K1 Frog Class 24-25

As we have embarked on a new Unit of Inquiry, "Sharing the Planet," we have been exploring the natural world through the children's curiosities. To build upon our learning from before the half-term break, we read the story "我的家" (My Family) and then shared the story "我家是动物园" (My Home is a Zoo) about a boy who imagines himself living with his family members as different animals in a zoo. We are tuning in to the new unit by playing an animal sound lotto game to initiate conversations with children. They shared their prior knowledge about animals and animal sounds through the activity to make connections to our new unit. The children enjoyed playing the animal sound lotto game, which allowed them to listen to and identify the different animal sounds. Furthermore, as we are going to find out more about Halloween, we will read the story "问题南瓜" (Pumpkin Trouble). After the story, the children had a wonderful time taking turns playing with the jumpi...

The K1 children are well into the "tuning in" stage of their new Unit of Inquiry  Sharing the Planet . All learning supports children to understand and process the world around them, and this unit is especially opportune in providing them with the opportunity to tap into their curiosities and develop an appreciation for the ever-changing natural world around them.  If you would like to learn more along with some concrete examples of what the learning might look like for your child, feel free to hear me walk through the unit in finer detail. It's a 3-min video and you may press the full screen button for a clearer view. A main focus of this unit is supporting children to develop their research skills by learning about various topics of interest using different sources of information. Children can do research by reading, watching videos, interviewing others, and directing lots of questions at their peers and teachers! One of the best ways to support this at home is for pare...

  “Curiouser and curiouser”    Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland Children are born inquisitive, and it is this innate curiosity that drives them to learn about the world through every experience and social interaction. They thrive on exploration, questioning, and imaginative play. This positive cycle of learning is fueled by the joy that comes from discovery. We want our children to embrace curiosity and feel empowered to ask questions, seek answers, and create solutions without fear of failure. Please enjoy the class albums from this week. Please remember to try and make time to share these alongside your child.   AM Class PM Class Currently, our unit of inquiry is Sharing the Planet. The range of topics I have heard the children talk about is wide and varied, from frog spawn to tornados to the planets !! To begin, I focused on uncovering the children's prior knowledge—everything they already know before diving into a new topic. Our circle time discussions wer...

This week, I decided to share a brief blog update as we approach the half-term break. I also feel, for only having 4 days this week, there was a lot going on and a lot of new thinking and ideas.  Here are the photo albums for you to share together. AM Class this week. PM Class this week We have had a wonderful time kicking off our new Unit of Inquiry, "Sharing the Planet." During our first circle time on Monday, I introduced a globe to the class and simply asked, "What is this?" Through our discussions, the children discovered that the blue areas represent water, while the green and brown areas represent land. This was for me to assess their prior knowledge and to see what interests they gravitated to.  The conversation was rich with vocabulary and ideas, as we explored the life found in both the ocean and on land. This led us to a later discussion about plants and trees, prompting me to start an initial investigation into seeds. We will scaffold this interest by do...

Dear Parents and Caregivers, Thank you for joining us last Friday at the Chinese Webinar. We hope you found the information useful in supporting your children's Chinese learning. In the past two weeks, we have focused on reinforcing Chinese greetings and exploring our families as part of our Unit of Inquiry, "Who We Are." Through the story "你好" (Hello), the children practised greeting all the K1 teachers and created their own greeting videos.  They also learned the Chinese names of family members through the story "小象的家人" (Baby Elephant’s Family). Utilizing the reading machine, students engaged in repetitive practice that significantly enhanced their vocabulary memorization. Additionally, the children enjoyed singing "动作歌" (Movement Song) and "我的家人" (My Family), which helped strengthen their listening and speaking skills. Thank you for your ongoing support in your child's learning journey! Wishing you all a restful and enjoyabl...