mousedeers / ostriches
Animal Show 
Wow....a sea lion and basketball! / Fish Aquarium
Giraffes / Hi, Mr. Elephant!
Back to Kindergarten: Hmmm...are they dreaming? / Where's my McDonalds, teacher? 03/04/08 (Thursday) (i) Gathering
The kids were excited about the trip to National Zoo. They kept running to me and greeted me. Everyone was in red except JS. Luckily, YZ lent him his extra red t-shirt. It was compulsory for them to wear red so that they could easily be spotted in the crowd! ZJ was excited with his packet of ground nuts which was for the monkeys. I smiled and said, we would see what the zoo keeper say to it. SY and JN kept saying that food is not allowed for the animals. Then, we gave the kids their name tags. Next, they were divided into 4 groups under 4 different teachers. I had ZY, JS, ZJ, YP and SJ with me. Teacher Hui Ting had 4, Teacher Hui Ping had 4 and Ms. Ng had 3. Altogether 19 kids. They boarded the same bus as the 4-year old kids who were going to the "Bird Park" instead. (M/I skills: Interpersonal, Logical-mathematical, Linguistic skills) (ii) In the bus They were chatting and excited. I asked them, "Which animal do you think we would see first upon arrival?" M and WY said crocodile, ZY said bear, Jin Nan said giraffe, EG said porcupine. I said, "birds"......heeeee. Then, they learnt that the bus was travelling on a highway. They saw the Twin Towers and K.L. Tower. They had some bread for their tea break. YP distributed her biscuits to friends while M gave out his Hi-Sour candies to all. They loved it! (M/I skills: Interpersonal, Logical-mathematical, Linguistic skills) (iii) At the "National Zoo" They walked in their groups to the counter. ZY was the first to observe the arched name, "National Zoo". Then, each worn a wristband ticket. They asked for the purpose. Then, we got on the train. It took us around the zoo.
(M/I skills: Body-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Linguistic skills) (iv) The Animal Friends In fact, we saw some birds flying. So, I was right but they said the animals must be in the cage.....haaaa. From the train, we saw the giraffes first! They were tall and JN, ZJ and SJ said they have young giraffes too. Next, we saw an elephant scratching its itchy legs. they laughed. We also saw big buffaloes. At the river, we could see flocks of flamingoes. They were surprised to see many flamingoes on the tall trees! Some were white and orange. Next, there were ostriches walking around. Mousedeers and antelopes too, and two tigers walking around. There was a small pool of water along the tigers' fence. EG said they were good swimmers. I explained that the fierce tigers would cause less harm to the visitors as they cannot spring across the water easily. There was an active leopard walking fast! Then, the train stopped at its main station. We could see baboons...they looked fierce. The females had pinkish backside. Beside the cage, was the gibbons and other monkeys. We didn't get the chance to see the Gorilla as it was very far and no train service is provided.
(M/I skills: Interpersonal, Logical-mathematical, Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic, Naturalist skills) (v) The Animal Show We hurried for the 11 o'clock show. There was quite a number of schools and kindergartens' students. The colourful parrot started the show by rising Malaysia's flag. Then, it played basketball. Next, there was a seal diving into the water for its food, fish, fish, fish! Then, a white parrot appeared. It flew to get money(donation) from its audience. I tried but however was frightened by it. I lowered myself as if it was attacking me. So, it didn't take my money. However, I learnt a lesson.....that was not to be fearful of them. Next, there was the huge sea lion which jumped to touch a high pole. Its reward was the fish!
(M/I skills: Interpersonal, Logical-mathematical, Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic, Naturalist skills) (vi) The Aquarium After the show, we could see some big aquariums with huge fish. They included the "Silver Dragon" fish. Next to the aquarium was the penguins' home. We could only see two inactive penguins. I thought the home was uncomfortable for them. The "Tunnel Aquarium" was closed. So, we couldn't see other types of sea animals! Next, we approached "The Children's World". There were chickens, turkeys and most of all the kids' favourite porcupines. They saw the four beautiful porcupines. The spines were black and white. The kids were excited and wondered why they didn't crawl. I told them that porcupines are active at night just like my hamsters!
(M/I skills: Interpersonal, Logical-mathematical, Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic, Naturalist skills) (vii) McDonalds and rain, rain go away! We boarded the train to head to the main entrance. We sat at one of the resting areas to have our delivered McDonalds' delicious food! Then it started to drizzle and everyone ate quickly. The teachers and myself brought the kids to the shelter in pairs with umbrellas. By then, it was still pouring and we had to rest there for a while. The kids played with their McDonalds' toys. then, I took one the zoo's charts and did some reading with the kids. We learnt the A to Z for English and Bahasa Malaysia. At this moment, many photographer students captured our photos! Wooo.....my kids are stars! then, we continued some singing session; including "Burung kakak Tua, Gelang Si Paku Gelang, No more monkeys jumping on the bed, Five little ducks". Our songs must have cheered the sky when the sun shone again!
(M/I skills: Interpersonal, Logical-mathematical, Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic, Musical, Naturalist skills) (viii) Reptiles, Amphibians and Bears We arrived the Reptiles World and the snakes greeted us. The kids were thrilled with the python, crocodiles, iguanas. We also went for the Amphibians World to visit Mr. Frog and his toads. Wow.....some frogs look like leaves. Finally, we walked to visit Mr. Bear! They were many types and the kids loved the "Sun" Bear most. There were two and they could walk like us. SYu said one of the bears went into a room and changed clothes.......haaaaa.....I agreed.
(M/I skills: Interpersonal, Logical-mathematical, Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic, Naturalist skills) (vi) Bon Voyage! We left the National Zoo feeling tired but full of precious moments! All the kids slept throughout the journey back to ABC Kindergarten. Some woke up searching for food. I hoped that they will have this precious moment carved in their heart forever!
(M/I skills: Interpersonal, Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic, Naturalist skills)
02/04/08 (Wednesday)
a) Numbers and colouring
We started on recapping the numbers from 1 until 50. Less than half of the class could say out fluently. We recapped another round and they were more confident, especially when they could see the patterns of numbers. Then, everyone stood up as to take turn to say the number I pointed to. ZY, EG, SY, SYu, JN, JS, YP, XR, SJ, M were more independent. LX, ZJ, J, WY had shown improvement. Then, I showed them a "dot-to-dot" picture which I pretended that it was a fish. Then, I joined number 1 until 15 before asking volunteers to complete the picture. LX and WY required more guidance. Finally, they saw that it was a "parrot" and not a "fish". Then we sang the song of "Burung Kakak Tua". Most of them could only remember the chorus part. "Burung kakak tua
Hinggap di jendela
Nenek sudah tua
Giginya tinggal dua
CHORUS: Lechum Lechum Lechum Mu la la
Lechum Lechum Lechum Mu la la
Lechum Lechum Lechum Mu la la
Burung Kakak Tua.
Then, they did the worksheet individually. Some kids needed more prompting included LX, WY, SJ, YP, ZJ, XR and JH. Meanwhile, those who were not so interested in colouring were EG, WY and ZJ. ZYg, ZY, SYu, SY and JN could colour quite nice and balanced.
(M/I: Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Body-Kinesthetic, Spatial, Interpersonal, Musical skills)
b) Tea break
Just before drinking, the kids sang their favourite "Elephant Song". By today, they could read most words without much prompting from me. Example: like, trees, cheese, mice, swim and gotta. Today, the kids ate their favourite creamy rolls. After eating, they kept their chairs and did some reading. I observed that some kids loved reading including JH, SYu and YPm our new friend.
(M/I: Musical, Interpersonal, Body-Kinesthetic skills)
c) The Cast and Dialogue
I wrote the animals' names and drew their pictures in columns. The kids would call out their own names when I asked for the animals. This was to test their focus. 95% of them could remember their casts. Then, they sat in thir groups. Next, we practised on the dialogues. They were better-versed today than yesterday. In between, asked them for the animals' sounds; so that they could absorb more. The chameleon, lion and eagle groups were more independent.
(M/I: Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal skills)
d) A brief rehearsal
Next, we combined two tables together. Then, I brought in the tambourine so as to signal them. They learnt to listen to instructions. The lions and crocodiles knelt down. They had to balance their fingers and dialogues at the same time. It wasn't an easy task! The eagles, porcupines and chameleons stood behind. The Anaconda was beside waiting for the cue to get into the scene.
(M/I: Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal skills)
e) A smaller group
This was their first puppet scene. They were not familiar yet. Once, they got tired, they started to be unfocused and mischevious. So, I explained to them that I would form a smaller group to perform. This would give them a better idea. Furthermore, the chosen ones were the more attentive kids; thus the others would behaved better realising that I have not chosen them. The chosen ones included ZY, YP, YZ, SYu, SY and EG. It was indeed more organised. As there wasn't enough time, they would decide on Friday morning as a class. Do they prefer a smaller group or to involve all? Tomorrow is an exciting day for them as they are going to the zoo.
(M/I: Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic, Logical-mathematical, Interpersonal skills)
01/04/08 (Monday)
a) Story telling and writing
We started the morning with a story entitled, "Does a Kangaroo have a mother?" It was by Eric Carle and the big colourful pictures attracted them. The book potrayed various animals and their youngs. The kids could named most of them. The picture animals included, "elephants, lions, penguins, swans, bears and monkeys". SY and JN explained that penguins couldn't fly even though they are birds. They learnt that the penguins' flippers have no feathers. Next, we practised writing "r". They observed the proper way of writing and wrote in the "air". Next, they wrote on the book. Among the words included, "rat, rose, rope, rain, road". They talked about the differences of "rat" and "mouse". By now, I would say most of my kids are more independent at writing. LX, ZJ, WY, ZYg, XR and JHg has shown improvement. Meanwhile, I called the kids individually to complete their unfinished "Chameleon". ZY, ZJ, WY, SC and JN were among them. WY and ZJ need a lot of encouragement when it comes to "colouring".
(M/I: Linguistic, Naturalist, Body-Kinesthetic, Spatial, Interpersonal skills)
b) Tea break
Just moments before tea break, ZJ vomitted. However, he didn't have fever and was later active again in the class. Although he was not hungry, I required him to eat half piece of a banana cake. Meanwhile, WY had a sudden nose bleeding. Fortunately, it was of little amount. He put the bottled ice on its nose as to prevent bleeding. Thus, I reminded kids to always drink lots of water. Some kids such as YW, WY, JH and ZJ required persistent reminder and more personal attention. However, they are more responsible nowadays.
(M/I: Logical-Mathematical, Interpersonal skills)
c) Dialogue: Animal Puppet and the votes
We recapped on the kids' previous animals dialogue which they created. First, they recalled the six animals involved including, "The giant anaconda, the eagles, the lions, the crocodiles, the chameleons and the porcupines". Next, they read those lines from a chart. They learnt from listening and reading. They read with different tones and expressions. They were attentive to it! Most of them wanted to be the crocodiles...haaaa! So, we voted for the animals. The faster ones will get the priority. Finally, these were the list of casts. The Anaconda : YZ, JHThe Lions : JS, M, YP, XRThe Crocodiles : LX, ZYg, EG, LXThe Eagles : JN, SYu, SYThe Porcupines : WY, JW, SJThe Chameleons : ZY, YW, ZJ
(M/I: Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic, Logical-mathematical, Interpersonal skills)
d) Rehearsal: Animal Puppet
Then, we pulled two tables together as the puppet stage. First, they put the green cloth over the table so as to be the long grass. Next, they hid under the table and tried moving their hands. As it was difficult, so they knelt down. This time, their level was as high as the table. This was easier as they could see their puppets movements. However, we had not discussed on the "craft weapons" to use against the giant anaconda. It was quite messy but most importantly, they are excited and interested in the activity. Hopefully, they will bloom better in days to come.
(M/I: Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic, Spatial, Interpersonal, Logical Mathematical skills)
31/03/2008 (Monday)
(i) Playground
I replaced Teacher Hui Ping who was unable to present today. It was really challenging to wake the sleeping kids. The faster kids were YP, SYu, JS and SC. We drank some water and I combed the girls' hair. We queued and marched to the playground. The first five minutes were free-play. Then, we formed a circle to play the "Poisonous Ball". Half of the kids formed a circle while the other half stood inside the circle. The circled kids would throw balls to the inner kids. Once, the poisonous ball touched them, they will lose their turn. They enjoyed the game.....but....it would be more fun to have more balls!
(M/I: Interpersonal, Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic skills)
(ii) Video watching
I showed the kids two clips on Chameleon. (a) The snake eats the Chameleon, (b) The Chameleon eats the rat. They were thrilled to see how the Chameleon camouflages or changes its colour to protect itself. They learnt that it eats meat. Next, I played their favourite clip, "The Elephant Song". XR, JN, SYu, ZY, M, YW, TZ and EG were very well-versed with the song now.
(M/I: Naturalist, Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Naturalist, Musical skills)
(iii) Chameleon Craft
In the classroom, I asked, "How does a chameleon protect itself?" JN, "It changes its colour". ZY, "It protects itself from danger". Then, I showed them a colouring paper of Chameleon. They may choose its original colour of "green, yellow and black" or any other colour to show it camouflages. After colouring, they were supposed to cut the parts and assemble them. All managed to colour the 'Chameleon". Some started cutting the parts. Most kids were excited that they decided to bring home to complete the "Chameleon". Some kids preferred to continue tomorrow. I allowed as they were lack of confidence to cut and assemble them. More individual attention would be given to motivate them. Generally, these kids required more encouragement and guidance at cutting. They included YW, LX, JH, ZYg,
(M/I: Interpersonal, Linguistic, Naturalist, Logical-Mathematical, Body-Kinesthetic, Spatial skills)
31/03/2008 (Monday)
(i) Corner Playing
At the playground, the early kids ran for 2 to 3 rounds around the field. My objective was to encourage them having fun and mixed around rather than staying indoor for books. After all, spend more time indoor most of the time. In the classroom, the kids were happy to have a new friend, Yee Ping. For Corner Playing today, I introduced them a few games. (a) 3D animal puzzles, (b) animal board puzzles. YW, SYu and SJ enjoyed the 3D puzzles. They learnt to match the numbers from the separated pieces. Meanwhile, YP, JN and JS chose to play with the train and blocks. ZY, EG, ZYg, JHg preferred lion dance. In fact, SYu, SJ, LX and JN asked for drawing after a while.
(M/I: Body-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Logical-Mathematical, Linguistic skills)
(b) Getting to know you
We formed a circle and they learnt to introduce themselves to friends. Basically, they answered the 3 questions. (a) What is your name?(b) What do you like to eat? (c) Which is your favourite colour? They were very cute as most of them would say, "I like to eat fish". JN said she likes to eat rabbit, ZY said he likes to eat chicken meat, ZYg said he likes to eat dog.......woh......their imagination really stretched! Next, we sang the song, "Doe, Ray, Me" with actions. They loved the song and were attentive to the lyrics and their meanings.
Doe, a deer, a female deer,
Ray, a drop of golden sun,
Me, a name I call myself,
Far, a long, long way to run,
Sew, a needle pulling thread,
La, a note to follow so,
Tea, a drink with jam and bread,
That will bring us back to Do (oh-oh-oh). (Repeat)
Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-doSo-do!
(M/I: Interpersonal, Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Body-Kinesthetic, Musical skills)
(iii) Porcupine Craft
JS asked, "Why are we making a porcupine?" ZYg said, "Because its spines will shoot the Giant Anaconda". We learnt its vocabulary. (a) spines, (b) body, (c) head. I asked them to recall how a porcupine protects itself. M said it will shoot its spines towards the enemy. JN added that they are poisonous. Next, I chose half of the class to cut the paper plates into half. Then, they drew the face and eyes. Next, they cut a thick cardboard into fine rectangles; so as to paste to its body. Those are the spines. LX has shown improvement because her cuttings are more of equal size. ZYg needed a lot of encouragement to even start cutting. Them, he picked up fast. ZJ, WY, JHg, SJ, XR, YW and YZ needed more guidance. Our new friend, YP; SYu, M, JS, JN, JW, SC were independent. In fact, ZY was creative to make the spines really short and spine. I realised that YW and WY found that "gluing" could be quite disgusting which slowed them down on the craft.
(M/I: Interpersonal, Linguistic, Naturalist, Logical-Mathematical, Body-Kinesthetic, Spatial skills)
28/03/2008 (Friday)
(i) Phonics “ed”, “en”
After drinking water, the kids gathered to make a circle. I drew some bubbles and
asked them for their view. ZJ said he played bubbles during his bath. In the bubbles, I wrote the “ed” and “en” separately, Then, I tested on their phonics sounds. SYu, SY and JN were more independent. We highlighted on these words: “red, bed, wed” and “hen, pen, ten, men”. Then, each of them explained the meaning. SYu said she has a white and pink bed. ZYg said “wed” means father and mother got married. JH said ten is for “Ben Ten”. They said we have ten fingers. I showed them my pen which was a birthday present. It was a Parker pen and they said it was quite heavy. Meanwhile, I use a marker pen to write on the whiteboard.
After the writing, some did drawing and colouring. They were LX, JN, SYu, SJ and XR. Most of the boys included JH, JS, ZYg, M, ZY, ZJ and EG preferred lion dance and toy animals, In fact, JH asked me what other things he could used as a drum for the lion dance. I hinted him using the container’s cover. Later, JW also joined JH to make the sound.
(M/I: Logical-Mathematical, Linguistic, Interpersonal, Body-Kinesthetic, Musical skills)
(ii) Riddles
Next, we did two new riddles. They were:
(a) I am very big,
I have two big ears,
A long trunk to drink water,
And I can give you a ride,
What am I?
(b) I have four strong legs,
I can run very fast,
I am a mammal,
And I have black and white stripes,
What am I?
Upon hearing and reading the key words, “big ears, trunk”, they knew it was an elephant. Meanwhile, the second riddle hinted them with “black and white stripes”. They learned to ask properly. YZ asked, “Is it an elephant?” and JN asked, “It is a zebra”. I didn’t reveal the answer as they could discuss it with their family and find from the pictures given to them. It was a homework activity.
(M/I: Logical-Mathematical, Linguistic, Interpersonal, Naturalist skills)
(iii) Tea break
At tea break today, we sang “The Elephant Song” before eating. This time round,
they were very familiar with the song especially YW, YZ, JN, SY, JH, ZJ, SYu, SJ, ZY, EG, JW, M, JS and also LX.
(M/I: Linguistic, Musical, Interpersonal skills)
(iv) Video: Puppet Show
After tea break, I asked them if they had ever watched a puppet show. None of them said, “yes”. They only knew that we could hide under the table to perform. So, we marched down to the living room to watch a video on this. They watched two show. The first was “Harry Potter’s friends” and the second was “The three little pigs”. They enjoyed themselves. They observed that there was a background and we couldn’t see the people’s faces. They enjoyed themselves.
Next, we listened to our favourite song, “The Elephant Song”. They sang along and laughed at the cute drawings. They love Mr. Eric, the singer.
(M/I: Linguistic, Interpersonal, Musical skills)
(v) A brief practice
We got the three tables combined together. ZY, JS, ZYg, M, EG, SY and JN were excited to get the cloth and cover the tables. Next, all of them hid under the table. Most chose the crocodiles, Some chose the lions, the eagles and I held the “unfinished” Anaconda. They were very excited! We practiced some lines according to their ideas as discussed last week. Finally, they voted to invite their parents instead of schoolmates and said that they could do it together with the Friday’s Chinese Drama performance. They are not afraid of being tired. I didn’t agree yet as I had to discuss with the other teachers since I would be taking up their afternoon time.
(M/I: Logical-Mathematical, Linguistic, Body-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal skills)
27/03/2008 (Thursday) (i) Corner Playing and One-to-one I allowed them to choose any games and toys for their play. JH, JS and ZYg started with trains and the railways. Then, ZY started playing his hand-made toy lion. EG joined along. ZY asked my permission to play with the big hand-made toy lion. Eg asked to play with the bells. I allowed and they pretended to be lion dance! They had fun!Meanwhile, the girls including SYu, SJ, LX and JN chose to draw and colour pictures. SYu drew her friends playing with the lion dance as she was not yet with us during the Chinese New Year thematic months. JB drew cats and balls. Meanwhile, I guided LX who forgot to do her “Numbers” homework. At the same time, I called them individually to complete their Eagle’s eyes. It involved squashing the sugar paper and then pasting. (M/I: Body-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Spatial, Logical-Mathematical skills) (ii) Kookaburra song and movement We sang Kookaburra song again to do reinforcement. This time, it involved games. I used the three hoops to form a big circle. They flew creatively around them. They did the actions individually. They flew very fast as they had to fly individually and were quite shy. They were very interactive at the second round. (M/I: Body-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Linguistic, Musical skills) (iii) Thread or straw? Next, we discussed to either use a thread or a straw to hold the Eagle craft. We tried punching a hole at the top portion. Then, a thread was inserted. However, it was difficult to control as the Eagle craft was not balanced. The same result was seen on the other birds. So, we decided using the straw to hold the Eagle puppet. Thus, they pasted a straw at the bottom-middle portion of the craft. They were independent. (M/I: Body-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Spatial, Logical-Mathematical skills) (iv) Tea break What impressed me was when the kids shared among their friends. SY was feeling sad as she had little honey for tea break. I asked if anyone could give her some of their drink. Immediately, JH, LX, JN, ZY and EG stood to give her. They also gave some to JS who did not have enough drink. (M/I: Interpersonal, Logical-Mathematical skills) (v) Anaconda Craft Next, we did Anaconda craft. 2 pieces of cardboards were rolled and combined together. It was long. As the cardboard was too soft to be made into an Anaconda; I asked for their suggestions to make it firmer. ZYg suggested to put stones into the cardboard roller but I said it would be too heavy to handle as a puppet. M suggested small stones while ZY advised to put in toys. Finally, I gave them a clue. “What do your parents read everyday?” ZYg said “newspaper”. So, we started crumpling newspaper into small balls to put into the roller. They were very excited when they felt that the roller was much firmer than the previous. (M/I: Body-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Spatial, Logical-Mathematical skills) (vi) Anaconda’s skin We used small pieces of brown colour paper and also green wrapping paper to paste around the Anaconda. They used brushes, palate and glue for this activity. Thus, they learnt new vocabulary. They were very thrilled with the brushing and gluing. (M/I: Body-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Spatial skills) (vii) Ideas: Anaconda’s tail I asked the kid’s opininion of the tail. EG and SY said we could cut a cardboard to paste to the Anaconda’s body. Then, I told them of a hawker who sells peanuts in newspaper cone. I rolled the A4 colour paper into a cone. To make the tail firmer, they suggested adding some newspaper ball into the tail. As time was insufficient, we would continue the craft tomorrow. (M/I: Interpersonal, Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical skills)
