The Early Years Florists

A group of children worked with Ms. Hannah to create a flower arrangement for each class in the Early Years. This is an ongoing project that different groups of children work on every few weeks.

This time, the florists worked on creating a Chinese style flower arrangement with the focus of balance. Joon and Mason were our K2A florists for the week.

The florists had several pointy stands to use with their flower arrangement.

They decided who will use the different stands by pulling paper that were of different lengths.

Ms. Hannah showed the children how to place the flowers on the pointy stand.

Then, the florists had to choose one flower and put it on their stand. Thy had to consider balance, the length of the stems and how the flowers were going to be arranged.

When they placed the second flower, they needed to work out how they can balance both flowers. Then, the florists included the leaves. The florists had to take turns and collaborate, using their skills of observing, thinking and decision making to complete the arrangement beautifully.

The young florists stood back to decide if their arrangements were done well. Finally, they had to agree on which flower arrangements will be presented to the campfires and which ones will remain in the Atelier.

Joon and Mason proudly shared their arrangement with their classmates and placed it next to the class journal to welcome everyone to K2A!

Moonyard 月亮院子

The students went on a field trip to ‘月亮院子’ ‘Moonyard’ to learn more about words and images. Moonyard is a cultural center in China that showcases calligraphy.

The teacher introduced the students to the space, showing them many different images displayed around the gallery.

The students were invited to choose an image that they want to learn more about. They were fascinated with the colours, shapes, pictures and presentation of ideas. They walked around, sat alone or with groups to take a closer look at the images, and put their thinking down on paper. They used the thinking routine ‘See, Think, Wonder’, to document their ideas and questions. Then, they gathered to share some of these ideas with each other.

Ella “Are these characters from a long time ago?”

Grace “Something is like a wall. It looks like thunder. Why is the thunder that shape?”

Ethan “It makes me think it looks like water, like a river.”

Diego “It looks like an elephant.”

Alejandra “Why is there a line? It looks like an eye. Wonder why the line is in a different place.”

Hyun Seo “I think it is a deer.”

Yuchan “I see an eye but the eyelashes are not good.”

The teacher explains “All the ancient Chinese characters, they copy a model of what they see, like a picture. That is how it starts. As time passes by, we are getting smarter so the character becomes more modern. So the modern characters are more detailed. There have been 5 different changes. This is a picture of a head. Our eyes exist in the body of the head. The top is the hat! If you put it together it is a man with a hat travelling on a road!”

Ella “It looks like a flower and might mean ‘beautiful’. Why do the ancient Chinese characters look different from the new ones?”

Teacher “This is fire. If you do not have the dots it is a tree.”

The students were very excited about creating their own copy of their favourite image or word. They were given a choice of materials they could use to create their image.

After having a quick snack and thanking the teachers for the exciting experience, we came back to school.

The students reflected on what they had learned through their experience and included this on their activity sheet. We gathered to share our reflections with each other.

  • What questions do we have as a result of our experience?
  • What do we want to learn more about?
  • What do we want to do next?

Our learning journey continues…

A Story About Tie Dye

First, we went outdoors to look for leaves, sticks, flowers and stones to make different colours! 

  • Hannah “Ms. Jennie was talking to us about the Tie Dye.”
  • Reggie “We were talking about how people used to make nice clothes a long time ago.”
  • Seungje “We were talking about this because we will be making Tie Dye.”
  • Kavel “We could ask questions. We asked questions about the Tie Dye.”
  • Jiwan ” We talked about Tye Dye. We saw a Tie Dye video because we want to make it. It was in China”

  • Stella “Everyone did a good job stomping all the stuff, the leaves and branches and some kind of stuff. We did that because we wanted to get the colour.”
  • Miranda “We used water and leaves to make colour.”
  • Chanwoong “We can make a colour because there is a colour inside the leaves and branches and if we use water and the water comes in when we do stomping and the colour comes into the water and then it will be paint.”

  • Sam “I put this one in the pounder and then Ryder hit it.”
  • Elena “I was happy and nervous because I am not that good at tying stuff with rubber bands because I was wondering if I will break one.”
  • Seungje ” We made that for the art activity and learning how to make Tie Dye.” 

  • Elena “When they put the marbles on the cloth and then they tied it up because if they don’t tie it up it will go everywhere like said so you need to tie it up with a rubber band. I liked that everyone chose a different colour. I was nervous because I was not sure where should I tie the rubber-band and how much space I had.”
  • Sky “There is different colours, why we tie it is because we put a marble so I have to tie it or it will just fall into the colour and the cloth wont be the colour we want.”
  • Carlotta “I was really happy because it was really fun to do and tying it up, and when I saw how mine looked, it was so pretty.” 

  • Eunseong “I was tired because it was hard.” Carlotta “All of them looked really pretty, I have no idea which one looks the prettiest.”
  • Jiwan “I think there are 10 Tie Dye in the rack and it was little bit hard to make a Tie Dye.”

We wonder how this technique has changed over time…

An Inquiry into Expressions and Culture

How do we express ourselves? What is expression?

The students began to share their ideas and we documented their thinking on chart paper.

“We express ourselves through, dance, music, games, drawing, painting…”

(Creative thinking: Generating novel ideas and considering new perspectives)

We wondered what we ‘value’ as a community in Grade 2A. We documented our discussion on chart paper.

We discussed why teamwork, kind words, sharing, turn taking and group work was important to us. We agreed that this was the culture of our classroom or ‘how we did things’ as we worked and learned together.

(Creative thinking: Generating novel ideas and considering new perspectives)

Three students shared photographs of different objects, experiences and artefacts that they valued (in their home/ as a family/ in their culture).   

(Communication Skills: Exchanging information-Listening, interpreting and speaking)

We reflected on the discussion we had about the different ways we express ourselves. The students began to think about the different aspects of expression they could learn more about. What tools can we use to conduct our research? How might we present our research?

(Information literacy: Formulating and planning, data gathering and recording, synthesizing and interpreting, evaluating and communicating)

The students agreed that they could conduct their research by:

  • reading books and magazines
  • interviewing people
  • watching videos

We continue to wonder ‘how communities come together through expressions of culture‘.

The students were invited to look around their home and post photographs of the different expressions of culture. These could be artefacts, traditions and customs.

Chinese New Year

Different grades have shared a collection of artwork for Chinese New Year. We went on a walk to explore the artwork. There were lanterns…

…portraits of children in Traditional Chinese festive clothes…

…paper cuttings…

…books and decorations.

We wonder if we can create our own Chinese New Year artwork…

How might WE be inspired to share of creativity?

Ms. Cherry read The Story of NIAN to the children.

We watched the story of Nian too.

The children were inspired by the story and created their own dragons. They explored shadow puppetry using their own creations. Some children were happy to colour copied pictures while others designed their own dragons. They coloured in the pictures carefully and used scissors, markers and sticky tape to create these pieces of art.

https://twitter.com/shemogani/status/1219554766403051521

Happy Year of the RAT

Through these experiences we are learning:

  • that Chinese New Year is as an important Chinese celebration
  • how rituals and traditions contribute to own and others’ cultural identity

  • to collaborate and be open-minded
  • to value diversity

Chopsticks

The journey began with a discussion.

“What do you know about chopsticks?”

Students shared their own knowledge and experiences about chopsticks.

  • Jasmine “可以吃饭,可以夹玩具。筷子小孩不能用,大人能用。我和姐姐有用筷子一起吃饭。需要拿碗。” [You can eat and play. Kids can’t use chopsticks, adults can. My sister and I use chopsticks to eat.]
  • Felix “I keep chopsticks in my home and they are easy peasy. The kids have something up. They are together.” 9Referring to the training chopsticks)
  • Jiwoo “I use it to eat rice, chicken. I pick up and eat. The chopsticks we need hold like this and take something and eat it.”
  • Ethan “夹东西,我可以用,有些可以夹,有些不可以。” [You can pick things. I can use chopsticks. Some things I can pick them by chopsticks, but some things I can’t.]
  • Nicolas “When I go to a restaurant, I see chopsticks. My mum can use but I also use a spoon or fork. I have never used the chopsticks.”
  • Charlotte “我爸爸经常用筷子,哥哥用勺子吃饭,我用勺子吃鱼。” [My dad uses chopsticks often, my brother uses a spoon to eat, I use chopsticks to eat fish.]
  • Amber “我家里有小筷子,KaiKai和我用。” [I have small chopsticks at home, KaiKai and me use them.]

After the discussion, students played a relay game of picking pompom balls and placing them inside a tray using chopsticks. They were all eager to try and had a lot of fun!

When the students came back to the classroom, they were so excited to share their thoughts about the game, and they had further questions about chopsticks. Ms. Tina noted them down on chart paper.

  • Jasmine “我们在家一般都用筷子。我们用小孩筷子,大人用大人筷子。我在家玩筷子游戏,和学校一样。” [At home, we always use chopsticks. Adults use adult chopsticks, kids use kids chopsticks. I play the chopsticks game at home too, just like at school.]
  • Seungbin “Easy.”
  • Felix “That’s also my first time to do that. It’s easy because when you give me this one, it’s how you use it.”
  • Lawrence “因为第一个我夹的时候我觉得很难,但是我一直努力。” [I felt that the first one was very difficult, but I kept trying.]
  • Ethan “我觉得很难,我在家用筷子吃饭。” [I felt it was really hard. I use chopsticks at home.]

  • Charlotte “第一次玩游戏, 我觉得很简单,而且我一直在努力, 用筷子夹起来放在盘子里。我夹的粉色的球,很喜欢。” [This is the first time I played this game, I think it’s easy. And I keep trying. I use the chopsticks to pick up and put it in the tray. I picked a pink ball, I like it very much.]
  • Amber “我想和爸爸妈妈玩筷子的游戏。” [I want to play the chopsticks game with my daddy and mummy.]
  • Ms. Shemo “Are these Chinese chopsticks?” Do people in other countries also use chopsticks?
  • Alejandra “Japanese, Spanish, Taiwan chopsticks.”

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/1108265829844475906

We wonder how these chopsticks might be the same or different…

ATL’s

Communication Skills

Listening

  • Listen to information.
  • Listen actively and respectfully to others’ ideas.

Self-management Skills

Perseverance

  • Demonstrate persistence in tasks.
  • Use strategies to problem-solve.

SLO’s

  • The important traditions and practices of their own family and community
  • Positive acceptance of diversity
  • open mindedness

The Showcase

We remember planning a show for our community. It took us a long time. We had so many jobs that needed to get done. It was so much fun.

Soon, we will have another opportunity to be on stage. This is for our PreK-K1 Showcase. We gathered together to talk about the experiences we have had so far.

We remember taking part in the Chinese New Year celebrations, learning more about China, appreciating the culture, language and traditions.

We created our own story ‘Not A Stick’, using our pictures as a way to express our ideas.

We used small world toys to express ourselves through storytelling

We shared our stories through the creation of games and drew Zentangle pictures to express our feelings.

We also reflected on how we created stories and shared important messages through our photographs.

We enjoyed going on journeys to other countries through dance, song and food.

Some of us even expressed ourselves while creating flower arrangements!

As we continued to map out our experiences on how people express themselves and their diversity in many different ways, we wondered how we can share some of these experiences with our community. We looked at a picture of the stage in the PAC to help us plan our ideas.  

It was a big space. What should we choose to showcase?

We talked about some of our favourite ideas. After many discussions, the students began to narrow their ideas down. We had 6 options. We listened to the music track of each item to make our choices. It was hard.

Stay tuned to hear more about our next steps!

Chinese New Year Celebrations

The students have been singing and exploring culture through music during their regular Mandarin classes. As the Chinese New Year celebrations commenced, the students gathered on the Early Years stage, to sing their favourite Chinese New Year songs to the parent community.

After the performance, the students and parents gathered to create lanterns and make Baozi. The students worked the dough and created 2 delicate buns. Then they were sent off to the cafeteria to be steamed. The students enjoyed their delicious Baozi! 

Another group of students joined Ms. Cherry to create Chinese lanterns. They used letter shapes, Chinese characters, sequins and other decorative material to create their lanterns. The parents joined in, to help their children create these beautiful pieces of art. 

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/1088775527039524864

SLO’s

  • know that Chinese New Year as an important Chinese celebration
  • know that Mandarin as the main language of China
  • use their imagination and experiences to inform their art making
  • explore the important traditions and practices of their own family and community
  • know that there are people with more than one cultural identity/nationality
  • know why a particular celebration is important in his/ her life
  • explore how rituals and traditions contribute to own and others’ cultural identity
  • develop their sense of identity and self-worth
  • positive acceptance of diversity
  • open-mindedness
  • participate in performing and creating performing arts pieces both individually and collectively

Dragons

Chinese New Year is a few days away. It is an important time of year in the Chinese calendar. In order to learn more about our host culture, its traditions and festivals, we decided to read the story “Golden Dragon Parade’ by Anastasia Suen.

We also read the story ‘Bringing In the New Year’ by Grace Lin. Next, we watched a video that provides an explanation about the Chinese New Year. As the students talked about the different traditions and stories, they discussed what they know about dragons. They were fascinated with an illustration of a beautiful dragon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u-R-aIq3_E

We decided to create our own dragons. The first step was to sketch the dragon’s face.

Next, the students used water colours to complete their dragon faces.

The next step was to create the dragon’s body. The students folded a strip of card to create the body. They also remembered to use tissue paper to create the tail. 

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/1088779914612957184

Ms. Tina taught the students how to write Fu ‘“福”’ in Chinese using a calligraphy brush and special writing paper. 

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/1087941019117805568

One student decided to create her own Fu “福”.

Ms Shemo and Ms. Jao, shared pictures of their doorways which displayed the “天增岁月人增寿,春满乾坤福满门”  “福门吉祥事事兴,宝地生财年年旺”… which means ‘long life and happy family’ and ‘everything goes well and prosperity’.

We wonder how people from different cultures express themselves…

SLO’s

  • know that Chinese New Year as an important Chinese celebration
  • know that Mandarin as the main language of China
  • describe what they notice about an artwork
  • analyse the relationships within an artwork and construct meanings
  • make personal connections to artworks
  • engage with, and enjoy a variety of visual arts experiences
  • select tools, materials and processes for specific purposes
  • use their imagination and experiences to inform their art making
  • create artwork in response to a range of stimuli
  • explore the important traditions and practices of their own family and community
  • know that there are people with more than one cultural identity/nationality
  • know why a particular celebration is important in his/ her life
  • explore how rituals and traditions contribute to own and others’ cultural identity
  • develop their sense of identity and self-worth
  • positive acceptance of diversity
  • open-mindedness 

What would your city look like?

What does a city need to have?

What does your city look like?

The students began to draw their cities. They talked to each other about the things and places they wanted to include on their picture.

Nicolas “That is the NIS and this is the road for the hotel and this is the forest with the zebras in the forest. There is a train track and it has my home and a hotel and a pond with fish in it and you can get them for eating And there is a zebra eating grass. I go like this all the way, turn and then in the hotel.”

Alejandra “NIS magic school bus is going down. A castle, because the princess is here and he can go from his home, because the queen is here and his home is here. Go here, here to NIS (travelling down the road). Numbers for NIS (Referring to numbers on doors). Open and go into the classrooms. A car is going to NIS. Here it is going to the queen’s house but the queen is here.”

Ruby “This is a school, this is the NIS numbers. This is the house and this is the roof and this is the door and the windows and this is the path that you can go. She has to walk. That is the boy outside playing from the home. The boy is going into school and he says, “Hurry up Lola!” The boy is Charley. The car and the wheels have been pumped out. And this is the car park. You can still walk or drive or go on a train if the school is too far. And Lola is playing on the swing. The arrow says you can go in and you can go out at playtime.

Ethan “Sea grass. It’s raining, and the road. You can walk down on the road. There is a river and something scary is inside.” [In Mandarin]

Amber “Tree, house treasures in the soil. And it has some big grass and small flowers. Cars in the city. We have fire trucks. Mountains, I’m climbing the mountain and can’t find the road. There are toilets for girls and boys. I’m counting numbers. I’m making a cake at my home. Here I go to hospital to see doctor because I’m hurt.” [In Mandarin]

Jasmine “Some flowers. I see many flowers in winter. And some tress. Some apples. I see some cars too. Some beans and they will grow up. I put something on the nail with my sister.” [In Mandarin]

Lawrence “This is sun and this is cloud. It’s sunny. This one is train truck. This is train. And this is supermarket. This is NIS. And this is train station. This is my house. In the house, there is a tent and a window, and a door. This is my bread shop. This is a bug. These three are some cats eating in their home.”

Poli “This is roller coaster. House, supermarket, NIS, police station, and policeman, this is fire and here comes fire truck. Jiwoo, Poli and Poli’s mummy in the house. This is train station. This is sun.” [In Mandarin]

Jiwoo “Supermarket, Poli and Jiwoo’s house.”

[In Korean] “This is a playground, this is a parking space. The bad man come here, the policeman catches the bad man. This is NIS, this is DongFangTianJun, jiwoo and Poli live here. Many friends come to the compound and play here. Playground in the NIS. This is spider web, here is the forest with many tress. Here is the prison and a bad man and a police car.”

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/1056857287011123200

SLO’s

  • Name places in their environment
  • Communicate own views about people, places and their immediate environment in different mediums
  • Listen to others

Having created maps, a group of students were motivated to create their own city using blocks, trains and other loose parts. They included a supermarket, a school for the teachers and the gated community they lived in.

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/1057161607384461312

The Places Around NIS

The PreK-K1 classes went on a field trip across from the school. They noticed the different places around them, and discussed the purpose of the space and their responsibilities in these spaces.

Where are you going today?

  • Ethan “超市。” “Supermarket.”
  • Charlotte “麦当劳” “McDonald.”
  • Jasmine and Michelle“地铁” “Metro.”
  • Jasmine “Everyone has an ID card to go out.” 

Train Station

(In Korean)

  • Poli “Metro Station! Take a train to everywhere.”
  • Seoyeon “Many people go together to other place. We need a card.”
  • Jiwoo “In the subway, we have some policeman. They will catch the stealer.”
  • Chaeyoon “You need line up.”
  • Hajun “Sit on the chair.”

Poli, Seoyeon, Jiwoo, Chaeyoon, Hajun agreed we can’t eat food in the train, we need to be quiet, and no dancing, no singing and no running.

Why do we have trains?

  • Jasmine “So we can go to different places. Playground.”
  • Michelle “我们不能在地铁里玩玩具。” “No toys play in Metro Station.”
  • Sarah Z “带我们去别的地方。” “Take us to go somewhere.”
  • Michelle “在地铁里要安静。” “Quiet in the train.”
  • Jasmine “No phone paly in the train. The Metro can take us to school.
  • Alejandra “It’s a train station.”
  • Nicholas “It’s a train station we can go to other places in the train. We can go to temple or go to eat something.”
  • Lawrence “We can go around china in in the train.”(in Chinese)

How does this place help communities?

  • Alejandra “People go together. Meet people on the train.” (in Chinese)
  • Nicholas “If we go by train there is people going everywhere.”
  • Lawrence “People go to buy things on the train.”(in Chinese)

What are our responsibilities?

  • Alejandra “You cannot run and shout.” (in Chinese)
  • Nicholas “You cannot eat in the train.’
  • Lawrence “Can’t smoke, can’t hit and push people.” (in Chinese)
  • Ruby “Because we want to go somewhere so far away.”
  • Freida “We wait for the train to come. It might come so we have to wait.”
  • Amber “It stopping, walking, go inside.”
  • Ruby “Everyone wants to come on.”
  • Frieda “And off.”
  • Ruby “Quiet on the train. No playing on the phone.”
  • Jasmine “We are going everywhere.”
  • Ruby “Going anywhere. Anywhere else you like.”

The Mall

 Along the way, we noticed that there were different signs to tell people about the different shops that had stores at the mall.

Ruby noticed that the tower on the right was taller than the tower on the left.

McDonald’s

(In Korean)

  • Poli “We need to tidy up when we finish. Metro station is higher. Metro is really fast.”
  • Seoyeon “Playground. We go get something to eat. We pay cash. We can play in the playground. That building is higher and really scary.”
  • Jiwoo “Be careful when you open the door.”
  • Chaeyoon “We can play in the playground.”

Poli, Seoyeon, Jiwoo, Chaeyoon, Hajun “东方天郡。”

What’s the building?

  • Jasmine “McDonald’s.”
  • Ruby “It’s across the street of school.”
  • Jasmine “We go to McDonald’s to have fun. To eat. To eat chips.”

(in Chinese)

  • Alejandra “It’s a place to eat. to eat ice cream and hamburgers.”
  • Amber “We eat burgers here and many people come to eat, but have to wait.”
  • Lawrence “There are toys here. We can play. And also can eat burgers and chocolate ice cream.”
  • Alejandra “People can eat here and buy things.”
  • Amber “People come to play here and eat, you hurt your back if you fall.”
  • Lawrence “There is many things to eat. You cannot eat other people’s food.”
  • Alejandra “You cannot smoke. It’s bad for people.”
  • Amber “You can’t spit here. No throwing things inside.”
  • Lawrence “No pushing no shouting and no throwing food on the table, and putting trash.”

  • Ruby “A place where you eat food. It is next to school. I had a Halloween party there.”
  • Freida “Have animals there [referring to the gifts].
  • Nicolas “Because we want to see things. All the mums and dads, because when it is Friday, it is a special day. We can eat lollypops!”
  • Freida “Chicken McNuggets!”

Suguo

(in Korean)

  • Poli “Carrot.”
  • Jiwoo “Supermarket. We can buy things here. Yogurt, pizza, sugar.”
  • Seoyeon “We should pay the cash. Chocolate, cabbage, orange juice. Suguo here. McDonald is not here.”
  • Hajun “Chocolate.”

Poli, Seoyeon, Jiwoo, Chaeyoon, Hajun agreed no running, walking slowly in the supermarket.

Where is Suguo?

  • Jasmine “Over there.”

Have you been there?

  • Jasmine “Yes, me and my sister.”

What do you buy in the market?

  • Jasmine “We put things in the trolleys. We don’t need to carry them.”

What things do you buy?

  • Jasmine “We buy food, we go supermarket.”

(in Chinese)

  • Alejandra “It’s a place we buy things. Lots of candy.”
  • Amber “You can buy a telephone here to call. But you cannot steal things here. You can use the card here.”
  • Lawrence “There is many things you can buy.”
  • Alejandra “They can buy lot of things. We buy candy.”
  • Amber “People come to buy things but they have to wait, we buy bread.”
  • Lawrence “You can get free things. you don’t need to pay. Mom pays for things.”
  • Alejandra “You can’t take other people’s things only your things.”
  • Amber “You can’t spit here. No throwing things inside.”
  • Lawrence “You cannot steal and cannot hit.”

  • Ruby “To buy stuff, anything.”
  • Freida “Also homework.”
  • Ruby “What is homework?”
  • Freida “Homework, also drawing books.”
  • Nicolas “And lollypops!”
  • Alejandra “And candy!”
  • Ruby “You can buy iPads at the top.”

Are McDonalds and Suguo the same?

  • Ruby “NO. They are not the same age. It (Suguo) is fat and big.
  • Nicloas “They both have ice-cream.”
  • Ruby “No. Because it has a fat and big sign.”
  • Nicolas “Don’t have the steps the same. It looks like this (shows a slanting shape with his hand).
  • Ruby “The school is the same as McDonalds because it is the same age. Because it got a sign. That is NIS, it’s a school.”

SLO’s

  • Name places in their environment
  • Explore a map and find their location on it
  • Understand that rules are necessary and demonstrate the ability to apply existing rules and routines to work and play with others
  • Know the social norms of behaviour and dress in the classroom and at home
  • Respect social norms different from their own even if they can’t accept them
  • Communicate own views about people, places and their immediate environment in different mediums
  • Listen to others

The Supermarket

Why do we need supermarkets?

What happens at a supermarket?

The classroom ‘house’ was turned into a ‘shop’ space. The students quickly gathered into the space. They began to choose the items they wanted to purchase.

They took their items to the check-out counter. The cashier opened the till and the shopper paid for the items in her basket. One student took a RMB 10 note and swiped it along the groove at the till (used to swipe a credit/debit card). It was clear that the students have observed this action at the supermarkets.

One student was looking for money to pay for the items in his basket. Nicolas quickly suggested that he can also pay through ‘Alipay’. Alejandra quickly made a sign. She pasted it on the side of the checkout counter.

The Purchasing Team went on a field trip to ‘Suguo’ to get the items needed to make pasta. We have been planning this inquiry for a few days, and we were excited to go out to the supermarket. We were interested to learn more about ‘how’ the supermarkets ‘work’.

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/1055589394092982272

SOL’s

  • explore how numbers can be used in many ways for different purposes in the real world
  • understand that money is used to buy and sell things
  • understand that different things have different monetary values
  • know that Yuan is the currency of China

Pasta

Nicolas was creating a book at the writing table. He included a recipe on one page. He said, “This is a recipe of pasta.

Nicolas had drawn pasta and sauce, and a bowl of pasta.

  • Teacher “But how do we make pasta? What do we need?”

Ruby and Nicolas discussed their ideas further. They decided that they needed pasta, and sauce. We wondered where we need to go to get pasta and sauce. Nicolas suggested we go over to the supermarket.

  • Teacher “Where is it? How will we get there?”

Nicolas suggested we use a map. “I can show you the way!” He drew a map to explain how we get there.

A Map

  • Teacher “How will we buy what we need?”

Nicolas explained, “We need a credit card or Alipay! We need some money and coins.” But he didn’t have money or a credit card. He suggested we use dollars. Ruby said we should use ‘Renminbi’ instead. Nicolas agreed. He included it on his plan, “We need to get it from the bank, we put money in and the money comes out (ATM).

Money

Alejandra joined the conversation. “We need a bowl.

Teacher What else do we need to remember?Alejandra suggested we take a bag to the supermarket. Nicolas included a picture of a bag on his book.

Bag

What else do we need? Nicolas suggested that we also get some ‘Salt’!

Salt

We shared the ideas we had so far with the class.

Michelle explained that we needed ‘forks’ to eat the pasta.

Alejandra “We need an oven.

FreidaMummy cooks pasta at Opa’s house.

How will we get to the supermarket? Nicolas suggested we go over to Suguo, across from the school. He drew a map to show us the way. Ruby and Nicolas included labels to help us find our way. He drew McDonalds and a bridge. He included arrows and provided oral instructions.

The Map – The way to the supermarket

Who can help us with the shopping? We decided to ask Ms. Angie!  

Watch this space to see how our learning unfolds… 

Happy Birthday!

The school was celebrating its 25th birthday. We decided to create artefacts that highlight how we come together as a learning community. We decided on making a ‘culture quilt‘. Each child would decorate a square using pictures, words and symbols. The pieces of fabric would then be attached to create the quilt, which would be displayed on stage and in the EY centre.

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/1049246324997074944

Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s):

Social Development

  • identify themselves in relation to others
  • discuss similarities and differences between themselves and others

Group Dynamics

  • interact, play and engage with others
  • take turns
  • listen respectfully to others

Making a Dragon

The students had just observed a dragon dance for Chinese New Year. Cornelis decided to create his own dragon costume.

Cornelis “I am making a dinosaur, no a dragon. The tail goes like this [moves the piece of board, using an up and down motion]. I cut one piece of paper and made a line and then I make a belt. I need yellow. I will tell you [Ms. Angie] when it’s done. I have done enough talking.”

Cornelis “Okay, now I have more paper. I can put this here and make it bigger so my outfit will go on.” [The outfit did not go on, Ms. Angie encouraged Cornelis to think about the problem]

 

 

Cornelis “Maybe I need it bigger on the other side.” 

Abby “My dragon is eating a pea. He spitted the ball out of his mouth and put it on the classroom floor. I am cutting it because I don’t want anymore paper.”

Cornelis “Okay, no I need a belt.

Reggie “I can cut you one out.”

Cornelis “Okay, I can get the stapler.”

Reggie “Long or small?”

 

Cornelis “Long, now I will use the stapler. No, not there Reggie. It goes on the back.”

Teacher “What is the belt for?”

Cornelis “I am going to wear it. It is my dragon costume. Myoutfit will go on me. My belt is too small.”

Abby suggests that Cornelis makes another belt. Cornelis decides to make a bigger belt.

Cornelis walks over to Lizzie who helps him solve the problem.

Chinese Characters

The students were busy drawing on a large paper during a quiet choosing time.

Franz discovered the Chinese character “” for ‘soil’.

This led to a conversation about Chinese characters and what they mean.

The students were interested in the characters for big, small and person. Ms. Hannah explained what the different characters look like. Reggie was curious about the Chinese characters, and wanted to how many big and small people were in the school. This led to a discussion about who is big and who is small.   He decided to collect some data. He asked for a large piece of paper. He drew a line in the middle and wanted the two characters written at the top of the paper. Ms. Hannah helped him.

Next he wrote his name on the side that said ‘small’ () and asked the teachers to add their names too. After a conversation, Reggie realised that people may need some instructions. He thought of a good spot to display the poster. He placed the poster outside the classroom with a bucket of pens. 

(Agency: When students are actively involved in discussion, questioning and by being self-directed in their creating (as opposed to passive receiving)

Will people notice the poster? Will they add their names?

As the days went by many people stopped to add their name on the posters.

Kindergarten Gardening Project

The students have been involved in many projects in the classroom over the past few weeks. Some of these projects have led to mini inquiries and excursions in and around the school. For authentic learning to happen, some of these projects (money) require a trip outside of the school premises.

As a part of a ‘prototype’ and an ongoing mini inquiry into ‘plants’, 15 students from K1 went on a field trip to The Kindergarten affiliated to Nanjing Foreign Language School. The Prototype aims to connect with the local community through a gardening project.

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/934302180370137088

Service Learning Objectives:

  • To create a relationship between the NIS and local kindergarten

SLO’s

  • positive acceptance of diversity
  • open mindedness
  • observe changes in their physical environment at different times of the year
  • enthusiasm and respect for nature and Earth
  • how to take care of things
  • the ability to take care of things – animate and inanimate
  • their thought for others
  • appreciation of own environment and all living things in it
  • a sense of wonder and curiosity

The Nature Corner

A group of students went on a nature walk to collect materials for the classroom. The students chatted about the colours, plants and environment as they gathered leaves, sticks, branches and other interesting items.

We hung up the large branch we found near the garden plots.


Another group of students created and painted a tree made out of recycled materials.

The students were then invited to create their own pots, leaves and decorations. They were encouraged to think about what we learned about patterns. We were inspired by pattern artwork done by the Grade 2 class. It helped the students think about creative patterns they can use with their projects.  

Students will begin to use the space to create their own art projects. We hope that they will be inspired by the different materials on offer. We look forward to observing how they can express themselves through art.

SLO’s

  • explore patterns in the environment
  • describe what they notice about an artwork
  • engage with, and enjoy a variety of visual arts experiences
  • select tools, materials and processes for specific purposes
  • use their imagination and experiences to inform their art making
  • create artwork in response to a range of stimuli

Patterns Around Us

The students have been creating patterns, and exploring patterns in our environment. Ms. Cherry read the story ‘I’m a Happy Fish‘ to the students. In the story, the fish were many colours and had varied patterns on their body.We recorded all the patterns we noticed on the fish.

Next one student went around the classroom to look for patterns on children’s clothing. We printed out the pictures and included them in the pattern poster.

What patterns do you see around you? We continue to explore…

SLO’s

  • explore patterns in the environment
  • recognise patterns and solve problems
  • describe patterns and identify rules
  • check and continue the pattern

The Interview

The students interviewed the artist who created ‘The Giraffe’. She came online and spoke to the children.

  • Ruby “Who are you?”
  • Kyana “I am Kyana Gani, Ms. Shemo’s daughter.”
  • Ruby “Did you make the painting?”
  • Kyana “Yes I did, when I was 7 years old.”
  • Cornelis “Why did you have a butterfly behind the giraffe.”
  • Kyana “I like butterflies so I painted a butterfly.”
  • Reggie “Why did you use so many colours?
  • Kyana “When I saw pictures or videos of Africa, there was always a lot of colour and I liked it because it made me happy”
  • Franz “Why did you make the sky like the ocean?
  • Kyana “When I was younger I thought the clouds were like waves in the ocean”

Teacher “Kyana, do you express yourself in other way?”

Kyana “Yes, I write songs and sing too.”

Teacher “Can you sing for us?”

Kyana sang a short song for the students.

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/927391472814395392

SLO’s

  • feelings and ideas can be expressed using vocal sounds, rhythms, and instruments
  • participate in performing and creating music both individually and collectively
  • display audience etiquette and appropriate responses
  • music evokes emotions

Plastic, Metal and Wood

Ms. Heidi brought in some musical instruments. They were made of different materials. The students sorted out the materials into 3 groups. 

Next, the students cut, sorted and glued pictures into the different groups.

A group of students went on a hunt to look for items made out of the different materials.

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/925200553734320128

The students then sorted out the photographs they had taken on their journey. They all looked for items in the classroom that were made out of the same materials and put them into the groups. They labelled their groups.

SLO’s

  • develop an inquiring mind
  • ask questions about things in the classroom, places & people at school
  • collect objects related to their study
  • sort and classify objects into categories by attributes (Similarities & Differences)
  • use inquiry to acquire information
  • make statements that reflect their understandings
  • participate in communal classroom activities
  • listen to others
  • name things in the classroom, places and people at school
  • make observations about their immediate environment
  • interpret and analyse visuals and multimedia to gain understanding
  • communicate information using pictures and simple posters
  • sort real objects into sets by one common attribute using own and others’ criteria

  • explain criteria for sorting

  • be able to explain data using simple language such as same and different/more or less/most or least

The Enormous Turnip – Part 2

The students have been listening to the story ‘The Enormous Turnip‘ over a period of weeks. They have retold, dramatised and sung the story in Chinese.

Next, they created their own story of the ‘Enormous Turnip’. They first coloured, cut and glued the story in sequence. They were invited to include more characters in their story. The students shared their story with their peers.

A Worm!

Students were encouraged to…

  • sequence and retell a story
  • communicate information using pictures
  • develop fine-motor skills
  • develop listening skills
  • use their own creative ideas to extend stories

High Speed Train – Ongoing Inquiry

11 September

Ryan, Franz and Tyler showed an interest in playing with Lego cars and train tracks. They frequently build their own types of trains with wooden blocks and Lego.

Teacher “What do you know about transportation?”

Ryan “I know airplanes, cars, buses, I have been on the airplane.”

Franz “I know them too, I have been to many places. I took the high speed train before.”

Teacher “What more do you want to know about transportation?”

Franz “I want to know more about the high speed trains. It goes so fast.

The students, along with the teacher, created a chart with the titles “I see, I think, I wonder”. The teacher recorded their prior knowledge and helped them dig deeper into the inquiry about ‘the high speed trains‘ through questioning.

The teacher showed the students a picture of a high speed train. Conversations continued around the questions:

  • “What do you see in the picture?”
  • ”What do you know about the high speed train?”
  • ”How does the train work?”
  • “What questions do you have about the high speed train?”

How do we travel by high speed train?

The students watched a Chinese cartoon movie (Qiao Hu) to help them understand the different steps that need to be taken in order to travel by train.

Buy the ticket – pay the right amount of money — find the seat — sit down and watch the scenery from the window — get off the train.

The students discussed what they noticed.

The teacher showed the students a real train ticket. They looked at the ticket to find out what information the ticket provides; the train number, destination, time (starting) of journey to the destination and the location of the seat.

Some of the students wanted to design their own train tickets. They included all the main information above. They reflected on what they had seen and learned about the tickets.

22 September

The students collected items that will drive their play. They helped the teacher set up the station by putting the train together, making the tickets, creating posters and looking for costumes.

The students worked together to play their game. They quickly realised that there were problems with the train trip. Too many people wanted to drive the train, there were too many passengers, some passengers had the same number on their tickets, some train drivers were not sharing the job and it was just too noisy.

Ms. Lucia had a discussion with the students. They had to come up with solutions to the problems. The students thought deeply about the issues. They came up with the following solutions.

  • too many people wanted to drive the train – only two people driving the train, the driver and co-driver.
  • too many passengers – there are 5 seats on the train. If you don’t have a ticket for the seat you have to wait in the waiting area. There can only be 3 people in the waiting area.
  • some passengers had the same number on their tickets – you have to wait till the seat is vacant or you can share with the person travelling in that seat.
  • some train drivers were not sharing the job – we will use a liquid timer so that we can have turns.
  • too noisy – we will use our inside voices.

SLO’s

  • listen to others
  • co-operate and share in mixed groups
  • learn to take turns
  • participate in communal classroom activities
  • develop age appropriate skills for different social occasions
  • find solutions to problems

25 September

Why and how does the high speed train go so fast?

The students watched a video about high speed trains. The teacher explained the information shared in the video. The documentary explained why the design of the train was important and the impact it had on the speed the train could travel. They inspected a model train and noticed the design of the vehicle.

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/912289358836727808

The students were invited to draw pictures or create models of trains. A group of students went over to the design room to gather boxes and other interesting materials they could use to create their train.

SLO’s

  • listen and respond in small or large groups for increasing periods of time
  • ask questions to gain information and respond to inquiries directed to themselves or the class
  • share ideas and experiences through role play, art and discussion

26 September

The students began to decide what more they could include in their train. The glued on wheels and steering wheels.

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/912990122747895809

27 September

The students used recycled materials to create their own model trains. They discussed safety while using the tools and materials. They had to think of their design explain their thinking.

https://twitter.com/NISPreKK1/status/912985089155334144

未完-待续  To be continued…

Terra Cotta Warriors

A group of students went on a walk around the school. The noticed a large statue at the entrance of the school. They wondered:  

We tweeted out our question and Mr. Pinchbeck and Malia replied.

Tomie: They are made out of clay, and bricks. A villager dug the warriors up.

We watched a video about the warriors.

We wonder if we could make our own warriors.

Reggie: We can use clay to make them!”

We can create our own art!

The students gathered in front of the statue to create replicas of their own. They kneaded and manipulated the clay to create the shapes they wanted. They shared their ideas while they worked together. The students were encouraged to notice the patterns and details on the statue.

SLO’s

  • how to show curiosity and ask questions about artwork
  • how to identify the materials and processes used in the creation of an artwork
  • how to express opinions about an artwork
  • enjoy and learn from creating art
  • exploring and taking risks

“NO, DAVID!”

The students listened to the story ‘NO, DAVID!’ by author and artist David Shannon.

This story is about a little boy who broke all his mother’s rules. He jumped on the furniture, and he broke his mother’s vase! As a result, all David ever heard his mother say was “No, David!”. The story was read in English and Mandarin. 

A group of students drew pictures of David and shared their own ideas about rules and why we should have them. They talked about being safe, making good choices and caring for everything around us.

Pictures of David.

SLO’s

  • observe, discuss and comment on the information being conveyed in illustrations
  • use illustrations to tell a story
  • use a variety of implements to practise and develop handwriting
  • share ideas
  • and experiences through discussion
  • use illustrations and body language to communicate and convey understanding

Money

During this season students frequently observe people around them buying and selling goods, wrapping gifts and shopping for the coming year. We asked the students “What do you know about money?”

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SLO’s: Money is used to buy and sell things. Understand that Yuan is the currency of China. Different things have different monetary values.

The students began to share some of their ideas:

  • Oliver: We need money to buy something. There is paper money.
  • Isabella: We can use money to shop for something. We use a machine to make money.
  • Vera: I saw faces on money. You have to work to get money. They make money from gold. You should not trip money or you can’t use it.
  • Carolyn: You have to get money from the bank.
  • Daniel: If we have so much money we can buy so much things.
  • Hally: If we don’t have money we can’t buy things.
  • Minseong: How do you make money?
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An amount of money is needed to buy an item.

Some students brought in money to purchase trinkets and food. We had a closer look at the money. We talked about how much the different items will cost. We discussed how we need to first look around and think about the purchases we need to make. The students had to check out the items on sale, make choices, give the right amount, speak in Mandarin to the vendors and manage the money they had brought.

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SLO: Model spending money / trading in real-life situations.

All the proceeds earned will go towards The ‘Amy Yang Foundation’. The foundation is set up to support Amy, a member of staff who is recovering after a serious accident.