Teacher’s comment on his progress:
It was a quarter filled with activities again and these activities made the
children different from what they were before, especially in terms of
emotional, psychological, physiological and cognitive development as
individuals.
In relation to our theme on “Timeline” the children visited The China Town
Heritage Centre. The exhibition/galleries showcased the town’s diverse history
and rich cultural heritage. The children witnessed the difficult living conditions
that the former residents or immigrants from China had to endure and had
an opportunity to touch the old things that they used. Some of the children
were able to compare the difference of then and now, others will need more
time. We also celebrated “Children’s Day” with teachers bringing in some food
and goodies for the children. When they saw the stuff they could not wait to
have the presents. They were all excited and curious. We played several
games and some learnt the importance of sportsmanship. Before we ended
the celebration, we had our refreshments together and they loved and
enjoyed the food. The celebration was really great fun.
Deepavali was celebrated with teachers and children dressed in traditional
Indian costumes. Parents brought in different kinds of delights to brighten the
occasion. During the event, parents helped children make their special
Rangoli – the colourful art of patterning using coloured rice. Other activities
included Henna painting, string flowers and making chapatti. Many of the
children participated in the art of Indian dancing demonstrated by a well
known Indian dancer. The finale of the night event was the lighting of the
fireworks.
The children also learnt about dinosaurs this quarter. We had activities on
digging out fossils and looked at the different dinosaurs. Many of the children
were able to remember the names of these dinosaurs. Instead of going out
as the month was wet, we screened the movie “Land before time”. All the
children munched on pop corn as they enjoyed the movie.
As this year ends, we can’t forget Christmas. The month was filled with art
and craft work on making Christmas decorations. This is also the time where
homes, malls and even schools are decorated. Without these decorations it
would seem that something is missing. Your child has prepared something
special for you, my dear parents; they are taking this opportunity to thank you
for all the love you’ve shown. We hope you like it and a very Merry Christmas.
Practical Life
The exercises of practical life are formative activities. They involve inspirations, repetition, and concentration on precise details. They take into account the natural impulses of special period of childhood. Though for the moment the exercises have no merely practical aims, they are a work of adaptation to the environment therein is the very essence of a useful education”.
Vincent has mastered the transferring exercises using tong, tweezers and chopsticks. These activities are very important in developing fine motor skills, which indirectly allows for strengthening of the three finger grip. We also did “care of animals” with the introduction of feeding of fish and terrapin together with the “care of plants” e.g. watering of plants. These are activities in the “caring for the environment”.
We made Dinosaur Cheese Sandwich in relation to our theme. All the children had a chance to cut the slices of bread, buttered them and placed cheese on them. We also had a whale of a time baking muffins for Christmas. Every child was given a chance to fill the bowl with the ingredients and mix them into a batter. Dishing them into the cups was really thrilling for every child including Vincent.
The children made Dinosaur Puppet, painted a Dinosaur Stained Glass, created Christmas Greeting Card and Gift Bag. The highlight was the making of the class Christmas tree.
Sensorial
“There is nothing in the intellect which was not first in some way in the senses”, and senses being explorers of the world, opens the way to knowledge.
Vincent has mastered work on the four blocks of Knobbed Cylinders, Broad Stairs and Pink Cubes. These materials aim to develop Vincent’s visual discrimination of sizes, weight, dimensions. He is now working with the variations of these materials e.g. using the Pink Cubes and Broad Stairs to build a wall. This activity will help to develop concentration, a sense of orderliness, diligence and have a better understanding of processes and patterns.
Language
” …language development…… I say, development, not teaching, for the mother does not teach her child language. It develops naturally, like a spontaneous creation. “
Vincent is now working with the Large Moveable Alphabets and Object Boxes. He is beginning to understand the concept of blending sounds and has started to read three letter phonetic words. Currently, he is tracing and copying lines and letters.
Mathematics
“Rarely, however, can he count with certainty the fingers of one hand, and when he does succeed in doing this, there is always the difficulty of knowing why,…. The extreme exactness and correctness of a child’s mind needs clear and precise help. When numerical rods are given to children, we see that even the smallest take a lively interest in counting.”
This term the children learnt the concept of Fractions and Ordinal numbers. To have a concrete understanding on Fractions, we used a bun and cut them into equal parts. As for Ordinals numbers, we used farm animals to show them the position of each animal going back into their barn – which animal comes first, second etc.Vincent has mastered teen counting with the use of Seguin Board A. Currently, we are working with the Seguin Board B. This material helps build a firm foundation in counting of quantities and symbols from one to ninety-nine.
Cultural
Subjects touched on are as follows:
Life Cycle of a Butterfly
The children learnt the Life Cycle of a Butterfly. We did art and craft called “Pasta Metamorphosis” to reinforce the ideas of change. The children used different pasta to demonstrate the whole process.
Personal Timeline
With the use of picture cards and books, the children were exposed to the development of baby in the mother’s womb. Children were invited to share their experiences when a younger sibling was in their mother’s womb.
Dinosaur Timeline
Playing the role of a Palaeontologist; the children had the opportunity to excavate dinosaur fossils. Care and gentleness were imparted.
Vincent takes a keen interest in all his work and has shown progress in all areas. He is a conscientious and dependable child.
