Video Watching: Under the Sea

Date: 27^th March 2014

Day: Thursday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Video Watching: Under the Sea

I found an interesting video that shows the beautiful underwater world. Through this documentary, the children could see clearly of some creatures such as the jellyfish, cuttlefish, crab, stingray, shark, even they could see how the fish catches their food.

As this video was downloaded by Cikgu Tee, I was unable to find the link for it. Sorry for any inconvenience. 

Fun with play dough

Date: 26^th March 2014

Day: Wednesday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Fun with play dough

We revised all the vocabulary before we start our class today.

I brought in some play dough for the children to explore with it. I have some red and green play dough. The children will have to decide which colour they would like to play with as no mixing of both colours allowed.

The theme of our play dough today is underwater sea creature. The children could use their imagination to make any sea creatures out from it. Some of the children didn’t know where to start. I would have to play along with them by doing some sea creatures to give some inspiration for them. After some while, some of the children started to observe the sea creatures I made and they tried it out on their own. 

Thong Xuan made a starfish herself after observing the starfish that I made.

Yi Fai: I made a jellyfish!

Game: Walk Like a Crab

Date: 25^th March 2014

Day: Tuesday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Game: Walk like a Crab

We had learned quite some details about crab. Therefore, today we had a game of how crab walk.

Teacher: How does a crab walk?

Aiden: This way. [He stood up and demonstrated it by walking sideway.]

Teacher: Yes, great!

Therefore, we had a racing game about how crab walked. The children were divided into 2 groups, where about 5 & 6 in each group. I brought in some toy fruits to be pretended as the food of the crab.

The rules are as followed:

-          Each child has to walk sideway like the crab from the starting line

-          Pick up a fruit with one of their hand and continue to walk sideway until they reached a pail at the finish line

-          Drop the fruit into the pail and run back to his/her group

-         By tapping gently on the next person’s hand to indicate that he/she is allowed to start the race

-         Marks will be given according to the number of fruits collected.

-         Marks will be deducted for those who doesn’t follow instruction such as not walking sideway or tap too hard on their friend’s hand

-         The winners will be rewarded

We had about 3 rounds altogether. I got every child to take turns to do it once for the first round. Once they understand the whole game, then the children will have to take turns until all the fruits are being collected.

Most of the children could follow the instruction and all of them had a fun time playing it!

We are ready! Let's start.

Start by walking like a crab to grab a toy fruit! See who's faster?

Ye Wern: Do I look like a crab?

Throw the toy fruit into the pail at the end of the finishing line.

Learn more about crab

Date: 24^th March 2014

Day: Monday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Learn more about crab

I introduced hermit crab to the children today. I shared a book about hermit crab with the children today.

In this book, it introduced some features about hermit crab such as it has soft shell and it needed a shell for protection. Hermit crab will out grow its shell and always needed to look for another bigger shell. Sea anemone is its good friend as the sea anemone will scare away other sea creatures who love to eat hermit crab and share the food with hermit crab at the same time. It’s a win-win situation for both.

Finger Play: 5 Little Shells

5 little shells lying on the shore,

Crash went the waves and then there was 4.

4 little shells down by the sea,
Crash went the waves! then there was 3.

3 little shells, smooth as new,
Crash went the waves! then there were 2.

2 little shells, sparkling in the sun,

Crash went the waves!  Then there was 1.

1 little shell, left by itself,
I took it home, and put it on my shelf.

We read it once. Then we have it with action. We might add in more action when the

children are more familiar with it in the future.

Song: This Jellyfish [ Tune: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean]

This jellyfish lives in the ocean.

This jellyfish lives in the sea.

This jellyfish lives in the ocean.

Oh, (name colour of jellyfish) jellyfish swim by me!

Crab

Date: 21^st March 2014

Day: Friday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Crab

Today, we started to learn about crab. We had some brainstorming session before we went in to the details or facts about crab.

Teacher: Do you still remember which sea animal loves to eat crab?

Children: Whale….shark…..

Teacher: Do you remember seal or walrus?

Children: Yes.

Teacher: Seal or walrus eats crab. They love to eat crustacean, fish and other sea creatures.

[I drew some pictures under crustacean.]

Children: Oh, crab….prawn….

Teacher: Yes, crab is under crustacean. How many legs does a crab have?

Children: Two.

Teacher: Are you sure only two?

Children: Ten. [They raised and showed me their ten fingers.]

Teacher: Let’s count and see how many legs does a crab have?

[I drew a picture of a crab on the whiteboard with all the details on it and I started to count together with the children. They counted 8 legs.]

These are some facts that I introduced to the children today:

-          Crab has hard shell

-          Crab has 8 legs

-          Crab has 2 pincer

-          Crab lay eggs and female crab carries the babies until they are being released into the water

-          Female crab’s stomach is larger compare to male crab

-          Crab eats small fish, shrimp, earthworm etc

 

Worksheet: Jellyfish Maze & Join the dots according to alphabetical order

Date: 20^th March 2014

Day: Thursday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Worksheet: Jellyfish Maze & Join the dots according to alphabetical order

We will be moving in to another sea creature soon. Before doing so, there’s some worksheet on jellyfish that I would like the children to complete.

The first worksheet was the jellyfish maze. The children had done a few maze previously, therefore, it’s pretty easy this time for them to search for the correct pathway.

The second worksheet was supposed for the children to draw the missing jellyfish. Unfortunately, the children had some difficulties in understanding the concept of addition. Therefore, we shall keep that worksheet for further usage.

As a result, I chose another alphabetical worksheet for them to do. Since they had done one on the same week, some of them managed to complete much further. However, some of them still needed individual guidance throughout the worksheet.

We shall be moving on to learn about crustacean animals such as crab, lobster, prawn, hermit crab etc. 

Art and Craft: Jellyfish (Part II)

Date: 19^th March 2014

Day: Wednesday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Art and Craft: Jellyfish (Part II)

Yesterday, the children had their jellyfish done. However, it looks pretty plain. So I got some glittering powder for the children to decorate their jellyfish. I got some blue, red and golden glittering powder for them to choose.

The children just needed to use their finger tips to dip in the glue and dot it on the bell of the jellyfish. Then they will sprinkle some glittering powder onto it. This make their jellyfish looks much prettier and interesting. 

Art and Craft: Jellyfish

Date: 18^th March 2014

Day: Tuesday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Art and Craft: Jellyfish

Today, we shall do an art work on jellyfish. Therefore, I prepared the following materials for this art work:

-          small paper plate which has been cut into half

-          some A4 colour paper

-          glue

-          scissors

-          water colour paint

I distributed each child a half cut paper plate for them to paint the colour that they want. Some chose green, some chose orange while some chose yellow.

Then each of them also was given a half piece of A4 colour paper for them to cut in stripes. Some of them just cut like this, while some drew some straight lines before they started to cut. Then once their paper plate had dried up, they could start to paste the stripes colour paper they cut earlier as the tentacles of the jellyfish.

As this activity was done mostly individually, therefore, it took up around 1 hour to complete all of them. 

Yi Xuan painting her jellyfish's bell orange. 

Kai Heng and Ayden pasting the stripes of colour paper as the tentacles. 

Worksheet: Join the dots according to alphabetical order

Date: 17^th March 2014

Day: Monday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Worksheet: Join the dots according to alphabetical order

Today, we are going to do a worksheet on joining the dots to form a picture according to alphabetical order. Therefore, before we start to do the worksheet, I got the children to sing the “ABC song”.

However, some of the children weren’t very familiar with all the alphabetical order. They seems having some difficulties in identifying the next alphabet. As a result, I have to guide them one by one.

I wrote down all the 26 alphabets in order on the previous page for the children to refer. Some of them would try to refer to the alphabets I wrote while some still need individual guidance. 

Learn More about Jellyfish

Date: 13^th March 2014

Day: Thursday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Learn More about Jellyfish

We had a review on the parts of the jellyfish. Then we look at the jellyfish in more details today through drawing.

Teacher: Look at the bell of the jellyfish. What shape does it looks like? [There’s a silence from the floor.]

Teacher: Does it looks like a triangle?

Children: No.

Teacher: Does it looks like a square?

Children: No.

Children: Looks like a round.

Teacher: Circle like this? [I drew a circle.]

Children: Yes, yes.

Teacher: Or does it looks like half a circle?

Children: Yes. Yes.

Teacher: This we called it semi-circle. Then you may want to add the tentacles like this. [I drew some lines down from the semi-circle.]

I gave each child a blank paper and required them to draw as many jellyfish as they could and coloured them. 

Jellyfish

Date: 11^th March 2014

Day: Tuesday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Jellyfish

We had done quite some activities on seahorse, therefore, we moved on to another sea creature. I had chosen jellyfish to start with.

Book Sharing: Jellyfish

This is a simple scientific facts book for preschool kids. It’s pretty simple to understand. These are some of the facts that the children learned:

-          Jellyfish has no bones

-          Jellyfish got a mouth

-          Jellyfish eats small fish, shrimps etc

-          Jellyfish stings.

The children also learned the parts of the jellyfish. These are some of the vocabulary that the children learned today:

-          jellyfish

-          bell

-          tentacles

-          mouth

I will be going on a field trip with another class tomorrow. As a result, there will be no blog update for 12^th March, 2014.

Worksheet : Drawing the spots on the Fish accordingly

Date: 10^th March 2014

Day: Monday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Worksheet : Drawing the spots on the Fish accordingly

This worksheet required the children to draw seven (7) spots on each fish. Before we start to do the worksheet, we did some drawing on the board. Each child will have to draw the numbers of circle according to the numbers written on the board. Most of the children could get it correctly while some needed some guidance in counting.

After that, the children started to draw the spots on the fish accordingly. Once the children done the drawing, they could start to colour the spots in any colours of their preference to make each fish looks unique. 

Art and Craft: Seahorse (Cut and Paste)

Date: 7^th March 2014

Day: Friday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Art and Craft: Seahorse (Cut and Paste)

Today, we shall do an art work about seahorse. These were the things that I had prepared:

-          an outline of a seahorse (I drew it earlier)

-          some small colour paper

-          scissors

-          gum

Each children were distributed a piece of the seahorse outline. Then, they can choose any colour papers that they would start off with. By using the scissors, they could cut the paper in any shapes such as square, triangle, or even stripes. Then they needed to paste the colour paper inside the outline of the seahorse. 

Huey Xin is cutting the colour paper into small pieces.

Thong Xuan is pasting the small pieces of colour paper onto her seahorse picture.

Zen Hong's colourful seahorse.

Video Watching: Wild Kratts – Seahorse Rodeo

Date: 6^th March 2014

Day: Thursday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Video Watching: Wild Kratts – Seahorse Rodeo

Before we move into more details, I showed them a cartoon programme – Wild Kratts. In one of the episode, they did some introduction about seahorse. It’s pretty easy and fun way for the children to learn about it.

Video Sharing:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x10ff60_wild-kratts-seahorse-rodeo_animals

After the movie, we had a short discussion about some facts that mentioned in the cartoon.

Teacher: Do you remember what they said about seahorse? Seahorse is a ……?

Children: Fish. (Not bad, they did understand the cartoon.)

Teacher: What is the big fish doing in the cartoon?

Children: Want to eat the seahorse.

Teacher: What did the seahorse do?

Children: Run.

Teacher: Run? It swim away. What happen to its colour on its body?

Children: Change colour.

Teacher: The father seahorse or the mother seahorse giving birth to baby seahorse?

Children: Mother. (The children insisted that the mother seahorse giving birth to baby seahorse. I corrected them that it’s the father seahorse instead.)

Book Sharing: The father seahorse giving birth

The story is about a fish who found a father seahorse that was giving birth to baby seahorse. Some of the children doubt about the cartoon they had watched, however, after reading the story to the children, they started to believe what they have learned.

Seahorse

Date: 5^th March 2014

Day: Wednesday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Seahorse

This week, we shall learn about seahorse. I was supposed to show a cartoon programme to the children before we go in further discussion about this sea creature, however, there’s another class who needed to use the computer at the same time as our class.

As a result, I did some sketches on the whiteboard to give some idea to the children about seahorse and introduce the parts of the seahorse.

After that, we did some word recognition and reading of the underwater world vocabulary one by one.

Walrus

Date: 3^rd March 2014

Day: Monday

Time: 4:00-5:00pm

Class: Starfruit

Theme: Underwater World

Teacher: Teacher Yeong

Walrus

We had a revision on seal and sea lion. There’s another seal family that the children were interested in – walrus. Therefore, we went through some facts about walrus:

 

Facts about walrus:

-          Walrus is parts of the seal family   

-          Walrus has tusk

-          Male walrus is called bull

-          Female walrus is called cow

-          Baby walrus is called calf

-          Walrus diet: shellfish, fish, squid etc

-          Walrus’ natural predator: killer whale and polar bear

At the same time, we also discussed that walrus is an endanger animal as people killed them for their tusk, fat and skin.

I guided the children to observe the look of the walrus and we managed to draw one on the board. After that, the children tried to draw it on their own.

Once again, we went through all the names of the sea creatures that the children had coloured some times ago. This time round, the children managed to recognize more words though not all. We shall have more practice on this.

I will be on leave tomorrow, therefore there will be no blog update for 4^th March 2014.