Little Owls

I taught the kids two songs about owls today, because we invited someone who takes care of owls to come and talk to us about them last Friday! She even brought three real owls with her~

Before I put the kids on the carpet, they were settled down in different stations, playing with different things. I called each of them by name to come make a circle at the carpet. Reya wanted to keep playing, and she saw that Cooper wasn't making any intentions to move, so she just stayed at the table. However, when I called Cooper again, he didn't whine and came to join the circle! That made Reya come to me too~ I was very happy with Cooper today because he didn't make any fuss during our circle time!

Little Owl

Little owl, little owl,
Hiding in the tree.
Little owl, little owl,
Blinks his eyes at me!

Hooting loud, hooting soft,
Hooting all night long.
I just love this little owl,
And love this hooting song!


Wide-eyed Owl

There's a wide-eyed owl with a pointed nose,
with pointed horns and claws for toes!
He lives in the tree and when he looks at you,
He flaps his wings and says whoo whoo whoo!


I believe that every kid's abilities are different, but they're all capable of achieving something. When they were cutting the claws, Maya actually cut each "toe" out individually. Some cut them out as two claws, and I asked some of them to cut them out as a set of two, because of the different levels of development in their fine motor skills. I hope that my activities can be modified to accomodate every child, but I'm still having difficulty to accomodate a few of my kids. For example, Edward can colour, but he tends to give up very quickly. So before I got to help him with cutting, he might already have cut everything in too many pieces. I'll keep in mind to help the ones who need the most help first, so they wouldn't have to wait too long and become impatient. Another way is to cut the pieces out for them first, and then they'll colour and glue the pieces together.

Sophie's owl


Gil's owl

Animals at the Zoo

The kids went to the zoo on Wednesday, so I decided to teach them a song about how animals move, and then create a pamphlet with them.


Move like animals!

We'll hop hop hop like a bunny,
And run run run like a dog!
We'll walk walk walk like an elephant,
And jump jump jump like a frog!

We'll swim swim swim like a goldfish,
And fly fly fly like a bird!
We'll see right down and fold our hands,
And say not a single word~

Phillip is a 3-year-old boy who seems to be always daydreaming. I'm very glad that he's engaged when he's doing music with me. ^^ He's one of the kids who sings the loudest!

After singing and moving around with the movements, I showed them the pamphlet that I prepared for them. I asked them about the animals that they saw at the zoo, and then asked them what those animals eat. I explained to them that they are going to colour the animals in the pamphlet and the food that's printed on another page. Then, they'd cut out the food, and glue them onto the pamphlet, according to what each animal likes to eat.

I only gave them crayons, until they were done with colouring. Then I gave them scissors to cut. I made sure that they were finished with cutting, and then I gave them glue. I think that this helps a lot, because I learned that some kids would be confused by so many stationery, and then forget what they should do first. Some are too eager to cut and glue, which makes it difficult to colour when their papers are wet and gluey. I'm very happy that things went well and we were very organized! It was easier to clean up too!

Cooper was unwilling to try a lot of things before, but today he actually tried colouring and cutting! I was sooo impressed, and I let him know how I felt. He's very proud of himself too! He needed help on gluing, and I told him that I'm very happy to help him because he tried so hard today~

Pamphlet by Minwoo:




Pamphlet by Cooper:

My Little Puppy

I taught them a new song that's related to the circus. We saw a performance with a lady who was playing tricks with five trained puppies. The kids found them really adorable~ For this song, I especially like the motions that go along with it!

There weren't a lot of kids today, but the ones who stayed with me are the little little ones. I found it more difficult because the ones who are a bit older would help bring up the energy by their enthusiastic singing! With the little ones, it's harder for them to follow along. But I tried my best, and they were doing the motions with me even though they didn't get all the words yet!

My Little Puppy

My little puppy's name is Rags,
He eats so much that his tummy sags!
His ears flip flop, and his tail wig wags~
And when he walks he zigs and zags!

Flip flop, wig wag, zig zag!
Flip flop, wig wag, zig zag!

Motions:

eats so much - rub tummy
tummy sags - arms curved under tummy
flip flop - tap head with each hand
wig wags - hips sway side to side
zigs and zags - snap fingers

I thought that this activity would be a simple one, because we only have to fold a piece of paper in half into a triangle, and then fold the ears down and the nose up. But it turned out to be one of the most challenging crafts for the kids so far. I taught them in a circle on the carpet, and did it with them step by step. But I think they're still developing their concept of folding, and they have difficulties manipulating the paper. So I had to go around to help most of them. Next time, I should use a pen to mark down where they have to fold, and maybe print out a clear instruction with big pictures, so they can follow along better.


My sample puppy:


Michael's puppy:

Two Little Birdies

We spent more time singing today than on the previous days. I sang "See the Ladybug" and "Funny Clowns" with the kids, and they remember the words and the movements! After the lesson, little Phillip came to me and said he wanted to show me how to sing the ladybug song! I was so surprised because he hasn't been able to do any of the activities that I planned, but now at least I know that he's engaged in the music~ Nicolette also came to me when we were at the park today, and started singing "Oh Mr.Sun"~ It's moments like this that help me realize that the kids are learning something!

After reviewing the songs, I asked them if they remember what else they saw at the circus other than the clowns. There was a lady who played tricks with the pigeons, so I found a rhyme with actions that I thought we could relate to.

Two Little Birdies

Two little birdies, sitting on the hill.
One named Jack, and one named Jill!
Fly away Jack, fly away Jill~
Come back Jack, come back Jill!

The arts and crafts that I planned was a little bit more challenging for the kids than I predicted it to be. I pre-made the tube for the body, and gave them a template for the body parts of the bird. That's a lot of prep work, but it really pays off when the kids are able to do the craft by themselves! The colouring and cutting was ok for most of them, but the gluing part seemed to be a bit confusing. Next time, maybe I can make some indication on the template of where to put glue~

Gil's birdie:


Maya's birdie:

Funny Clown

After going to the circus today, I taught this song to my kids:

Funny Clown

Funny clown, funny clown, spin around,
Funny clown, funny clown, touch the ground~
Funny clown, funny clown, crinkle your nose,
Funny clown, funny clown, touch your toes!

We clapped and moved with the lyrics, and the kids were all excited to move around~ I notice that they were singing louder, and more of them were singing today compared to the previous days, so it's good progress! I think that they're getting used to me, and they're beginning to notice the routine of singing after snack time, and then making something after singing~ Since their attention span is very short, I'm not repeating the songs too many times during the time we have together. Today, we sang it three times, and then I went on to explain how to make the paperplate clown.

As I reflect upon my lesson, I notice that I missed an opportunity to add more value to today's lesson, when I asked them the shapes of the eyes, nose, hat, and the ball on top of the hat. I could ask them to brainstorm a list of other objects that are circles or triangles, to help them build awareness of the shapes that are around us.

Victor's clown:


Cooper's clown:

Ladybug

After seating all the kids around the circle, I told them that I noticed something from the park -- that they're always very interested in a kind of insects that's very tiny and has a very sharp colour. I asked them what it is, and they said, "ladybug!" I held up a ladybug toy that I found in the school, and asked the what colours the ladybug has. Then I turned to a page in an insect book, and read them the part where it says that ladybugs help the farmers eat the insects that ruin the crops, so they're actually "good" insects~

Then I told them that we're going to sing a song called "See the Ladybug"! First, I recited the words and asked them to repeat after me. Then I sang it with the tune, and they followed along pretty quickly, because it's the same tune as "Are You Sleeping", so they're familiar with it. I sang the second verse without reciting it because I think they can catch the repetition and wouldn't need me to repeat the words without the tune. I also taught them the movements, and they dived in to do them immediately! The kids were excited about the song, and we sang it two more times~

See the Ladybug

See the ladybug, see the ladybug,
Watch it crawl, watch it crawl!
See it crawling slowly, see it crawling slowly,
Watch it crawl, up the wall!

See the ladybug, see the ladybug,
Watch it crawl, watch it crawl!
See it crawling slowly, see it crawling slowly,
Way down low, to the toe!

After singing, I switched gear and showed them the sample ladybug that I made. I showed them the template, and asked them what colours should the body, the wings and the spots have. I told them to colour first, then cut out the shapes, and glue them together. I reassured them that I'd go around to help them, because I know that some of them would have difficulties in cutting the smaller circles. I'm very proud of some of them who did it all by themselves!

Template:


Michael's ladybug:


Sophie's ladybug:


Sonia's ladybug:

Fishbowl

After singing "Oh Mr.Sun" and "You are my Sunshine" with the younger kids, I asked them what they like to do when the sun is shining bright and the weather is very very hot. One of them answered going to the beach, so I asked them to tell me what they see at the beach. Some said that there are fish under the water, so I said that fish love swimming, and we're going to learn a song about swimming fishies today.

Five Fast Fishies

Five fast fishies swimming down the river,
Five fast fishies swimming down the stream.
Swimming by the floating logs, swimming by the croaking frogs!

Floating logs, croaking frogs,
Floating logs, croaking frogs,
Five fast fishies!

It was originally "Five Fast Fishies", but I asked them what number comes after five, and we actually repeated the song until we reached ten! Then I showed them what I prepared to make with them -- a fishbowl! I explained to them that I'll give each of them a fishbowl cut out in construction paper, and some white fishies. They need to colour the fishies and glue them onto the fishbowl template, and then count the number of fishies that they have.

Lesson preparation really makes a huge difference in classroom management. Last week, I taught them a lesson without preparation because I didn't know I would have an hour with them. It was very difficult, the kids were fidgeting, and the arts and craft that another teacher and I did with them didn't go well, because they had to make a rainbow but we had to help them cut out lots of things. This time, I had a sample with me so I could explain to them step by step before they actually put their hands on things, and I pre-cut everything so it would be easy for them to actually work on the craft without too much fuss. I believe that kids would feel a greater sense of achievement and pride, because they could do it on their own!

Fishbowl by Michael:


Fishbowl by Maya:

Mini activity: colourful tree

Mini activity: kite

Mini activity: puppets

Performance Rehearsal

I did a performance rehearsal with the kids today. I told them that we'll pretend that we're performing in front of an audience. At first I wanted them to stand in a straight line, then in circles. Then I realized that it's very difficult to manage the situation when they kept moving around, so I decided to keep them in a line for all the songs.

I remember my professor in "Teaching Instrumental Music Part I" has mentioned that in at a band rehearsal, it is wise to speak less and play more. That's what I tried doing today during our practice. After asking them to stay in the line, I just went through all of the songs with them without much of a break, so they couldn't use the breaks to start a conversation or start fooling around.

Kaitlyn got upset after the first song because she missed her mom. She used to be out in the open area with another teacher, but she came to my classroom after she returned from a vacation. I think she's still trying to adjust. So I asked her to sit and be our audience. She almost started to cry when she said she misses her mom, but she smiled again when I said to her. She didn't join us in singing afterall, but she was a great audience~

I was going to have the performance with them tomorrow, but Iris said that she's not going to be here, so I decided to wait for Monday. I wouldn't want her to miss out!

After rehearsing, I read a story to them, called "Matthew and the Midnight Flood", by Robert Munsch. I had to stop a couple of times because of their talking. But what I realized is that they were still listening to the story, just that they wanted to discuss about it. So I asked them to raise their hand if they have something to say, because I couldn't hear everybody at the same time. Although some of the comments got a bit off topic, I think it's always nicer to have the kids speak to the whole class then amongst themselves during a lesson, when we're having whole-group learning time. ^^

Community Helpers Booklet Part II // Pop-up card

I finished up the booklet with my kids today. I went through each page with them, guiding them through how to fill in the missing letters of the words. There's a picture of each of the community helpers, but on the last page, I asked them to draw a farmer on their own. Some of them complained that they couldn't draw, but I told them to try, that it doesn't matter if it's really good or not, I just want them to try it. Tony was still saying "I can't do it" when I saw that he did draw something on the page! So I said, "Wow Tony, you did a good job! That's a very nice picture of a farmer!" Then he said, "Yeah, I drew it!" After a while, he said, "Look! I drew some flowers beside the farmer too!" You have everything you need, if you just believe~~~

The first page of the booklet:


The last page of the booklet:


I taught the younger kids how to make a pop-up card today. I asked them to fold a piece of construction paper in half (hamburger style), and then I drew two lines for them to cut. I showed them how to open it and make the creases, and showed them my sample. I told them that they could draw and glue anything they want in their card~

Pop-up card by Zara:

Community Helpers Unit End Booklet

I did something different with "Days of the Week" with the kids today. I asked them to stand in a straight line, and I handed out the days of the week signs to them in order, doubling a couple of them. We all stood up in the beginning, but as we sang the song, after we sang "There's Sunday", the student holding the Sunday sign would go down, and same with Monday, and so on. After Saturday, they all stood up to sing the rest of the song. It was exciting! I used to take a long time to collect the signs back, but I think the kids are getting used to the procedure, so it was done very quickly today!

Alex has been away on a vacation for a week, and he used to be with another teacher before. Today he came back and joined my class in the afternoon, and he was crying when he was coming in because he was playing on the computer and the teacher asked him to stop, but he refused. So the teacher made him come in and sit down. After a while, he calmed down, and to my surprise, he was very eager to participate in the singing! Some other boys were really loud and "singing" in a yelling kind of voice, and he suggested that we should sing quietly. I told him that it's a good idea, and we did that for all of the songs.

After reviewing the songs and adding movements to them, I handed out print-outs of a booklet about community helpers. I also wrote in some fill in the blank words for each community helper, e.g., f_re fi_ht_r. The word is at the bottom of the page in a sentence, and the kids have to look for it and fill in the missing letters. They had trouble spotting the words, so I used a crayon to underline all of the words for them. They spent a long time cutting and stapling the booklet together, and some of them didn't understand how to fill in the letters. Since we didn't have a lot of time left, I asked them to finish up with the cutting and stapling, write their name, and I told them that we'll go through the letter-writing with them together during tomorrow's lesson, so I could guide all of them at the same time.

After collecting their work, I asked all of them to go out to the open area with another teacher, except for Eric, Tony and Franklin. Eric and Tony have been noisy throughout the whole lesson. Franklin was good for the first half, but joined them towards the end. I used my super soft voice to ask them why they were talking so loudly in class, and they said that because they're friends. I think that it's a very reasonable answer, so I said that I understand, but they have had a lot of chances to talk and play together throughout the day already. But when we have a lesson, there are other kids in the class who want to learn, and they're disrupting the class because other kids can't hear. I told them that sometimes I can't even hear myself, and it is very frustrating. Then I asked them if there's anything that I can do to help them, if the class is too boring for them, if they don't like the class. Eric said that it's not boring and he likes it, but he suggested that maybe it would be better if I can teach 3 kids at a time, and do rotation after teaching a group. I said that it's a really good idea (I really do think so! I think it's brilliant for a 5-year-old kid to realize that), but because we don't have enough teachers to watch them, and we don't have enough time, it would be messy and chaotic if we really do it, so we have to live with what we can do for now. I asked them to try to focus more and not to speak so loudly in class tomorrow, and then I let them go join the rest of the kids.

I think these kind of individual talks with kids help solving behavioural problems as well as building relationships with them. It was a safe environment because I let them know that I wasn't asking them to stay for a detention or to apologize, but to have a conversation with me so that I can try to understand why they're doing what they're doing, and also how they feel in this class. Rather than focusing the attention on how angry I am or how disturbed the other kids are, I focused on how to make them feel a sense of belonging in the class, because their opinions are important to me.