The Week Ahead 20171124

 

  Before young eyes, Abloom with tempting cheer; Blithe voices sing, And blithe bells ring, For Christmas-tide is here. (Taken from A Christmas dream and how it came true by Louisa May Alcott).   A team of enthusiastic bilingual elves invaded the setting last Friday evening to add a little sparkle around. With a little mulled festive juice and nibbles provided by Aden, the elves busily set to ensuring that the pupils were greeted with a festive twinkle. In return for their efforts, the elves received wow’s a-plenty on Monday morning as the children returned after the weekend.

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he children are also contributing to the decorations throughout the bilingual bubble of festivity. Over the next week or two, you will see the addition of astonishing artwork - even Lynn and Mr Li in the library have been busy working with the children during their reading sessions, to extend the stories being read. Look out for snowflakes and sparkles coming very soon. The EY2 children have already made beautiful contributions in the form of individual trees which, when put together, make for very creative pieces to behold. These are not only beautiful, but also promote the skills of fine motor development in threading, hand-eye co-ordination with the additional placement of pompoms and conversations including mathematical language whilst discussing size and patterns. The Winter Market approaches (save the date: Friday 1^st December) and the parent representatives are busy co-ordinating vendors to bring the setting alive with festive cheer. We really are very fortunate to have such an active parent group; always on hand to bring a dream to life and always with the Wellington bilingual family at the very heart of everything that is done. It has been a week of classroom visits for the EY4 parents as they stayed in class to see what keeps the children busy on a morning. The feedback from the teachers was that some parents dived in to the experience and behaved like, well, like children and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Others were more reserved and will hopefully feel more comfortable to explore a little more the next time they visit. The feedback from the parents that Yuki and I spoke to was very positive and they loved seeing how learning takes place whilst masked under the guise of play. In EY4 there are more formal learning opportunities as we start to prepare the pupils for transition to the school next year and these will increase over the coming two terms (can you believe there are only two terms before we will see our first pupils leave us?).   

  A Christmas Wish……. I am going to try something different with my children this year. Every year, my boys write to Father Christmas at the end of November in the hope that he will read their letters and provide them with something that they have longed for. This year, we are going to try and be more thoughtful and conscious about the demands placed upon poor old Saint Nicholas and try the following: Something I want Something I need Something to wear Something to read What do you think? Worth a try? I think so. I’ll let you know how it goes later!  

  Classroom News for week beginning Monday 27^th November 2017 EY1 – Erica Ni writes about the theme From Head to Toe This week, EY1 will review some concepts we learned in the past four weeks through various activities. We are going to learn how to fold our clothes under teachers’ support. We will also review numbers and shapes through art activities such as making umbrellas and snowflakes. Children will have opportunities to practice their fine motor skills and cognitive skills through playing opening and closing bottles/boxes, folding clothes, building blocks, using playdough to make numbers. We are going to enjoy our fist Happy Hat Day on 1^st of December. Children can wear any funky hat they like on that day. We are reading: From Head to Toe、《鳄鱼哇尼》、《鳄鱼怕怕 牙医怕怕》 We are singing: 《粉刷匠》、《一同去郊游》、《数鸭子》、How’s the weather, One finger one finger, Snow flake, Rain rain go away. Special date: 1^st December Winter Market; 1^st Happy Hat day A note from the EY1 team: Please note the standard temperature indoors is 24 degrees Celsius. Please do not overdress your child. They will feel uncomfortable and unhappy. Thank you.   EY2 – Vivian He writes about the theme Joseph Had A Little Overcoat Next week, we will begin learning about patterns. Children will learn about dots, stripes as well as coloured patterns. The children will practice sorting objects based on their patterns. The children will also have the opportunity to create a necklace, make a peacock as well as add patterns on their favourite animals in a DIY activity. Through engaging in these activities, the children will develop an appreciation for and better understanding of how patterns are expressions of beauty in nature. We are reading: Elmer’s Day、Elmer and the Wind、Ship Shapes、Blue Chameleon、Joseph Had a Little Overcoat、正方形里的比尔熊、点、点、点、我的形状书 We are singing: Old MacDonald had a Farm、Open Shut Them、快乐的形状、形状哐当，Also we will be listening to autumn related songs throughout the week Special date: 1^st December Winter market A note from the EY2 team: It has been very rainy recently. Please make sure your children have the rain coat and rain boots at the setting.   EY3 – Nicole writes about the theme All About Me “To do chores as part of your daily routine, as doing chores nourishes both your physical and mental well-being” – Zeng Guofan (Qing Dynasty). Over the next week the classes will be looking at different aspects of our homes and our communities. The children will be exploring the different rooms that we live in, in particular the kitchen after the children showed great interest about the activities that go on in this particular room. The children will be participating in activities that include exploring the different elements of the kitchen, such as cooking, washing up and clothes sorting. These may seem like the mundane things that we do every day, but to the children they are new and exciting as they see it all the time. We are reading: 《车的故事》、《咬人的家用电器》 We are singing: 《公车上的轮子转啊转》   EY4 – Emily Gu writes about the theme Me and My World We will start to do some Maths activities, such as estimating how many objects they can see and checks by counting them. Children will experience and understand how to solve problems by using Maths skills. We will also try to recognise simple patterns by our observing and try to create our patterns using different materials. We will also begin looking at Christmas traditions and how Christmas is celebrated in different parts of the world. We will create some decorations that are common to see in different countries around the world. We are reading: 《绝对数学:什么是规律》、《让谁先吃好呢？》、A wish to be a Christmas tree, How the Grinch stole Christmas We are singing: 《有多少》、Decorate the Christmas tree、S-A-N-T-A Special date: December 1^st , 2017 – Happy Hat Day A note from EY4 team: Please make sure your child has their warm Wellington coat with them each day and that it is clearly labelled in Chinese and English.   Music and Movement – PeiHua and Sarah write about life in the music space EY1 – Animal themed activities connected to From Head to Toe will continue. We will also explore the timbre of different kinds of bells as we learn the festive song Ring Those Bells and play along with Jingle Bells. EY2 – Open and Shut dance and singing activities will continue with full body movements. We’ll also sing, dance, play along and even go sledging to Jingle Bells around the classroom as we prepare for a visit by Santa in December. EY3 – The children will explore their senses of sight and hearing through a rhythm activity designed to teach children to protect their vision. We’ll also try to listen and identify instruments by their sounds without seeing them. Christmas songs and play alongs will continue this week as we prepare for Santa to visit us! EY4 – This week the children will continue to move, making sounds, and exploring steady beat through a musical story about a clock. Boomwhackers and other toned instruments will also be introduced as the children take the first steps towards ensemble music making. Seasonal songs and play along music will also be a highlight this week. We are reading: EY 1 – From Head to Toe, by Eric Carle EY 2 – Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, by Simms Tabak We are singing: EY1 – Ring Those Bells / 圣诞铃声, We Wish You a Merry Christmas EY2 – Open and Shut / 反义词, 铃儿响叮当 / Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas EY3 –铃儿响叮当 / Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Silent Night EY4 – Hello to All the Children of the World, 铃儿响叮当 / Jingle Bells, Must Be Santa, We Wish You a Merry Christmas Special dates: Our year level End of Term performances are coming in December. Please watch for your invitation in your child’s bag. We look forward to having you join us for these joyful musical activities! A note from the Music team: 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.