Friday, February 25, 2011

Friday, February 25, 2011

February is almost over and the end of the school year is coming faster then we would have thought! Last week we had our 100^th day of school party. We had a great time with many activities in and out of the class. As you can see from the pictures everyone had a great time. 

I am so happy to see the progress we have made since August and how we started with only had 3 students and now we are up to 7. Next month we will be investigating dinosaurs and math measurement.  As a school we will be going to the Taichung Science centre in April (where they have a dinosaur exhibit). I am still looking for a place for a field trip for March. The weather should be nicer so perhaps a picnic somewhere would be good.  I am very new to Hsinchu so if any of you have an idea for a field trip could you please give me some ideas.

Reading Tip

Others Who Can Help

You can enlist many other people besides your child's teacher as partners in helping your child learn to read. Here are some suggestions:

·                       Consider involving relatives and friends in helping to motivate your child to learn to read. Older siblings, grandparents, family friends, and your child's caregivers can add their support and encouragement.

·                       Take your child to your local library and look for books that will interest him or her. Some children find books with interactive features particularly motivating. Ask the librarians for help. They will know which books are most appealing to young children.

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.       Play dough making sight words.

2.       Valentines Day cut and paste activity.

3.      Computer story “The Moon”

4.      Reading and colouring “Qq” books then guided reading with a teacher.

Math and Science Centres

1.      Dice game count and colour.

2.      Valentines Day graphing with dice.

3.      Free exploration in the mini sandbox with the scale.

Reminders and Notices

1.      Please refrain from sending toys to school.

2.      Please bring back “Aa, Mm” books.

3.      March homework will be sent home March 7th.

4.      February 28^th there is no school due to Taiwan Peace Day.

As always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email or come by and speak to me in person.

You learn something every day if you pay attention. 

Ray LeBlond

Cheers Braedon

100th Day of School

Science Experiment with Ice

February 17

Friday, February 17, 2011

I think the worst of the winter cold is behind us and we can look forward to warmer weather very soon. We have had a very busy week in the Pre-K class with Valentines Day and the 100th day of school party this week. Next week we will finish off our Friendship unit and then, starting in March, we will be investigating dinosaurs. I have decided we will study dinosaurs instead of my original plan to study space during this time.

I am very pleased with how well the Winnie the Pooh’s journal is going. The students love the experience and are very proud of their work. Also this week I started implementing the policy of using English only inside the classroom. I thought it would be challenging but they exceeded my expectations and it has gone very smoothly. Over the weekend could you praise your child on doing so well with this challenge!

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres
1. Play dough making sight words.
2. Valentines Day cut and paste activity.
3. Computer story “Lantern Festival”
4. Reading and colouring “Pp” books then guided reading with a teacher.

Math and Science Centres
1. Grab and guess game with beads.
2. Valentines Day graphing with dice.
3. Free exploration in the mini sandbox with funnels.

Reminders and Notices

1. Please refrain from sending toys to school.

2. Please bring back “Aa, Mm” books.

3. March homework will be sent home March 7th.

4. February 28th there is no school due to Taiwan Peace Day.

Like always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email or come by and speak to me in person.

Learning is like rowing upstream: not to advance is to drop back.

Chinese Proverb

Cheers
Braedon

Happy Valentines Day

February 11 2011

Friday, February 11, 2011

I hope everyone had a terrific relaxing Chinese New Year. I heard many adventures of all the places you went over the break.  I have shared some of mine with showing the class pictures of my trip to Thailand. If you would like to send in a flash drive, CD, or an email of your pictures you are more then welcome. Your son or daughter would really enjoy the opportunity to share them with the class.

This month I was planning on discussing countries along with brining in some speakers however, due to the short month and many other things popping up I am going to be unable to cover it. We will continue with friendship and Valentines Day and then next Friday we will celebrate our 100^th day of school with a small party. 

Since it is a new semester there will be some new things starting in the Pre-K class.  Starting next Monday we will start Winnie the Pooh’s writing journal.  It follows a similar format to Treasure Bag as it goes home once a day with a different child.  Instructions will also be inside in both English and Chinese. 

Just a reminder that toys from home should only be sent in with the Treasure Bag.  I don’t want your son or daughter to lose or break them and we have many toys already in the classroom. 

I am finding that class is starting later as the year progresses, so this is just a gentle reminder to please have your child at school by at least 8:40 in the morning.  I like to start sharing time at 8:50 and having students come in late can be disturbing.  Furthermore, before sharing time the students have free choice and it is something they especially enjoy.

Also our class is growing again and starting Monday we will have a new student named Nathan joining us.  So if you see him or his parents please welcome them into HIS and the Pre-K family.

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.       Play dough making sight words.

2.       Finishing Zoo mini books.

3.      Computer story “Subway Ride”

4.      Reading and colouring “Oo” books then guided reading with a teacher.

Math and Science Centres

1.      Cut and paste 1-100 sheets.

2.      Grab and guess game with pasta.

3.      Valentines Day graphing with dice.

4.      Free exploration with sand and cups.

Reminders and Notices

1.      Please refrain from sending toys to school.

2.      Please bring back “Aa, Mm” books.

Like always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email at bsharp.his@gmail.com or come by and speak to me in person.

You don't understand anything until you learn it more than one way. 

Marvin Minsky

Cheers

Braedon

Painting with Mr. Potter

Making Rice Pudding!

Our Trip to the Zoo!