The Farmer Plants the Seed

I think the kids are growing to become more respectful for each other and for me, and there's less behaviour problems in class as time goes by. I'm really glad!

I read them a story book about how seeds grow, and then asked them to guess what community helper I'm going to talk about today. Then I taught them the song "The Farmer Plants the Seed":

The farmer plants the seed,
The farmer plants the seed,
Hi-ho and cherry-o,
The farmer plants the seed!

The rain begins to fall,
The sun begins to shine,
The plant begins to grow,
The buds all opened up!

Before I read the story to them, they were a bit noisy, so I waited. When they didn't respond to my waiting, I started speaking really softly, "I'm not going to raise my voice over you, I'm just going to speak softly, and those who are listening should be able to focus and listen to me." So I started reading the story very quietly, and the class slowly began to quiet down and everybody was listening to me. It was amazing!

When we were singing the other songs today, some of them were screaming the words out during the first song. So I told them that we're going to sing the rest of the songs in whispers, and they really did that!

After singing, I taught them how to make a carrot with empty toilet paper rolls, tissue papers, and ribbons. Aside from making the carrots super gluey, I think they were pretty well done!

Tomorrow I'm going to teach them more movements to each of the songs, and keep a focus on singing in tune (at least more in tune than now~) and keeping the rhythm~

Sample carrots:

Postman

I told the students that if they sing the songs really well, we can do a mini-show on our community helpers unit. The run-down would be something like this:

1) Warm up -- do rae mi
2) Days of the Week
3) Firefighters: Hurry Hurry Drive the Firetruck
4) Police: I am a Policeman
5) Doctor: The Doctor's Song (for lack of a better title haha)
6) Postman: The Postman Song
7) Farmer: The Farmer Plants the Seed (I'm going to teach them this song tomorrow)
8) Ending: Clean Up Song

The kids are excited about it~ I hope it's going to work out, and I can even record them and burn a CD for the parents too!

I taught them about the postman today, that they sort our letters and help us deliver them. Then I showed them an envelope that I decorated, with a stamp that I designed. I told them that if we want to mail a letter within Canada, it'll be 54 cents, that's why I wrote 54c on my stamp. I gave them the address of the school and asked them to glue it on the envelope, and write their name on it. I told them that if they want to, they can ask their parents to put a real stamp on the envelope and actually mail the letter, so they can receive it at school~ But I don't think they'd do it, 'cause they seemed a bit confused when I suggested it.


I sort the letters and postcards,
I carry them to your home!
They come from all over the places,
Like New York, Paris and Rome~

Today, I let Sasha be the rainmaker, and it's the first day that she didn't scream in class! She loves screaming. The boys were ok too, and they said the activity is really fun! After they were done with the envelopes, I asked them to draw a picture to put in the envelopes, and they did~

Babak's envelope & note:


Franklin's envelope & note:

Messy is Nice

The kids did a great job on "Days of the Week" today! They're starting to recognize the words in print too!

I read the story "Messy is Nice" to the kids today. It's a story about a girl who always makes a mess in the house, and her mom tells her that she won't clean up after her. The girl asks all her friends to come over, and the house became total chaos, and her puppy got lost under the toys!

I asked the kids if they're messy or not, and all of them said that they're neat haha~ They said that they'd clean up after playing with toys, and sometimes their siblings or parents help them. I asked them a lot of guiding questions throughout the story, and they were all very interested in the pictures and what's happening~ I told them that this story reminds me of the end of the day, after all of them went home, me and the other teacher would stay behind to clean up. I asked them who they think we're cleaning up after, and they all said, "us!!"

After the read-aloud, I taught them the "Clean Up Song":

Clean up, clean up, everybody get some toys!
Clean up, clean up, all the little girls and boys!
Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share!
Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere~

I find that kids love repetition in melody and lyrics, because they find it easy to follow and remember. Some of the songs that I taught them aren't as repetitive, but I'm proud that as we're singing them over and over again, day after day, the kids are getting better and better!

I gave each of the kids half a piece of construction paper, and asked them to think of the toys that they have at home. I told them that we're going to make a puzzle of those toys~ At first, I thought they could divide the page into pieces, using a marker, but it was too hard for some of them, so I went around to help them. Then I asked them to draw the toys on the page with crayons. The last step is to cut out the pieces. After cutting them out and putting the puzzle back together, I asked the students to trade their puzzle with someone else~

Puzzle by Anna:


Puzzle by Babak:


I assigned Babak to be the rainmaker, and he did a fabulous job! He didn't have any behaviour issues today, and he was so into his "job" when others started being noisy. So well done~~~ ^^

I'm going to try including read-aloud, singing and arts and crafts in my lessons, using a single theme to join them, like what I did today. This way, I'm incorporating literacy, music and the use of fine motor skills in a single lesson~ It'll help retain their attention because we're shifting gears, but in the same time focusing on a particular topic. I'll try my best so my kids will get the most out of every lesson! ^-^

Doctor's Bag

I asked Nicholas to be my "rainmaker" today, to help me use the rainstick to manage the classroom when he thinks it's too noisy. (When the students hear the rainstick, they're supposed to put their index finger on their lips and say "shhhhh") It didn't work out as well as I hoped, but I'll get Franklin or Eric (the noisier ones) to be the rainmaker tomorrow and see what will happen.

After warming up and reviewing the firefighter and police songs, I taught them the doctor's song~ It goes like this:

I use a stethoscope to listen to your heart,
To help you be a healthy child,
And heal you when you aren't!

I went over the words line by line with them because the words are pretty hard. I asked them to clap the beats throughout the song. I explained to them what a stethoscope is, and then discussed with them what doctors do and what they might find in a doctor's bag. Then I showed them the sample of what they're going to make today and explained how to make it. I helped some of them cut out the handles because it was too difficult for them. One other thing is that the pictures I printed are a bit too small, I should've made them a bit bigger!

The kids made a mess all over the carpet, but they were engaged! When Iris was whining that she needs glue while someone else was using it, I asked her to wait and be patient, and in the meantime she could help me pick up the garbage from the floor. I think it was effective because it gave her something to do while she's waiting, and it was helpful for me!

My sample doctor's bag:






Kayla's:




Tony is realllly good today, he paid attention, didn't make weird noises (silly faces to an extent is acceptable =P), and sang every song with enthusiasm. I'm sooo impressed and so proud of him!

Police puppets

After warming up and reviewing "Hurry Hurry Drive the Firetruck", I taught the kids how to sing the "I am a Policeman" song~ It goes like this:

I am a police man with my star,
I help people near and far.
If you have a problem call on me,
And I will be there, one two three!

I want to teach them a themed unit on community helpers, that's why we're singing about the police today! We talked about what the police do for us, and I emphasized that no, police don't kill bad guys, they catch them and punish them, sometimes put them into the prison so they can think about what they did wrong and also to prevent them from harming more people.

I sang the song once for them, then recited the words line by line so they could grasp it better. We sang it a couple of times before moving into our next activity, and they sounded pretty good!

I showed them a sample of what I wanted them to make. I printed out a head, a hat, and the police's uniform shirt and pants. I drew the face, coloured all the parts, cut them out, and glued the pieces onto a popsicle stick to make a policeman(woman) puppet. They found it really interesting~ After telling them the procedures, I handed out what they needed and they started working. I was more prepared today 'cause my morning course ended early. I had all the crayons and glue ready in the classroom, so that minimized the hectic moments of going in and out!

Police puppet by Nicholas:


Police puppet by Kayla:


Tony was still making some weird noises today, but he did turn it down and seemed more focus. I asked Franklin to stay out of the room until he's ready to join us again, because he was distracting others. He said that he doesn't want to, so I told him that I don't want the class to be disrupted either. He went outside, and then came back in a few minutes later. Babak always does his work, but he can be silly sometimes. He was making silly faces at the beginning of class, but when he was making the puppet, he was so focused. I wrote him a note to say thank you for singing and doing his work nicely, and he seemed to be really surprised~ ^^

Some parents pick up their kids early, so when everybody finished making their puppets, there were only 5 of them left. They wanted to make a puppet show, so I asked them to sit on the floor and use the desk. I asked each of them to introduce themselves. We didn't get to the story making, because by the time we introduced everyone, there's only two of them left, and they started being silly again~ So I took out a picture book, "Big or Little", and read to them. I really enjoy story telling, because kids are always so engaged! It's like they walk into the story and become part of it~

Trying to put on a puppet show:

Thank you firefighters

I started today's lesson with my flute. I told my students that I'm going to play something on the flute, and they'll know what I want them to sing. I started playing the scale, so they stood up and followed me by singing the solfege with the movements~ It was really efficient in getting their attention!

After warming up, I played "Days of the Week" on the flute and the kids sang along, holding up the signs that I handed out to them. Then we also did "Oh Mr.Sun" and "You Are My Sunshine." After singing "Hurry Hurry Drive the Firetruck" a couple of times with the flute, I recorded them~ When I showed them the video right after, they were soooo excited and kept asking me to show it again! I think I'll do more recordings with them from now on~

I asked them about their visits to the fire station, and asked them what firefighters do for us. We had a discussion on how they save us and help us put out fire, and how brave they are. So I told them that I want to make a thank you card for them to say thank you to the firefighters. I printed out a template for them to colour, and I wrote "Dear firefighters" on the board so they can write the words in their cards. They were working nicely today, so I complimented them on how I really appreciate that.

A musician and author wrote that his wife said band teachers are crazy, because they have 80 kids in a room, each of them armed with a noisemaker. But it really is a matter of keeping the kids interested, and inspiring them to be motivated to learn. My little music class is nothing compared to a band room, but the same goes for teachers like me. No matter how noisy and crazy they can be, there is a way to turn those screaming and yelling into beautiful music and inspirations. =)

The front of Babak's card:


The inside of Kayla's card:


Tony has been making noises and not really focusing in class, so today when he was working nicely, I captured the moment by writing a little note to him. I went to him and said, "Tony, this is a note for you, do you need help on reading what it says?" He said yes, so I read it to him: "Tony, thank you for working quietly today. From Anita." I saw his face lit up immediately, and that smile shows me how much this means to him. He kept on working nicely for the rest of the class~ ^-^

[ pictures will be posted later~ ]

Firefighters!

The kids went on a field trip to the fire station this morning, so I decided to teach them a song about the same topic today! It's called "Hurry Hurry Drive the Firetruck", and it goes like this:

Hurry Hurry drive the firetruck,
Hurry Hurry drive the firetruck,
Hurry Hurry drive the firetruck,
Ding ding ding ding ding!

Hurry Hurry climb the ladder,
Hurry Hurry climb the ladder,
Hurry Hurry climb the ladder,
Ding ding ding ding ding!

Hurry Hurry squirt the water,
Hurry Hurry squirt the water,
Hurry Hurry squirt the water,
Ding ding ding ding ding!

They got the tune and the words of the song pretty quickly, and after singing a couple of times, I asked them to come up with some movements to go with the song~ We decided on the movements for driving the firetruck, climbing the ladder, and squirting the water together. Then we sang with these actions. It was really fun!

Then I showed them how to make an origami hat. I modelled in front of the classroom, and some of them were really good at following me. Some of them said they couldn't do it, so I asked their classmates to help them. I told them that they could decorate it as a firefighter's helmet, and gave them markers and crayons to do that. The boys did an amazing job with the colours, but the girls started drawing flowers and girly things on it haha. I guess it could be a woman firefighter's fashionable helmet~ =P

Franklin's helmet:



Inha's helmet:



Minwoo's helmet:



I asked Franklin to stand outside of the classroom today because he was talking non-stop and disturbing the other kids. I told them to think about why I couldn't let him stay in the classroom, and asked him to knock on the door when he thinks he's ready to join us again. A minute later, he knocked and said that he's ready. It wasn't magical enough to make him stay quiet, but he was only talking softly and I was ok with that.

I think I improved on time management and classroom management today. I didn't keep them in the room for too long, 'cause I let them go out to the open area to decorate their helmets. That way, it was less disturbing when parents came to pick up the kids. They were calmer today, and I think they're starting to feel and understand my firmness when I think they're behaving inappropriately, so they stopped and paid attention when they sensed that I'm waiting for them to be quiet and watching.

I was surprised when Inha came to me before class today and asked me, "Are we going into the room today?" After snack time, another teacher and I would divide the big group in half, she stays with the kids in the open area, and I teach mine in the room. I told Inha that yes we're going into the room today, and she said that she likes it~ After a while, she came to me again and said, "I'm waiting!" She told me she's waiting for class~~ I'm sooooo touched~~ ^^

Days of the Week

I sang the "Days of the Week" song with the students today. I made sure that they were all listening and not singing along while I demonstrated to them, and emphasized that there's a time for singing and a time for listening. It's important to not speak when someone else's speaking because that's when you can really listen attentively, without disturbing other people.

Days of the Week (clap clap), Days of the Week (clap clap),
Days of the Week, Days of the Week, Days of the Week (clap clap)

There's Sunday and there's Monday,
There's Tuesday and there's Wednesday,
There's Thursday and there's Friday,
And then there's Saturday,

Days of the Week (clap clap), Days of the Week (clap clap),
Days of the Week, Days of the Week, Days of the Week (clap clap)

As I was singing, I raised up these signs:



Afterwards, I gave each of them a sign, and asked them to hold theirs up when it's their turn. They were a bit messed up at first because they kept forgetting what day of the week they have. Some of them are too young to recognize these words, but I went over every word with them and asked them what's the first sound of each word. E.g. Monday makes a mmmmm sound, so it starts with the letter "M". I'm going to sing it with them again tomorrow, but hand out the signs in the correct order. That way, the students would know to raise up their sign after the person sitting next to them did.

After singing, I handed out a July calendar to each of the kids. On another sheet of paper, there's the days of the week, where they have to cut them out, and glue on the calendar in the right order. They had a little trouble with that, but we sang the song together while doing it, and I find that the song really helps them remember the order! The next step is to teach them to recognize the words. I believe that routines and practices would help them familiarize with these words, so I'm going to sing this simple song with them everyday~ I'm also going to ask them to draw a little picture about how they're feeling on eacy day too. =)

Kaitlyn's calendar:

Home Sweet Home

After reviewing "Oh Mr.Sun" and "You Are My Sunshine" with my students, I taught them a song that I wrote, called "F-A-M-I-L-Y"~

F is for Father, M is for Mother,
Father and Mother, I love you!

What word does it spell?
How sweet does it smell?
Put the first letters together,
Does it ring a bell?

What word does it spell?
Everyone can tell!
F-A-M-I-L-Y is family!

I printed out the lyric in big fonts so students could try to follow along while we sang. First, I gave them the beat using the shaker that I made last week, while chanting the first two lines. Then I asked them to repeat after a couple of times, until they got it. And then I sang them the melody, and asked them to sing back. I did that two lines at a time. After we sang the last line, I sang the whole song to them again twice, and then asked them to sing with me. Zara said she loves the song, but Babak said it's hard. I asked him is it because there's too many words, and he said yes. So I told him that I'll go home and try to think of a way to teach the song so it'd be easier to learn, and I'll also find some songs that have less words and are easier to sing.

After singing the song, I asked each student about their family. It was then when I realized that Iris didn't mention her Dad. Nuclear families are no longer the norm, so I really have to be careful and sensitive to my students so they wouldn't feel bad about themselves. This song might not be an appropriate song for those who have a differently structured family, so I'll have to be careful next time I choose or write a song for the kids.

Then, I handed out an instruction sheet for making an origami house. I went over it with them step by step, and then gave them blank sheets of squared papers. I demonstrated how to fold it and they followed along. Then we decorated the house with markers and crayons. They did a pretty good job on that!



Iris's work:



Franklin's work:



These kids love to talk, but it is also easy to engage them into talking about a specific topic together. I learned from my AQ instrumental music course professor that if we expect students to watch us when we conduct, we need to give them something worthwhile to watch. I believe that this applies to any teaching. I have to stand up in front of the class and show them the reason for listening to me and interacting with me, and I know that it's a neverending learning process!

I am special

I finished reading < Something From Nothing > to the kids today. It is interesting how they were so engaged in the story, and felt sooooo sad when Joseph lost his button. Children are really capable of feeling sympathetic for others. I found that Eric has a tendency to disrupt the class, but he was so attentive when he was listening to the story, and participated a lot to share what he thinks and feels. I'll try to work that into my lesson planning to minimize behavioural issues and to engage him in all my lessons!



After reading the story, we sang the songs that I taught them before, and I taught them a new song called "I am Special"~ It's sung to the tune of "Are You Sleeping".

I am special, I am special,
Look at me, you will see!
Someone very special, someone very special,
It is me! It is me!

Then I showed them the little craft that I made last night. I picked a word to describe myself, wrote the letters on construction papers and hung them down from a straw. I brainstormed with them some words that they could use to describe themselves and wrote the words on the board, such as "nice, smart, quiet, sporty, happy, sweet". They all decided that they'll use the word "happy" to describe themselves haha~ I think that they haven't really established the concept of who they really are or what their personality is like yet, so this activity might work better with Gr.1s and up. This might be modified by asking them to write their names, or coming up with words that describe how they are feeling at the moment. They would be able to relate to that better than describing themselves.

I showed them how to do the craft step by step, but I realized that it is a bit too complicated with the strings hanging down. So I decided to modify it and ask the students to glue their letters onto the straw instead. It worked out well!





This one is made by one of my students:

Oh Mr.Sun~

The students are getting familiar with the warm-up today, they were all singing so well, I'm impressed~

I taught them a new song today, and it's called "Oh Mr.Sun". It goes like this:

Oh Mr.Sun, Sun, Mr.Golden Sun,
Won't you please shine down on me~
Oh Mr.Sun, Sun, Mr.Golden Sun,
Hiding behind the tree~

These little children are asking you,
To please come out so we can play with you!

Oh Mr.Sun, Sun, Mr.Golden Sun,
Won't you please shine down on me~

They picked up the "Oh Mr.Sun" part very quickly, but had trouble with the middle lines. I'm going to write out the lyrics and point to them as I sing with them next time, and hopefully that'll make it easier for them to learn the song.



After singing, I showed them the "Mr.Sun" that I made. I prepared construction papers for them, with the circles already drawn, so they only had to draw the sun's face and cut it out. Then I gave them blank papers to trace their little hands, and then glue them behind the circle so they look like the sun's rays. As they were working, they started singing "Oh Mr.Sun"!! And they kept repeating and repeating~ They told me that they love the song! And then one of the girls asked if we could sing "You Are My Sunshine", so we also sang it while they were drawing and cutting! I feel that I've begun to make a bond with these kids, and that they're expecting me to do something fun with them everyday! A couple of them came to me before snack time and asked me, "What are we making today?" and "Are you staying here?" I'm so touched~ ^-^

After cutting for a while, the students seemed to be a bit tired. It's also because they went to the farm on a field trip in the morning. So I told them that if they're too tired, they could finish it tomorrow, but if they want to continue, they can do that as well. I took out the book "Something From Nothing" by Phoebe Gilman and started reading it to them. I felt that as teachers, we need to be aware of the students' needs and be understanding. When they feel that they have options and their needs are respected, they will in turn show respect for us.

Something that I need to modify next time is that it takes the students a long time to cut out the shape of their hands, and to cut out so many seemed to be a pretty difficult task for them. I think a good idea would be to make a HUGE sun, where each student is responsible for tracing and cutting one or two hands, and then they can put them together. It would be an activity to foster cooperation too!

This is one of the students' work:

Rain, Sunshine & Shakers

I began today's lesson with the solfege body movement warm-up. We went up and down the scale twice~ David was very eager to share his knowledge about solfege with us! After the warm-up, I held up my rainstick and asked them to guess what is inside. I stopped taking answers when they started saying things like pineapples and birds haha~ I told them that it's used in bands, and Eric figured that I brought it in to make music with them AND to get their attention so they can be quiet. =P



Alex kept on trying to get the rainstick off of my hand, but I promised him that I'll pass it around after our lesson. That kept him off for a while. Then we did an activity called "Rain". We sat in a circle. I started rubbing my palms, and Franklin on my left was supposed to follow what I'm doing, and the person on his left would follow him, and so on, until everybody's doing the same thing. Then I started snapping my fingers (which a lot of them couldn't do, and I decided that I'll leave out this part next time). The following motions are clapping hands, patting on the thigh, and then stomping the feet. The purpose is to create the sound of a dripping rain that ends up being a thunderstorm. Then the process was reversed until there's no more "rain". It didn't work out as well as I thought, because all the kids started doing the motions once they saw what I was doing. But I would try it again next time and try to work it out with them!

Then, I told them that we're going to learn the song "You are my Sunshine", and that I want their help with clapping the beats. I explained to them that beats are like heartbeats of a song, and it's very important that they're consistent. I patted the beats on my thigh and asked them to follow me, and then I started singing the song. They didn't know the words, so I went over the song line by line and sang it with them. I'd like to refine it more, but due to the short attention span of the kids, I decided that we'll just sing it a couple of times for now, and we'll come back to the song later and make it sound nicer.

After singing, I passed the rainstick around for the kids to hold it and manipulate it to make slower and faster raining sounds. They really liked that~ Then came the fun part! I showed them the shaker that I made with empty toilet paper rolls, constuction papers, and rice. I showed them how to do it, and then handed out the supplies. Because I couldn't collect enough toilet paper rolls, the alternative was to roll a small piece of construction paper into a roll, and then follow the same procedures. I was surprised that the kids didn't fight over who gets the toilet paper rolls! While I was helping some kids with gluing and stapling, I asked the other kids to put the rice into their shaker, which was a really really bad idea, 'cause I ended up with rice all over the carpet! A reminder to myself: bring a spoon for an activity like that, put a table cloth on the carpet before we pour the rice, or I'll just do it for them~





I'm really happy because the kids were soooo engaged in the activity! When their parents picked them up, some of them refused to go because they wanted to finish it~ When I told little Kayla that she can decorate it tomorrow, she asked, "Are you going to be here tomorrow?" I feel so warm~ ^-^

I learned that with kids that are so young, it is hard for them to focus on one single activity during a lesson, so it's important to be prepared for different activities that'll keep them engaged. I think today's lesson went pretty well, and I'm looking forward to share more of my creativity with the kids and to learn from theirs! =)

Little Owl_first day of teaching

Today is my first official day teaching at Little Owl Preschool and Elementary. I taught a lesson on singing solfege (do re mi fa so la ti do), using body movements. After I told the kids that I'm going to teach them to sing do re mi, one of the boys whined that they have learned it already. So I asked him to be patient with me, because it is probably something different from what he did before, because they get to move!



Upon hearing the word "move", they started getting excited. I showed them a print-out of this picture, and then demonstrated all 8 poses while singing the solfege names. They looked engaged~ They stood up and started following my movements before I asked them to. We went up and down the scale for a couple of times. Then I called out random names and asked them to do the movements. We went from the low do to high do a couple of times, and did it so quickly that made me start sweating! It was fun~ Then I asked each of them to choose a pose, and then we all sang the corresponding solfege names.

After doing that a few times, I gave them a sheet with the solfege positions in random order. I asked them to colour them, and then cut them out. Then they drew a ladder on half a sheet of construction paper, and put the solfege in order. This is the finished work of one of the kids~



It is challenging to teach kids that are under 5 years old, because their attention span is so short, and they are still learning how to behave in a social setting. One of the challenges is that it's summer right now, and they do have a lot of time to play. If they look at this place as a playplace, it is more difficult to get them to take the lessons seriously. Also, I am new to the school, and they're still getting to know me and testing limits. I hope that I'll be able to use music to engage them and have fun with them while learning with them!