were those we met from Butterfly Park that morning.
Rei: Wow! The people have got different colour and types of hair………(and she giggled!)
a) Butterfly Park
l Today was a fun day because it’s our holiday trip! We are photographers! Alisa said we were exploring everywhere and it was so much fun!
l We saw so many tourists at Butterfly Park. We interviewed them. At first, kids were scared. Then, after watching how I communicated with them, they started to be braver. “Good morning. How are you? Where are you from? Nice to meet you! Thank you and goodbye!”
l Some tourists were from Uzbekistan, Africa, Saudi Arabia, England, Sri Lanka, Japan and Australia. We met Holly, a 5 month old baby from England. She has grey and greenish eyes. We sang the song, “I Love You” for her! Later at Bird Park, we also saw many tourists and some were those we met from Butterfly Park that morning.
Rei: Wow! The people have got different colour and types of hair………(and she giggled!)
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Little Builders
Tuesday (10/04/2012)
a) Group Segregation
· Xiang Wei had suggested that we built a Watch
Tower similar to one on Great Wall of China. I sketched a castle that we
probably might build. Kids have got to think on what to add on. They eagerly
asked if the school has bought bricks and got so excited when I answered “Yes!”
Hiro said “We are Builders!”
·
The class was divided into 4 groups. They chose their
own partners.
b) The Bricks.
·
Kids carried bricks from my car; piece by piece
and they succeeded at delivering this first task. Although the kids were tired
but they were determined. Some put it down on the floor when they were tired
and continued almost immediately. Some kids carried in pairs. Xiang Wei was so
excited that he would report to me that his friends were working well together.
Hmm….Xiang Wei’s like the supervisor. I had the kids calculated the bricks and
there were 60!
·
Wei Lok: How heavy is this brick? It’s so heavy!
·
Teacher:
We’ve got to measure the weight later!
c) Mixing the Cement.
·
The kids wore a mask each for hygiene purpose.
The kids (Group 1) helped me to scoop the sand, fetched some water while I
scooped the cement. We mixed 1 bowl of cement, 2.5 bowls of sand and a bowl of
water. We mixed and realized there was too much water. Thus, we poured the
water out and added more cement. This time, the mixture looked solid and
better.
·
The other groups helped to stack the bricks to
the desired pattern we want without the cement so that they have a better idea!
d) Building activity.
·
The kids took spades, trowels and so some
birthday knives to help me spread cement mixture onto the bricks. I showed them
the stacking method. They were excited! The kids took turns. We only managed to
build about 18 bricks before calling off the day. To be continued on Friday!
a) Group Segregation
· Xiang Wei had suggested that we built a Watch
Tower similar to one on Great Wall of China. I sketched a castle that we
probably might build. Kids have got to think on what to add on. They eagerly
asked if the school has bought bricks and got so excited when I answered “Yes!”
Hiro said “We are Builders!”
·
The class was divided into 4 groups. They chose their
own partners.
b) The Bricks.
·
Kids carried bricks from my car; piece by piece
and they succeeded at delivering this first task. Although the kids were tired
but they were determined. Some put it down on the floor when they were tired
and continued almost immediately. Some kids carried in pairs. Xiang Wei was so
excited that he would report to me that his friends were working well together.
Hmm….Xiang Wei’s like the supervisor. I had the kids calculated the bricks and
there were 60!
·
Wei Lok: How heavy is this brick? It’s so heavy!
·
Teacher:
We’ve got to measure the weight later!
c) Mixing the Cement.
·
The kids wore a mask each for hygiene purpose.
The kids (Group 1) helped me to scoop the sand, fetched some water while I
scooped the cement. We mixed 1 bowl of cement, 2.5 bowls of sand and a bowl of
water. We mixed and realized there was too much water. Thus, we poured the
water out and added more cement. This time, the mixture looked solid and
better.
·
The other groups helped to stack the bricks to
the desired pattern we want without the cement so that they have a better idea!
d) Building activity.
·
The kids took spades, trowels and so some
birthday knives to help me spread cement mixture onto the bricks. I showed them
the stacking method. They were excited! The kids took turns. We only managed to
build about 18 bricks before calling off the day. To be continued on Friday!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
The Forbidden City
Thursday (05/04/2012)
a) Vocabulary Flashcards.
l As usual, we recapped words that we have learnt. New words including: bricks,
sand, stones, clay, binocular, Emperor, army, spring roll.
b) The Popular Chinese Palace.
l It is popularly known as “The Forbidden City”. China is famous for its big and
longest Great Wall, biggest number of population, the biggest number of towers
in future. It also has a big number of factories and it also has the biggest
Emperor palace in the world.
l It
was built by almost a million of people and is located in Beijing. It served the homes of emperors for
almost 500 years. It took about 14 years to be constructed. It has almost 9,999
rooms. The wall is a s high as Great Wall and the walls are well built with
watch towers as well as Canon proof…..wow! Today, it is opened for tourist and
other ceremonies. In the past, only royals and armies could be in the palace.
The citizens are forbidden.
l We
then watched a video clip on “The Forbidden City”.
c) A Storybook: The Chinese Palace.
l During
the Emperors’ years, the palace accommodates many singers and dancers. They
performed for special ceremonies such as Emperors’ birthday. The palace became
popular under the governance of the 3rd Emperor. He was a good army,
he taught his armies good military skills, he wrote lots of books and thus, had
encouraged written ideas.
l Its
palace was built with total balance. Example: if there are 5 halls on the left,
the same goes on the right! The Chinese related that balancing is very
important because an ox cart cannot move with a wheel. If we looked at the
palace structure, it was built similar to a human’s skeleton.
l Emperor
is believed to be the Heaven’s God. Everyone respects him dearly. In the place
some rooms were used as courts. Some as schools, some as antique rooms, some as
meeting rooms, some as guest rooms and some as ceremony rooms. Today, modern
Chinese can rent f the rooms for their wedding celebration.
l An
Emperor gets married to many wives. Many beautiful village girls who were poor would
dressed up beautifully and sit for exams before being qualified as his wives! (We
later discussed that modern society disagreed with this culture as it creates
family problems. Alisa said that they would be the stepmother nobody in the
class love the idea too!)
l Ancient
armies are always in the Forbidden City to
protect his Emperor! Forbidden City has been
an amazing palace and even builders today are learning from its beautiful
architectures.
a) Vocabulary Flashcards.
l As usual, we recapped words that we have learnt. New words including: bricks,
sand, stones, clay, binocular, Emperor, army, spring roll.
b) The Popular Chinese Palace.
l It is popularly known as “The Forbidden City”. China is famous for its big and
longest Great Wall, biggest number of population, the biggest number of towers
in future. It also has a big number of factories and it also has the biggest
Emperor palace in the world.
l It
was built by almost a million of people and is located in Beijing. It served the homes of emperors for
almost 500 years. It took about 14 years to be constructed. It has almost 9,999
rooms. The wall is a s high as Great Wall and the walls are well built with
watch towers as well as Canon proof…..wow! Today, it is opened for tourist and
other ceremonies. In the past, only royals and armies could be in the palace.
The citizens are forbidden.
l We
then watched a video clip on “The Forbidden City”.
c) A Storybook: The Chinese Palace.
l During
the Emperors’ years, the palace accommodates many singers and dancers. They
performed for special ceremonies such as Emperors’ birthday. The palace became
popular under the governance of the 3rd Emperor. He was a good army,
he taught his armies good military skills, he wrote lots of books and thus, had
encouraged written ideas.
l Its
palace was built with total balance. Example: if there are 5 halls on the left,
the same goes on the right! The Chinese related that balancing is very
important because an ox cart cannot move with a wheel. If we looked at the
palace structure, it was built similar to a human’s skeleton.
l Emperor
is believed to be the Heaven’s God. Everyone respects him dearly. In the place
some rooms were used as courts. Some as schools, some as antique rooms, some as
meeting rooms, some as guest rooms and some as ceremony rooms. Today, modern
Chinese can rent f the rooms for their wedding celebration.
l An
Emperor gets married to many wives. Many beautiful village girls who were poor would
dressed up beautifully and sit for exams before being qualified as his wives! (We
later discussed that modern society disagreed with this culture as it creates
family problems. Alisa said that they would be the stepmother nobody in the
class love the idea too!)
l Ancient
armies are always in the Forbidden City to
protect his Emperor! Forbidden City has been
an amazing palace and even builders today are learning from its beautiful
architectures.
Ching Ming Festival.
Wednesday (04/04/2012)
a) Ching Ming Festival.
l Thekids
shared with me about the story behind Ching Ming.
l Chinese
people are around the world and they are celebrating Ching Ming Festival today.
Some a few weeks ago, some even later. Chinese believed that our ancestors must
be prayed so that they would be happy, peaceful and blessed us in return. That
explains why Chinese offer josssticks, payer paper, Paper Money Notes and even
paper houses and cars.
l Rei
said that her grandmother told her that the ancestors’ spirit would receive our
offerings.
l This
somehow led to the discussion of Heaven and Hell. We believe that good people
will go to heaven after life while the criminals would go to hell. The kids
immediately related to being good children will help us grow as good people!
b) Spring Roll or Popiah.
l Today,
everyone in school wrapped their own spring rolls and ate them. Our kids were
so happy that most of them ate 2 rolls. The ingredients were salad vegetable,
carrot, turnip, egg and popiah skin with some sauce.
* Later, we drew pictures as a recording of the activity.
c) Han Festival.
* Many years ago, there was a duke
called Duke Wen of Jin. He was the future Duke of
China. He was once attacked by his enemies. They managed to escape and
hid in a hut nearby the forest. Duke Wen and his armies were so hungry because
they had no food. Jie Zitui, one of
his armies cut some of his thigh to cook soup for Duke Wen. Duke Wen ate
hungrily but suddenly asked himself about the meat whereabout! Jie Zitui didn’t
want to tell about his thigh meat. Duke Wen saw Jie Zitui’s bleeding thigh. He
was so touched that he cried and promised to take good care of Jie Zitui for
the rest of his life. When Wen became duke, Jie resigned and stayed away from
him. Duke Wen rewarded the people who helped him in the decades, but for some
reason he forgot to reward Jie, who by then had moved into the forest with his
mother. Duke Wen went to the forest, but could not find Jie. Heeding
suggestions from his officials, Duke Wen ordered men to set the forest on fire
to force out Jie. However, Jie died in the fire. Feeling remorseful, Duke Wen
ordered three days without fire to honour Jie's memory. Thus, people were
ordered not to use fire for Han Festival, remembering Jie Zitui’s death. People
eat cold food such as Spring Roll. The next day, it’s suppose to be Ching Ming
Festival whereby people pay respect to their ancestors’ tombs. Duke Wen also
paid respect to Jie Zitui’s tomb.However, Chinese people have mixed the traditions and
most people have forgotten about Han festival. They just celebrate Ching Ming
Festival.
a) Ching Ming Festival.
l Thekids
shared with me about the story behind Ching Ming.
l Chinese
people are around the world and they are celebrating Ching Ming Festival today.
Some a few weeks ago, some even later. Chinese believed that our ancestors must
be prayed so that they would be happy, peaceful and blessed us in return. That
explains why Chinese offer josssticks, payer paper, Paper Money Notes and even
paper houses and cars.
l Rei
said that her grandmother told her that the ancestors’ spirit would receive our
offerings.
l This
somehow led to the discussion of Heaven and Hell. We believe that good people
will go to heaven after life while the criminals would go to hell. The kids
immediately related to being good children will help us grow as good people!
b) Spring Roll or Popiah.
l Today,
everyone in school wrapped their own spring rolls and ate them. Our kids were
so happy that most of them ate 2 rolls. The ingredients were salad vegetable,
carrot, turnip, egg and popiah skin with some sauce.
* Later, we drew pictures as a recording of the activity.
c) Han Festival.
* Many years ago, there was a duke
called Duke Wen of Jin. He was the future Duke of
China. He was once attacked by his enemies. They managed to escape and
hid in a hut nearby the forest. Duke Wen and his armies were so hungry because
they had no food. Jie Zitui, one of
his armies cut some of his thigh to cook soup for Duke Wen. Duke Wen ate
hungrily but suddenly asked himself about the meat whereabout! Jie Zitui didn’t
want to tell about his thigh meat. Duke Wen saw Jie Zitui’s bleeding thigh. He
was so touched that he cried and promised to take good care of Jie Zitui for
the rest of his life. When Wen became duke, Jie resigned and stayed away from
him. Duke Wen rewarded the people who helped him in the decades, but for some
reason he forgot to reward Jie, who by then had moved into the forest with his
mother. Duke Wen went to the forest, but could not find Jie. Heeding
suggestions from his officials, Duke Wen ordered men to set the forest on fire
to force out Jie. However, Jie died in the fire. Feeling remorseful, Duke Wen
ordered three days without fire to honour Jie's memory. Thus, people were
ordered not to use fire for Han Festival, remembering Jie Zitui’s death. People
eat cold food such as Spring Roll. The next day, it’s suppose to be Ching Ming
Festival whereby people pay respect to their ancestors’ tombs. Duke Wen also
paid respect to Jie Zitui’s tomb.However, Chinese people have mixed the traditions and
most people have forgotten about Han festival. They just celebrate Ching Ming
Festival.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Clay: Great Wall Of China.
Tuesday (03/04/2012)
a) Wei Lok’s Documentary Book.
l Wei Lok’s parents just got back from China trip and they also visited Great Wall of China. Every visitor would be awarded a book with certificate of participation in it! There were lots of beautiful photos. Kids learnt that China is a 4 seasonal country. Thus, we saw Great Wall photos of Spring, Autumn, Winter and Summer. They were so beautiful. Kids saw the “pagoda”, the beautiful architectures, the temples and a photo of popular China Story on “Meng Nu Jiang”.
b) Step-by-step instructions.
l Today, we made Great Wall Of China model using clay. Clay is made of mud.
l Kids could choose from 3 colours: blue, green or red and decorate with their own picture drawings.
l First, kids took a small ball of clay. Then, they rolled to make into rectangle shapes. Another rectangle shape as the WatchTower.
l Then, they used a toothpick to draw bricks on their caly. Kids were reminded not to stack bricks directly on top of each other for balancing purposes. Thus, they drew bricks in between.
l For watch towers, they could add on decorations. They could draw armies and paste on toothpicks. They could even add on canons or bow and arrows. They could also add on pagodas, Emperor or even ladders.During the process, the kids were rather independent with some guidance for the younger
a) Wei Lok’s Documentary Book.
l Wei Lok’s parents just got back from China trip and they also visited Great Wall of China. Every visitor would be awarded a book with certificate of participation in it! There were lots of beautiful photos. Kids learnt that China is a 4 seasonal country. Thus, we saw Great Wall photos of Spring, Autumn, Winter and Summer. They were so beautiful. Kids saw the “pagoda”, the beautiful architectures, the temples and a photo of popular China Story on “Meng Nu Jiang”.
b) Step-by-step instructions.
l Today, we made Great Wall Of China model using clay. Clay is made of mud.
l Kids could choose from 3 colours: blue, green or red and decorate with their own picture drawings.
l First, kids took a small ball of clay. Then, they rolled to make into rectangle shapes. Another rectangle shape as the WatchTower.
l Then, they used a toothpick to draw bricks on their caly. Kids were reminded not to stack bricks directly on top of each other for balancing purposes. Thus, they drew bricks in between.
l For watch towers, they could add on decorations. They could draw armies and paste on toothpicks. They could even add on canons or bow and arrows. They could also add on pagodas, Emperor or even ladders.During the process, the kids were rather independent with some guidance for the younger
Sunday, April 1, 2012
The Wall Material.
Friday (30/03/2012)
a) Wall materials.
l We brainstormed the materials could be used for building walls.
l Which is stronger or better? We did experiment.
l Sand, stone, brick and clay. They were placed in trays. Kids watered each material using water. Water represents thunderstorm. We also hit each material using a hammer representing external force such as weapons or Earthquake.
Result: Sand is the most vulnerable, brick and stone were the best, clay were moderate.
l Thus, kids realised that brick walls would be the best.
Q: Kids must find out where do people get stones or bricks?
b) Measurement: How high?
l Great Wall Of China is 7 – 9 m high, 5 horses wide and about 6500 km length (those visible).
l I used a long white and red plastic strap. We measured the length of 7m. We went upstairs and tied it down from Phonics Classroom window. Wow…it’s really long ….The length of 7m is about from the school roof top to the playground floor.
c) Story: 3 Little Pigs.
l To enable kids understand the wall material; we talked about this story. Kids were so familiar that they told the story on behalf of me. Jia Xun, Alisa, Yee Xuan, Rei, Ying Qiao, Jia Jia, Jun Qian and Shang Hong took part.
l I retold the story in English. The hungry fox could blow off a house built of hay and wood but not bricks.
a) Wall materials.
l We brainstormed the materials could be used for building walls.
l Which is stronger or better? We did experiment.
l Sand, stone, brick and clay. They were placed in trays. Kids watered each material using water. Water represents thunderstorm. We also hit each material using a hammer representing external force such as weapons or Earthquake.
Result: Sand is the most vulnerable, brick and stone were the best, clay were moderate.
l Thus, kids realised that brick walls would be the best.
Q: Kids must find out where do people get stones or bricks?
b) Measurement: How high?
l Great Wall Of China is 7 – 9 m high, 5 horses wide and about 6500 km length (those visible).
l I used a long white and red plastic strap. We measured the length of 7m. We went upstairs and tied it down from Phonics Classroom window. Wow…it’s really long ….The length of 7m is about from the school roof top to the playground floor.
c) Story: 3 Little Pigs.
l To enable kids understand the wall material; we talked about this story. Kids were so familiar that they told the story on behalf of me. Jia Xun, Alisa, Yee Xuan, Rei, Ying Qiao, Jia Jia, Jun Qian and Shang Hong took part.
l I retold the story in English. The hungry fox could blow off a house built of hay and wood but not bricks.
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