K1 Frog Class 24-25

Hello parents & carers ☺  My name is Brenda, and I'm the PYP curriculum coordinator here at Hillside. Thank you to you all for having been so supportive from the beginning of school transition period, all the way through to half term! A strong partnership between home and school is vital for supporting your child's overall development and learning. Your commitment to checking in with the class blog regularly ensures you are well informed of what, and more importantly, how your child is learning at school. You may already be very familiar with the class blog- Dawn will be posting regularly, while I and our Chinese teacher, Yammi Lao Shi will guest post to share other relevant information about the children’s learning. The K1 children are well into the year-long unit Who We Are by settling into school routines and exploring different learning materials. Now that they are comfortable and familiar with their own classroom, they're ready to discover new play and learning ...

Welcome to a new class blog! Here are the class albums - please remember to go through them with your child to gain an insight in the activities from their perspective. AM Class Album PM Class Album We have reached the end of week 7. I often mention that it typically takes about 6 to 8 weeks for most children to settle into their new classroom or school environment. During the initial weeks of this school year for our Froggies, I’ve designed a range of learning activities to observe their preferences and responses. I’m curious about who enjoys certain activities, who doesn't, and the reasons behind those feelings. Is it due to a lack of experience, unfamiliarity, or perhaps an aversion to something specific? When you consider all the different personalities in the classroom you can understand why it takes around this length of time. Knowing what they respond to can help me to enhance their learning further.   For example, I set out some resin blocks, each containing enca...

Dear Parents and Caregivers, I hope you had a wonderful Mid-Autumn Festival and a relaxing holiday. Over the past two weeks, we have explored traditional activities associated with this special celebration, focusing on customs, lanterns, and songs through the stories "We Had a Good Time" (我们玩得很开心) and "中秋节" (Mid-Autumn Festival). During arrival playt ime , the children enjoyed making paper plate moon and lantern crafts, which provided them with valuable practice in fine motor skills. To further enhance their cultural experience, we held a dress-down day last week, where the kids delighted in sharing their lanterns with one another! We are also excited to announce a Chinese Webinar for parents on Friday, 27th September at 1:00 PM . We look forward to seeing you there! Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/5178730989 Thank you for your continued support! Please feel free to contact me at yammi.cheng@hillside.edu.hk Class Blog:  Frog    Chinese Albums: Frog AM       ...

  Welcome to our class blog! Firstly, here are the all-important class photo albums AM Class PM Class As we watch the children navigate their early social experiences, it's heartening to see them thriving and starting to form social connections. It is important to note that instead of asking, "Who is your best friend?" we encourage them to think about "good friends." This subtle shift in language opens up discussions about the qualities that truly matter in friendships. At this early stage, we really don't want your child to get too attached to another child.  We encourage them to make their own choices and then to play alongside anyone who has also made the same choice. I am very aware of not excluding anyone, and the phrase "best friend" tends to do this.... then what happens when best friends don't want to be best friends anymore! Gathering together at circle time, we have been talking about what being kind means as part of our "Who We ...

Dear Parents and Caregivers, I am thrilled to share that the children have settled wonderfully in class! We began our journey by learning how to greet and say goodbye in Mandarin, using the songs 你好歌 (Hello Song) and 再见歌 (Goodbye Song). As part of our Unit of Inquiry "Who We Are" (我们是谁), we explored the theme of going to school through the stories "第一天上学" (The First School Day) and "上学去" (Going to School). The children also enjoyed learning about body parts with the song “ 头肩膀膝和脚 ” (Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes), especially as they confidently sped up their singing. You can find these resources on our learning slide . Looking ahead, we will be celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节). We will discuss the food, decorations, and activities related to this traditional festival. To enhance the festive spirit, we will have a dress-down day on Friday, September 13th. Children are encouraged to bring their lanterns or make one to share. Thank you for your ...