The Last One

Hello,

This will be the last post on the HIS Pre-K blog.  Words cannot express how lucky I am to have taught so many amazing students over the three years at HIS.  Coming to work was always fun for me and it never felt like "work."  I was also fortunate to have had the support of many outstanding parents that always surprised me with their time and generosity.  

          All of this success would have not been possible without my amazing co-teacher.  Vicky is an outstanding teacher and person and I was very privileged to have learnt so much from her.

          Thanks again and please keep in touch. I will keep the same email.  Bsharp.his@gmail.com

Cheers

Braedon

“All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten!”

R.Fulgham

         

More Silkworm and Ingrid's Birthday

End of the Year Party

Hello,

For the end of the school year party on Tuesday we will be providing all of the food and goodies.  There is still extra money from the lunch a few weeks ago, so we will buy some snacks and a pizza lunch.

On Monday afternoon at 2:00pm there will be the end of year assembly.  The Pre-K's and Kindergartens will be performing a short song.

Have a great weekend
cheers
Braedon

Insect Man and Silkworm Farm

Centres and Insect Survey

Friday June 7, 2013

            The end is almost near and it feels like yesterday when we were starting this journey.  Next Tuesday an insect specialist will be coming to the library to do presentation on insects.  He will also bring many live insects along with some specimens.  This will be a perfect way to wrap up our insect unit.

            Our end of the year class party will be Tuesday June 18^th morning.  We will be playing some games and doing other fun activities.  Students are welcome to bring in some food to share with the class.  Please do not bring in a lot as there are 17 students now in the Pre-K class. 

            Please remember that we will be going to the silkworm farm next Thursday.  Students need to bring a hat, sunscreen, bug repellent and their water bottle.  They will not need to bring a snack as there was extra money from the lunch we all had last Saturday.  A few mothers will prepare something on the day to share with all of the students.

            Ms. Vicky and I want to thank everyone that came last Saturday for lunch.  We had a great time and it was great to see so many familiar faces.  If you have any excellent pictures (we took many!) could you please share them with us? 

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Computer story “The Hungry Caterpillar”

2.      Consonant, vowel, consonant (CVC) pull game

3.      Finishing Insect journals

4.      Guided reading with a teacher

Math/Science Centres

1.      Free choice math centre

2.      Water table estimation

3.      Spring time adding books #2

4.      Drawing and labeling insects

Word of the week:  review

Student of the week

The student of the week is Caroline.  She has started to become very independent in the classroom and always has something to share with us.  Caroline loves to tell jokes and makes everyone laugh whenever she has a chance.  Great job Caroline!

Reminders and Notices

1. June 12^th Dragon Boat festival (no school)
2. June 11^th Insect Man (10:10-10:50 in the library)
3. June 13^th Silkworm farm
4. June 17^th School Assembly
5. June18th Pre-K end of year party (more details to follow)
6. June 19^th Last day of School (half day)

As 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.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

Friday May 31, 2013

            All of our silkworms passed away last week for some unknown reason.  However, we have another beetle in our class along with many other insects we have been collecting.  In math we have started our estimation unit and with the warm weather we have been using our water table a lot. 

            Next week is the Matilda play and I will be away Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon to help with the spotlight.  Ms. Vicky, Ms. Willis and Ms. Lee will be teaching the Pre-K’s in the afternoon when I am away.

             Today I sent home a small survey to complete over the weekend with your friends and family.  Once you are finished could you please send it back to school.  

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Computer story “The Hungry Caterpillar”

2.      Consonant, vowel, consonant (CVC) pull game

3.      Insect journals

4.      Guided reading with a teacher

Math/Science Centres

1.      Addition board games

2.      Water table estimation

3.      Spring time adding books #2

4.      Cut and paste compound insect words

Word of the week:  with

Student of the week

The student of the week is Hatsumi.  She has emerged as a very confident leader within the Pre-K class.  Hatsumi also enjoyed sharing stories and learning about insects this week.  Super job Hatsumi!

Reminders and Notices

1. June 6^th and 7^th Matilda Show
2. June 12^th Dragon Boat festival (no school)
3. June 13^th Silkworm farm
4. June 17^th School Assembly
5. June18th Pre-K end of year party (more details to follow)
6. June 19^th Last day of School (half day)

As 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.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

More from the Fire Station (Mr. Kuo photos)

Friday Kindergarten Centres

Friday May 17, 2013

            The students have been enjoying the experience of having some pets in our class.  This week we learnt about where bugs live, what they eat, and the difference between insects and non insects.  Next week we will start learning about the life cycles of silkworms and butterflies and hopefully our silkworms will stay alive because many have become sick.

            Thank you for the quick responses to the silkworm farm in mid June.  Since our class is now at 17 there is not a lot of extra room on the bus.  However, parents are more than welcome to drive out to Mioali and I know that some have already made arrangements to carpool there.

            Please remember that next Tuesday is the elementary art show in the library.  The Pre-K’s will have 5 different art pieces on display along with the many others from the rest of the school.  It will run all day so please drop by and see all of the beautiful art works that everyone has completed throughout the year.

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Computer story “The Ant and the Chrysalis”

2.      Pocket chart sequencing stories

3.      Phonics puzzle games

4.      Phonics the letter Z

Math/Science Centres

1.      Addition board games

2.      Fishing adding game and wooden puzzles

3.      Spring time adding books #2

4.      Cut and paste insect activities

Word of the week:  with

Student of the week

The student of the week is Rikuto.  He has only been with us for a few weeks but he has settled in and it feels like he has been here since August.  Rikuto is always trying his best and during music and dance class he tries very hard.  Amazing job Rikuto, keep up the great work!

Reminders and Notices

1. May 27^th Teacher Development Day (no school)
2. May 29^th Art Exhibition
3. June 6^th and 7^th Matilda Show
4. June 12^th Dragon Boat festival (no school)
5. June 17^th School Assembly
6. June 19^th Last day of School (half day)

As 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.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

Firestation

Friday May 17, 2013

            Our insect unit is in full swing and we have some new critters in our classroom to help the students learn first hand knowledge about them.  Please come by and say hello to our newest Pre-K pets.  For the next two weeks we will be learning about caterpillars and life cycles.  In math we are still studying basic addition and next week we will start learning about estimation.

            For the May homework please try to stay on schedule.  Therefore, today is the end of week one.  The reason is that I have not taught some of the concepts yet in latter weeks (syllables). 

            Lastly I want to give a big thank you to all of the students in the Pre-K class.  This was Rikuto’s first full week and I saw everyone help him in one way or another.  Every student cared and helped him adjust to HIS and I am very proud to see such leadership and responsibility within the class.  This makes Ms. Vicky and me very proud!

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Computer story “Ace Lacewing Bug Detective”

2.      Pocket chart sequencing stories

3.      Phonics puzzle games

4.      Phonics the letter Y

Math/Science Centres

1.      Addition board games

2.      Fishing adding game and wooden puzzles

3.      Spring time adding books

4.      Cut and paste insect activities

Word of the week:  he, she

Student of the week

The student of the week is Joshua.  Ms. Welz picked him for how he is during library.   She says that he is very well behaved and is very good at using the book markers.  Also, he was helping Rikuto learn about the library.  Super job Joshua!!!

Reminders and Notices

1. May 27^th Teacher Development Day (no school)
2. May 29^th Art Exhibition
3. June 6^th and 7^th Matilda Show
4. June 12^th Dragon Boat festival (no school)
5. June 17^th School Assembly
6. June 19^th Last day of School (half day)

As 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.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

I Love My Mommy

Friday May 10, 2013

            We just finished our Community Helpers unit and yesterdays visit to the fire station was a perfect ending.  It was great to see many parents join us on this field trip as everyone had a lot of fun.

            Our last unit of the school year will be about insects.  We will be investigating different types of insects, body parts and life cycles.  At the end of the unit we will be visiting a silkworm farm in Miaoli.  More details will be sent home shortly.

            We have another student joining the Pre-K team, Rikuto Takahara.  He is originally from Japan but was previously in Korea.  Please welcome him into our Pre-K family.

            This Friday I will send out the rest of the word rings to the remaining students and I would like to thank Mr. Ying (Winston’s dad) for taking the video of the students singing their community helper song last week.

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Computer story “I got two Dogs” Starfall - Nursery Rhyme player

2.      Mothers Day Books

3.      Sand boards word wall practice

4.      Phonics the letter X

Math/Science Centres

1.      Matching community helper game

2.      Fishing adding game and wooden puzzles

3.      Sand scales and water addition game

4.      Market role playing

Word of the week:  of

Student of the week

The student of the week is Rachel.  Mr. Burt picked her because she has been participating a lot during P.E and is very energetic when playing games.  He also said that she always tries very hard and is a good winner and loser.  Super job Rachel!!!

Reminders and Notices

1. May 12^th Mothers Day
2. May 27^th Teacher Development Day (no school)
3. May 29^th Art Exhibition
4. June 6^th and 7^th Matilda Show
5. June 12^th Dragon Boat festival (no school)
6. June 17^th School Assembly
7. June 19^th Last day of School (half day)

As 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.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

Baby Boss

Community Helpers 1 Pre-K and Buddies on PhotoPeach

Community Helpers 2 Pre-K's and Buddies on PhotoPeach

May 2, 2013

Due to the rain yesterday we had to cancel our community walk.  However, we are still planning on visiting the fire station next Thursday.  Next week will be our last week investigating community helpers.  Our last unit of the school year will be about bugs and insects.

I sent home the word rings to 8 students yesterday, please review these and send them back to school.  I will then send them out to the remaining 8 students.

For the students participating in the homework program, it will start May 13th.  This will be our last homework pack and thus it can go into June.

Have a great long weekend!
cheers
Braedon

Picture

Hello,

Over the next week could you please email me a picture of your son or daughter with their mother.  This will be for a special project we will be completing in May.

bsharp.his@gmail.com

Thanks
cheers
Braedon

Science Fair

Friday April 26, 2013

            The Baby Boss field trip was a big success and I really enjoyed seeing all of the parents helping each other.  I can tell that many friendships have been made throughout the school year and it is great to see how parents are always willing to give each other a helping hand.  I also want to thank Ms. Kuo for her help and support on the field trip as she was the one that got us the group discount.   

            Next Wednesday we are still planning on going for our community walk and picnic lunch in the park behind the school.  The school will be providing a lunchbox for each student.  We will be performing our community helper song before our walk.

            If anyone has any beautiful pictures from the science fair or Baby Boss field trip could you please send them to me.  I always like having photos for the blog or the year book.

            This month the annual government Outstanding Student Awards were given to one child from each of our elementary school classes. Students are selected by their schools based on several criteria including character, extra-curricular involvement and academics.   Isabel was chosen for the Pre-K class and we are all very proud of her.

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Computer story “My Dad Drives an Excavator”

2.      Puppet Show “Community Helpers”

3.      Community Helper books

4.      Phonics the letter W

Math/Science Centres

1.      Wooden Puzzles

2.      Police card matching game

3.      Sand scales and water addition game

4.      Market role playing

Word of the week:  where

Student of the week

The student of the week is Chaline for her participation in music class.  Ms Fay and Ms Vicky always tell me how vocal and enthusiastic she is when she can sing and dance.  Great job Chaline!

Reminders and Notices

1. April 18^th Post Office field trip
2. April 22^nd Earth Day
3. April 24^th Science Fair
4. April 25^th Baby Boss field trip
5. May 2/3 Mid Semester Break
6. May ____Fire Station Field Trip
7. May 12^th Mothers Day
8. May 27^th Teacher Development Day (no school)
9. May 29^th Art Exhibition
10. June 6^th and 5^th Matilda Show
11.  May 1^st Fire Station field trip

As 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.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

Pottery and Post Office

Friday April 19, 2013

            The week flew by with pottery on Wednesday and our field trip to the post office on Thursday.  Thank you to everyone that brought in the money for the Baby Boss field trip next week.  Please remember to pack a lunch on the day; there is also a small food court if you wish to buy lunch there.  We will be leaving school at 8:30 and return around 4:00. Bus students will therefore need to make alternate arrangements. We also have 3 extra student tickets at the discounted price.  We had to buy a block of 20 tickets to get the discount so there are some extras.  If any friends would like to join us please let me know.  Any extra money that may raised by the sale of these tickets will go towards our next field trip or a class treat.

            The scheduled field trip to the fire station on May 1^st will be postponed until early May (more details will follow when they call us back) because they have informed us that they are busy on that day.  However, on May 1^st we will be performing a song that we have been practicing and then go on a short walk around the school to see some community helpers.  We will then have a picnic lunch behind the school and parents are welcome to join us.  We will perform our song at 10:00am and then go for our community walk after that.

            I have now completed all of my meetings with parents and a common question or concern was the problem with students writing the letters in reverse.  Below is a short article that summarizes the issue.

Kindergarten parents worry when their child writes letters in reversal. This type of writing is perfectly normal with 4 and 6 year olds. Please do not worry. Being able to take a mirror and place it against Kindergarten writing and then to be able to read the writing perfectly is normal. The right side and left side of the brain continue to develop in young children and are trying to figure out who does what and to sort out specific tasks and cannot, at this age, identify when letters or sentences are reversed. Be patient. This will usually work itself out. When you do notice that your child is writing backwards or in reverse, you might point it out to them but have your child continue on with his/her writing. The letters, b, d, p, q, g, are OFTEN confused with each other and Kindergarten teachers are used to this. It was explained to me once, that if you took a tube of lipstick and turned it on its side, it would still be lipstick, or turned it upside down it would still be lipstick, or turned it backwards, it would still be lipstick. Well, 5 year olds are no different. They are looking for something sane when they look at letters but If you take a letter b and turn it around it becomes a d, or turned it upside down it could become a q, or a g…this is VERY confusing for the developing brain. Your child needs lots of help figuring out b, d, p, q and g. Numbers often have the same problem; a 12 could be confused with a 21, or a 27 with a 72. Once again I say, be patient. This USUALLY sorts itself out, but if by the beginning of second grade your child is still confusing letters or some numbers, you might want to talk to a specialist.

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Computer story “Firefighters”

2.      Puppet Show “Community Helpers”

3.      Letter scramble and Community Helper books

4.      Phonics the letter V

Math/Science Centres

1.      Monkey scales

2.      Measuring activity using rulers

3.      Sand scales and water addition game

4.      Market role playing

Word of the week:  yes, no

Student of the week

The student of the week is Isabel.  She is always adding to our group discussions and has applied this knowledge to our unit on community helpers.  When we visited people in our community she was always willing to ask them many questions to help us better understand their job.  Amazing job Isabel!

Reminders and Notices

1. April 18^th Post Office field trip
2. April 22^nd Earth Day
3. April 24^th Science Fair
4. April 25^th Baby Boss field trip
5. May 2/3 Mid Semester Break
6. May ____Fire Station Field Trip
7. May 12^th Mothers Day
8. May 27^th Teacher Development Day (no school)
9. May 29^th Art Exhibition
10. June 6^th and 5^th Matilda Show
11.  May 1^st Fire Station field trip

As 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.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.
Marilyn Vos Savant