K1 Panda Class

  Dear Panda Class Families, We hope you are having a good week so far! The children are very excited about dressing in their choice of outfits tomorrow (Thursday 31st October)! Please note that we are continuously encouraging independence in terms of toileting and in general, so it would be helpful if the children don't wear one-piece outfits or 'onesies', to make it easier for the children to manage.   We would like to wish you all a Happy Halloween for tomorrow!  Diwali is also tomorrow, so we are also sending Happy Diwali wishes!  There's lots to celebrate at the moment! Thank you to those of you who joined the Parent Teacher Conferences last week, it was great to meet with you.  This week, the children have been observing our plants. The grass is growing very well, and we are delighted that the beans are sprouting. The lemon and tomato seeds are still a work in progress, but we are hoping that they might start to grow soon! The children have been discu...

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 ju...

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...

Dear Panda Class Families, Welcome back from the half-term holiday! We hope you enjoyed last week! We have loved hearing about what you have all been up to from the children. Many thanks to those of you who have shared photos with us of your child in nature! We are working our way through the photos and the children have enjoyed standing up in front of the class and telling us about their experiences! If you would like to add to our albums there is still time, so please add them to the following albums by the 25th of October: Panda Class AM  Panda Class PM I look forward to meeting many of you next week for our Parent Teacher Conferences, which will be held next Monday, 21st October, and Wednesday, 23rd October, on Zoom. Please contact the admin team if you would like to book an appointment with me.  This week, the children have been reconnecting with each other and enjoying exploring our 'Polar' themed sensory tray filled with pretend snow and ice as well as many polar animal...

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 enjoyable...