Have passport, will travel...................
Wednesday brought the Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai community together for a Chinese New Year event that surpassed all hopes and expectations. The children arrived with their families, dressed in a wonderful mixture of traditional costumes in a rainbow of colours and modern takes on traditional dress in brilliant red hues. The setting was alive with colour and happiness, as the children took their families on a journey around to various locations with the aim of acquiring stamps in their passports. Upon completion of a variety of inspiring games and activities, the children received a stamp and once a minimum of six had been collected, the children could receive a gift. 14 teams each held their own unique activity within the classrooms whilst talented local artists took up residence in the shared spaces providing:
- Dough figurines
- Sugar painting
- Name design
- Flower arrangement
- Moveable type printing
To ensure that all artistic tastes were catered for, a traditional folk band provided musical ensembles to a captivated audience and a shadow puppet theatre enchanted the children with their performance.
The atmosphere was electric, the children clearly had a fabulous time and the families made memories together, with friends and staff alike. Events such as these are important to strengthen the bond between us; not only do they provide plentiful opportunity for parents and families to see the setting in action, but they are fun and happy occasions where we can reflect on the progress of the children thus far. The children are proud to show their families where their classrooms are, what work they have produced, who their friends are and introduce their families to the members of the team that may be less familiar to them. It is a coming together, a celebration of who we are and what we have become.
For some of our families it is the final Chinese New Year event that they will celebrate with us as they leave EY4 and on to pastures new. For all of us, it is the last Chinese New Year in the current setting.
The next year brings much excitement and challenge and we will relish both with vigour. Our EY1 - 3 families will make the move with us and who knows what lies ahead for our next Chinese New Year event.
Let’s get emotional…….
I love researching anything and everything to do with early years education and leadership in education. I find joy in being able to offer interesting snippets to our Wellington families. Recently, I have been reading much about emotional intelligence which, as you will be aware is an area of development that we actively promote throughout the early years’ experience here.
We are all born with emotions, but not all emotions are pre-wired into our brains. Children are born with emotional reactions such as crying, frustration, hunger, and pain; they learn about other emotions as they grow older. Currently, there is no consensus about the emotions that are in-built versus those learned from emotional, social, and cultural situations. It is widely accepted, however, that the eight primary in-built emotions are:
- Anger
- Sadness
- Fear
- Joy
- Interest
- Surprise
- Disgust
- Shame
These are reflected in different variations. For instance, resentment and violence often stem from anger, and anxiety is often associated with fear.
Secondary emotions are linked to these eight primary emotions and reflect our emotional reaction to specific feelings. These emotions are learned from our experiences. For example, a child who has been punished because of a tantrum might feel anxious the next time she gets angry as she anticipates the punishment. Similarly, a child who has been ridiculed for expressing fear might feel shame the next time he gets scared as he anticipates the negative comments that will be directed towards him. In other words, how we react to our children’s emotions has an impact on the development of their emotional intelligence. More than this, how we react to our children will impact on their self-esteem, self-confidence, self-respect and self-worth.
When we avoid validating children’s emotions, we prevent them from learning how to manage their emotions. When we teach children to identify their emotions, we give them a framework that helps explain how they feel, which makes it easier for them to deal with those emotions in a socially appropriate way. Naming emotions also helps young children learn that emotions are normal. Everyday opportunities provide occasions to talk to children about emotions: “I can see that you look sad. Has something happened?”, “Watching you eat all your lunch makes me feel very happy.” Children will also learn about managing their behaviour by watching how the adults in their lives manage theirs. Children can understand and differentiate appropriate from inappropriate emotional expressions; however, they still find it hard to express their emotions, especially if they haven’t learned to identify and name them.
Three steps to helping:
- Teach your child to identify their emotions
- Help them identify what triggers those specific emotions
- Teach them to manage those emotions by themselves
When we teach our children that their emotions are valid, we help them view what they feel as normal and manageable. As recent studies have shown, children who feel safe are more likely to develop and use appropriate emotion regulation skills to deal with difficult feelings.
Adapted from
https://www.gottman.com/blog/age-age-guide-helping-kids-manage-emotions/
Three wishes for the Lunar Year of the Dog………
Here are my three wishes for our Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai pupils:
- All children are supported to be as unique as they were born to be
- All children are supported and encouraged to be independent and responsible
- All children are supported to be active, healthy and happy
(I think that may be six wishes, but who’s counting!)
My wish for our Wellington families and the community beyond is that the Year of the Dog is one of happiness and harmony. Our youngest Wellingtonians will leave us on Friday 9th February and return to the setting on Monday 26th February. Enjoy the break; may you be safe in your travels and happy in your adventures. Make memories with your loved ones as you welcome the coming of the New Lunar Year.
On behalf of Yuki and I, and all the team here at Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai (Early Years), I wish you Wan Shi Ru Yi.
Classroom News for week beginning Monday 26th February 2018
EY1 – Erica Ni writes about the theme Dear Zoo
After Chinese New Year, EY1 will start a new theme: My Dad & My Mum. In the first week of the new theme, we will mainly focus on the book My mum. Children will be encouraged to look at their family photos and talk about people who lives in the family. Children will have the opportunity to play in the multimedia room and explore electronic toys. On the 2
nd of March is Chinese lantern festival, we will make Tangyuan with children and talk about the tradition of the lantern festival.
We are reading:
《我妈妈》、《猜猜我有多爱你》、My Mum
We are singing:
小白兔、新年好、幸福拍手歌、Finger family、Feeling the beat
Special date:
1
st March World book day: children can dress up as their favourite book character.
Special notes:
- For your child’s safety, please prepare a pair of sports shoes (no shoes laces) for indoor PE activities.
- Please bring a family photo (all members of the family in it) so children can use it as visual to talk about their family.
- Parent practitioner meeting will be held from the 5th to the 9th of March. Please fill in the appointment form on parent’s information board.
EY2 – Vivian He writes about the theme We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Happy new year EY2, Welcome back to school .This week we start new themes book Handa’s Surprise. We have prepared lots of fun activities around the main focus of the book which are animals, fruits and music. We will be creating musical instruments using recyclable materials, such as plastic bottles to create shakers, and cardboard and tissue paper to create a drum. The children will then use these instruments when we listen to some African music the following week. Children will also learn the difference between fruits and vegetables. We will discuss first and then let children sort different fruits and vegetables into their correct categories. We will use the fruit to create a repeated pattern where the children will continue a pattern before creating their own.
We are reading:
汉娜的惊喜、苹果树、黑暗中狐狸、Handa’s Surprise、Walking Through the Jungle.
We are singing:
Down in the jungle where nobody goes、Lions and tigers、水果歌、狂野非洲、大狮子
Special date:
Thursday 1
st March – World Book Day
A note from the EY2 team:
To help children to make their musical instrument, if possible, could the children bring in a plastic bottle and a small box.
EY3 – Nicole writes about the theme Blast Off into Space
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.“ – Chinese Proverb.
Returning after the Chinese New Year break, which we all hope you thoroughly enjoy, some of the children in EY3 will spend the first couple of days looking back at the festivities and sharing those experiences with their friends.
The children will then refocus their attention back on the stars, and for some of the children this will be literally as we start to read the book “How to catch a star” by Oliver Jeffers. The story is about a boy who wants to have a star, and we will follow the story as he attempts to catch one. To go along with the story the children will look at different aspects of our solar system, such as the sun and the planets. We start to write descriptions of the different planets, such as hot and cold, create and decorate papier-mâché planets, and look at size and distance.
It does not seem two minutes ago that our gorgeous EY3 children joined us back in August, but it also won’t be long before they move to EY4. To help us promote independence amongst the children and to help us get them ready for EY4, we hope they you can help us grant these three wishes J.
Three wishes for promoting EY3 independence 2018
Wish number 1: Children to carry their own bags and coats into the setting.
Wish number 2: Children to get themselves ready for the day by changing their own shoes and hanging their jackets and bags on the pegs in their cubby when they arrive at the setting.
Wish number 3: Children to bring their water bottles and pink folders into the classroom at the start of the day.
We are reading:
《团圆》、《行星》、“How to catch a star” by Oliver Jeffers
We are singing:
《八大行星》、5 Senses Song
EY4 – Emily Gu writes about the theme We Are the Explorer of the World
Children had so much fun celebrating the Chinese New Year in the setting. Hope everyone will enjoy a very happy Spring Festival holiday.
When we come back from the holiday, Monkey and Elephant will continue with their Dinosaur theme. In Monkey and Elephant class, children were so interested in taking notes while exploring. They will be working in small groups to explore a specific dinosaur which they choose and try to make their own dinosaur books about them. We also will start to talk about how dinosaur extinct and give our own explanations. In Giraffe class, while talking about the desert the children became interested in how water disappears in the desert. We will be doing an experiment to find out what happens to water when it gets hot. We are also going to find out about where the desert animals sleep and have a go at making our own caves.
We are reading:
《恐龙大陆》系列、《我的秘密恐龙》、《制服恐龙》、《沙漠的秘密》、《快跑！假巨人》、Dinosaur Roar、Dinosaur Munch
We are singing:
《霸王龙》、《我最棒》、《恐龙绝灭的原因》
Special date:
March 1 World Book Day (non-uniform day, dress up as your favourite book character)
Music and Movement – PeiHua and Sarah write about life in the music space
EY1 – Our celebration of Spring Festival continues this week with a review of the song 新年好 and a delightful new song, 卖汤圆, in celebration of the Lantern Festival. We’ll also explore steady beat with a lively movement activity set to music. The always popular English song
Finger Family will also be a highlight of this week’s lesson.
EY2 – This week we will explore the difference between steady beat and rhythm using hand drums, shakers, and even movement. The new theme story
Handa’s Surprise is set in Kenya and we will offer the children opportunities to experience the music of East Africa in the coming weeks. Our celebration of Spring Festival also continues this week with a review of our Lunar New Year songs, and learn a delightful new song, 卖汤圆 for Lantern Festival.
EY3 – “
We are singing, we are dancing. Happy New Year to you all!” Our celebration of Spring Festival also continues this week with a review of our Lunar New Year activities, including an exciting new way to sing 新年好 together. We’ll also learn a delightful new song, 卖汤圆 in celebration of Lantern Festival. The children will also be invited to experience the excitement of a traditional New Year Concert as we introduce them to the orchestra through excerpts from The Planets, Op. 32 a seven movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst.
EY4 – Singing 新年好in a round is an exciting sound challenge the children have embraced. We’ll review this, as well as our other Spring Festival activities, adding the new song, 卖汤圆 in celebration of Lantern Festival.
Ta,
ti-ti and
rest will also return to the classroom as we introduce simple rhythmic notation.
We are singing:
EY1 – 卖汤圆，咚咚锵，新年好（双语）, Finger Family
EY2 – 卖汤圆，新年好（双语），咚咚锵
EY3 – 卖汤圆，Blue White Planet，新年好（双语）
EY4 – 卖汤圆，恭喜恭喜，新年好（双语）
Special notes:
Are you a musician, dancer, or creative performer? WCCBS needs you!
Our children are an enthusiastic and appreciative audience, and we would love to share your talents with them as we learn about music. Grandparents, family friends, and community members are welcome too! If you have a talent you would like to share, please e-mail
peihua.wang@wellingtoncollege.cn or
sarah.peel@wellingtoncollege.cn to discuss how we may be able to include you in our upcoming activities.
