Semester 1 Meeting

Last night, I was joined by over 70 family members to talk about the progress of our children in the first semester of our new English programme.  For those who were unable to attend and for others wanting to see the extra videos and photos, I have included my presentation in this post.

Please feel free to come and talk to me about your child's individual progress or any of the materials your child's portfolio.  Don't forget that the portfolio's are due back next week!

Thanks to everyone for coming and for all the support I have received so far on this bilingual adventure!

Pet food

Still on the topic of pets, we played in our fine-motor centers with different pet related materials.  There was everything from bird seed to dog biscuits, puzzles and playdough.

Big and small

We played a game in class today where everyone had to find big and small objects in the room.  Then we colored a picture of a big and a small dog.  Good job group 3!

Gustavo finds a small horse.

Gabriel fins a small pig.

Miguel finds a big table.

The class hard at work coloring their picture.

Looking after our pets

The children in Group 5 are caring for their pets in class today.  They are so responsible! Look at home they wash, feed and play with their pet rocks.

Pet rocks!

Our art activity this week was a lot of fun.  We made our own pet rocks!  First we painted them and when they were dry, we glued on eyes and feathers, fur or shells.  They looked so cute!!

After they were finished, our pets were given names and we made homes for them in the playground.

Feathers, Fur or Fins

This is the song we listened to in class as part of our PETS theme.  We watched the video and then had to try to remember and name as many animals as possible.  We then watched again to check.

It's a beautiful song so why don't you listen and sing along!

LYRICS

Feathers, fur or fins,

Shell or scale or skin.

If it runs on legs or flies on wings,

If it walks or crawls or slithers or swims.

It's got it's place in the scheme of things.
Feathers, fur or fins,
Shell or scale or skin.

Go, Dog. Go!

This classic beginning reader uses only 75 different words, it features red dogs, blue dogs, big dogs, little dogs—all kinds of wonderful P. D. Eastman dogs—riding bicycles, scooters, skiis, and roller skates and driving all sorts of vehicles on their way to a big dog party held on top of a tree!
We read this as part of our PETS theme.

What animals make good pets?

We discussed what pets are and came up with this definition...Pets are animals that live with us.  We love them and take care of them.  They become part of our family.
The children decided that the animals which make the best pets are...

• turtles
• cats
• dogs
• birds
• fish
• guinea pigs

We played lots of games to learn these words in English and read a funny story.  It's called Go Dog Go! You can buy a copy on Google books in digital format.

In art class, we painted a picture of a turtle and then decorated its shell with smalls squares of green foam.  We also did drawings of animals and played with sensory bags.

Looking at Pets

We started a fun new topic this month...PETS!  Animals are a natural topic of interest to children of this age.  Many already have a pet at home or at the home of a close family member.  During this month, the children used vocabulary and structures related to naming, describing and discussing the care of pets.  The activities and themes we explored also taught them values such as respect for all living things and responsibility.  The theme also provided opportunities for revision of previously encountered vocabulary relating to size, habitat and food.

My Hands

There are so many things that we can do with our hands.  We explored the theme in English class this week and did lots of activities which help develop both our vocabulary and our fine-motor skills.

Fine-motor sensory trays...

  

Playing with finger-puppets...

Lacing cards and puzzles...

Playing musical instruments...

 

Hand printing...

Swatting flies...