The P1 Info Night has been rescheduled to 22 February 2013, Friday. It would be held from 5-7pm.
More details will be given closer to date.
Wednesday 30 January 2013
Working as a team
The girls sat down in their teams for a Maths activitity last week.
Each team was given 2 stamps and an ink pad. They had to form number bonds and illustrate the number bonds by printing pictures onto their worksheet.
While it was a very simple task on its own for adults, I was quite apprehensive if the children can accomplish the task without getting their fingers, uniform and belongings dirty. Though simple, it is also hard to correct if they make errors in counting or printing.
Indeed, I have over zealous girls who printed more than required. There were also groups which repeated some number bonds as they did not print in a systemetical order.
While I felt that they could have done a better job if I gave them more explicit instructions to scaffold their task, it was a learning experience for them to explore ways of accomplishing the tasks.
I had fun watching them complete their printing. I hope the children had fun too!
Each team was given 2 stamps and an ink pad. They had to form number bonds and illustrate the number bonds by printing pictures onto their worksheet.
While it was a very simple task on its own for adults, I was quite apprehensive if the children can accomplish the task without getting their fingers, uniform and belongings dirty. Though simple, it is also hard to correct if they make errors in counting or printing.
Indeed, I have over zealous girls who printed more than required. There were also groups which repeated some number bonds as they did not print in a systemetical order.
While I felt that they could have done a better job if I gave them more explicit instructions to scaffold their task, it was a learning experience for them to explore ways of accomplishing the tasks.
I had fun watching them complete their printing. I hope the children had fun too!
Sunday 20 January 2013
Week 2
It has been two weeks since school has started!
Last week, we had hands on activities for Maths.
Here are the girls working on the manipulatives.
They caught on to the routines very quickly and were able to return the manipulatives to the correct bag after lessons.
Great job, girls!
The recess buddy programme had also came to an end last Friday. The girls sat down to do a thank you card for their buddy in class last week. They were very excited and came forward to ask me if they could paste their favourite stickers or decorate the cards with glitter! It was very sweet of them to show their appreciation with so much zest!
I can't wait to see their dance moves this Tuesday!
Last week, we had hands on activities for Maths.
Here are the girls working on the manipulatives.
They caught on to the routines very quickly and were able to return the manipulatives to the correct bag after lessons.
Great job, girls!
The recess buddy programme had also came to an end last Friday. The girls sat down to do a thank you card for their buddy in class last week. They were very excited and came forward to ask me if they could paste their favourite stickers or decorate the cards with glitter! It was very sweet of them to show their appreciation with so much zest!
The girls had their first session of Modern Jazz class. It is part of the Programme for Active Learning (PAL) programme for P1 pupils in our school.
All of them participated with delight and enjoyed themselves very much.
Its amazing how children can pick up skills so quickly. They could even repeat the routine in small groups. I bet I'll forget them immediately after I've seen them!
I can't wait to see their dance moves this Tuesday!
Wednesday 9 January 2013
Reading Effectively
Reading is an important skill.
How can we improve reading? I strongly believe that improving reading starts from books selection.
Children will not benefit from reading books which contains words they do not understand. Neither will they benefit from books which are so simple that they cannot learn much in terms of vocabulary and content.
Reading can be classfied in three levels:
Independent Level
Pupil can read the book with few errors. This book is ideal for independent reading or silent reading.
Instructional Level
Pupil can read the book with some errors, challenges and skill building. Pupils will generally make 4 or more errors per page. This book is suitable for guided reading, that is, to be read to an adult who will guide the child in pronounciation and comprehension of text.
Frustration Level
This is when the book is too difficult for the child and the child will make lots of mistakes within a paragraph. Pupils will be frustrated with their reading and this will eventually affect the child's self esteem and willingness to read.
All pupils have to bring a story book to school. They will have their silent reading in the morning before morning assembly. Are they bringing the right books to school?
If they do not have appropriate books, you can bring them to the library to borrow some. Some parents give their children the freedom to choose their own books so as they have interest in what they read. Many a times young children choose books that interest but are beyond their current reading level. Parents should choose the books with them. Some books chosen can be reserved for guided reading, and parents can also suggest other books of the same theme / topic for independent reading.
How can we improve reading? I strongly believe that improving reading starts from books selection.
Children will not benefit from reading books which contains words they do not understand. Neither will they benefit from books which are so simple that they cannot learn much in terms of vocabulary and content.
Reading can be classfied in three levels:
Independent Level
Pupil can read the book with few errors. This book is ideal for independent reading or silent reading.
Instructional Level
Pupil can read the book with some errors, challenges and skill building. Pupils will generally make 4 or more errors per page. This book is suitable for guided reading, that is, to be read to an adult who will guide the child in pronounciation and comprehension of text.
Frustration Level
This is when the book is too difficult for the child and the child will make lots of mistakes within a paragraph. Pupils will be frustrated with their reading and this will eventually affect the child's self esteem and willingness to read.
All pupils have to bring a story book to school. They will have their silent reading in the morning before morning assembly. Are they bringing the right books to school?
If they do not have appropriate books, you can bring them to the library to borrow some. Some parents give their children the freedom to choose their own books so as they have interest in what they read. Many a times young children choose books that interest but are beyond their current reading level. Parents should choose the books with them. Some books chosen can be reserved for guided reading, and parents can also suggest other books of the same theme / topic for independent reading.
Monday 7 January 2013
Week 0 - down!
We are into Week 1 of Term 1. I must say the pupils have adapted to school very well.
Here are the girls on Day 1. Most have not made friends so they were sitting on their own.
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, our class was one of the classes without P4 buddies on Day 1. After waiting for 10 mins, we made our way down to the canteen. At first glance, I was shocked to see the crowd in the canteen. The P3s were there. The P1 and some P4s were there. Parents were also around. However, the girls did fine.
Here are the girls on Day 1. Most have not made friends so they were sitting on their own.
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, our class was one of the classes without P4 buddies on Day 1. After waiting for 10 mins, we made our way down to the canteen. At first glance, I was shocked to see the crowd in the canteen. The P3s were there. The P1 and some P4s were there. Parents were also around. However, the girls did fine.
Lovely smiles from the two girls!
More smiles!~
I was glad the logistic issues finally got ironed out and the girls were paired up with their P4 buddies.
P4 girl watching over her P1 buddy
Getting along together~
The ending of a week marks the beginning of a new one. I hope the girls are prepared to face the challenges ahead of them.
Abbreviations, love them or hate them
One major query some parents have when they see the time table must be what all the abbreviations stands for.
EL: English
SS: Social Studies
MT: Mother tongue
CME: Civics and Moral Education
MA: Maths
PHE: Physical Health Education (Physical Eduation - PE and Health Education)
FTGP: Form Teacher's Guidance Period
PAL: Programme for Active Learning
ASS: Assembly
Did I miss out any?
To enable copying of homework into the organizers to be more efficient, parents do note the following:
P.sig: Parent's Signature
LS: English Learning Sheets
SWS: English Supplementary Worksheets
WS: worksheet
WB: workbook
AB: activity book
TB: Test book
TxtBk: text book
SP: Spelling
Pg: page
Ready for a test?
Q1: SS AB
Q2: MA WS
Q3: P.sig for Unit 1 SWS
Q4: Do MA TxtBk Pg 14. Bring MA TB tomorrow.
Answers:
Q1: Social Studies Activity Book
Q2: Maths worksheet
Q3: Parent's signature for Unit 1 Supplementary worksheet
Q4: Do Maths Text book Page 14. Bring Maths Test Book tomorrow.
While we have abbreviations for almost everything, our school's stand is, we do not use abbreviations for the months of the year. Imagine growing up not knowing how to spellFeburaryFebruary... Dates in assignments should therefore be written like the following example: 7 January 2013.
EL: English
SS: Social Studies
MT: Mother tongue
CME: Civics and Moral Education
MA: Maths
PHE: Physical Health Education (Physical Eduation - PE and Health Education)
FTGP: Form Teacher's Guidance Period
PAL: Programme for Active Learning
ASS: Assembly
Did I miss out any?
To enable copying of homework into the organizers to be more efficient, parents do note the following:
P.sig: Parent's Signature
LS: English Learning Sheets
SWS: English Supplementary Worksheets
WS: worksheet
WB: workbook
AB: activity book
TB: Test book
TxtBk: text book
SP: Spelling
Pg: page
Ready for a test?
Q1: SS AB
Q2: MA WS
Q3: P.sig for Unit 1 SWS
Q4: Do MA TxtBk Pg 14. Bring MA TB tomorrow.
Answers:
Q1: Social Studies Activity Book
Q2: Maths worksheet
Q3: Parent's signature for Unit 1 Supplementary worksheet
Q4: Do Maths Text book Page 14. Bring Maths Test Book tomorrow.
While we have abbreviations for almost everything, our school's stand is, we do not use abbreviations for the months of the year. Imagine growing up not knowing how to spell
Wednesday 2 January 2013
While it is not an easy decision to make to start this blog due to maintence considerations, I went ahead with it anyway. Firstly, I hope parents will be able to be more involved in their children's school life. Secondly, through this blog, I hope my pupils will be to hear my thoughts and also be able to reflect on how much they have grown by the end of this year.
I was very glad to see most of my pupils this morning. While two of them were overwhelmed with thoughts about coming to P1 during P1 Orientation last November, there was only one pupil who was visibly upset being seperated from her parents. However, she forgot her fears and was able to participate in class activities readily. I hope the lovely girls I've met today will have lots of fun making friends and learning in school.
I was very glad to see most of my pupils this morning. While two of them were overwhelmed with thoughts about coming to P1 during P1 Orientation last November, there was only one pupil who was visibly upset being seperated from her parents. However, she forgot her fears and was able to participate in class activities readily. I hope the lovely girls I've met today will have lots of fun making friends and learning in school.
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