The class started at 9am. We left our Clementi home early at 8.05am, as this mama first time drove there so to play safe, we left early. It was a smooth drive using our GPS and we were the first to reach. Xi has been there before last Sat with me and her papa for the orientation and glad to see that she likes the place.
Peeping to the classroom during orientation.
The class has 18 toddlers (and 18 parents or caretakers) and 4 teachers (2 English and 2 Chinese). The teachers are Teacher Sue, Teacher Siti, 姜老师 and 洪老师. They are so enthusiastics and lively!
We started with free play where the kids have some time to settle in and get acquainted with the people and the environment. There are toys like stacking blocks for the kids to play freely and it is one way to ease them into the programme and to stimulate conversation and interaction.
Free play with toys before the class started
The teachers did an introduction of themselves and all the kids in the class, with each kid a piece of card written their English and Chinese names and their photos. When it was Xi's turn and Teacher Sue asked what is her name? I was glad that she answered immediately "Xi Xi".
This was followed by tabletop activities whereby the kids are invited to gather around the tables for art and craft activities. Two tables are set aside for art and craft. For this lesson, one was for painting of palms with washable blue or purple paints then placed the palms on a piece of plain paper; and another one was for gluing and painting of a telephone. Xi chose to participate the palm painting which i thought will be a disaster as i know she hates to be dirty! Indeed, she refused to paint her palms initially until much coaxing, then she finally let me paint her right palm and placed on the plain paper, but immediately she asked to be washed. So her 1st art work only has her right palm painting.
After the art work, it was Magic Box. Magic Box is a circle time when the kids and the parents were to sit down on the rug and practise focus, participation and turn-taking. Each lesson, the Magic Box will contain objects and puppets related to the concept of the week. For this week, the letter of the week is "h". So inside the Magic Box was a Harry Horse and hammers which both start with letter "h". Teacher Siti has also stamp letter "h" on each of the kids' hand. We have never taught Xi on alphabets before the lesson. Hopefully as the class progress, she will have a better grasp on the alphabets introduced and related to the objects.
The letter "h" on her hand.
Then it was Playclub Bears. 姜老师 and 洪老师 put on chicken and mouse head costumes and performed a short story on both chicken and mouse on their 1st day to school. The 老师introduced "你好" and "再见“ in this lesson. After the class I encouraged Xi to say "你好“ to her 姨姨 and papa, and she now can say and use it very well!
Music time is a fun and energetic sing-a-long session where everyone participates with their voices and bodies. The teachers created a lively musical environment to encourage physical expression and to enhance the kids' enjoyment and learning of language. Xi was most happy during the music time as nowadays she loves to sing and dance. But her poor heavily preggie mama had some hard time trying to keep pace with the music and lead her to dance and jump, haha...
The kids were given light snacks which consisted of some cornflakes, small sausages, watermelon and water or juice. The kids were encouraged to make choices of either water or juice, and say "thank you" or "谢谢“ and to eat independently. They are also encouraged to give the empty plates to the teachers after they finish.
It was finally outdoor play towards the end of the class. Xi likes the slides since the orientation last week. She was still a bit timid to slide down. But with a help on hands, she played the slides happily.
Playing with the slide during orientation.
The class ended at 11am and when asked Xi whether she wants to go school again? She answered immediately "要“。:)
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