Kami Anak Malaysia 2012

Sweet Soya Beans all in a row

Waving the Jalur Gemilang

Kami Anak Malaysia

Teh Tarik demonstration

Tucking into the local delicacies

Roti Canai, Roti Canai

No teh tarik for us, but sirap bandung

Some of our delicious local food

 

I AM A SPY Science Camp

Twinkle Bell,   Water Fairy, Spiderman - these are some of the code names of our spies.  We have a special I AM A SPY science camp during the June holidays.  Although it is a short camp,  we had lots of fun,  solving mysteries and building our very own tools to ease our spying assignments.  We tried to solve the mystery of the deflated ball,  made our own kaleidoscope  and binoculars and watched out for the scary dragon whose eyes follow us wherever we go --- somehow like Monalisa by Leornado Da Vincci,

 

 

 

How to inflate the ball without blowing air into it?

By hitting it continuously.

See,  my ball is inflated and will be very big and round soon.

These are the equipment for our kaleidoscope All are not assembled yet.  Master Spy says we must be like McGyver and know how to assemble and make our own tools whenever necessary.

Aahhhh....... We can see beautiful shapes and colours in our kaleidoscope.

It's magical!  

Hello!  We've made our very own binoculars.

Let's see, first we put the lenses on our eyes to check if they work.  Then,  we take out the sticker ...

Wah ..... so many dragons!

This is a mysterious dragon.  Its eyes follow you wherever you go,  left, right, up and down.  The secret?  Optical Illusion!

Visit the Amazing Dragon  post to see the dragon in action!

We are going on an animal hunt.  What is inside the terrarium?

Can you see the crocodile?   No, It's an iguana!

Our next camp?   DREAM JOB SCIENCE CAMP IN Nov-Dec 2012.  We will answer these questions. 
What do you want to be when you grow up?
You can visit www.LittleScientistS.com for updates.

Amazing Dragon Illusion!

ALL ABOUT ME LAPBOOK

In the first half of the year, the Navy Beans made a special lapbook on ALL ABOUT ME.  This is a personalised lapbook for each child, and the lapbook is made possible with the contributions from the children's parents.  Besides writing and decorating the lapbooks, the children learnt how to meet deadlines for each assignment, they were encouraged to discuss and decide what goes inside their book.  For example, we had a great time discussing why each child likes his/her room.  Most of them like the room for its cleanliness but one boy insisted that he likes it messy, and I respected his decision.  (not so sure about his Mum, though)

They also learnt to construct sentences that applied to their daily needs.  Sentences have meanings, and they learnt why it is important to do so.  We also talked about how each child is special, how important their families and friends are, about manners as well as celebrating little achievements as they grow older.  Not forgetting, about being healthy and safe ... I hope they have good memories of making this lapbook and it will be cherished for many years to come.

The lapbook cover



Inside the folder - Lift the flaps and you can read what the child has written.  For example:  Things I can do with my head: nod. shake,sway, etc,  MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL reveals a picture of the child and in MY HOUSE, the child would have written about things that she does at home, how she helps out or what she likes about her house.  IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ME tells us about her name, date of birth, address, hobbies, or best friends.  In the brown envelope are also pictures and writings about her favourite things. 

A child's favourite things

The picture of the child is under the flap.
 



What can we do with our hands?

I am healthy.   Discussing the food groups, how to keep the heart healthy and taking care of self. 

We discussed about having good manners through the Manners Song.

 

JOLLY LEARNING from UK

Inky, Snake and Bee are beloved characters in the Jolly Learning programme.  They help children all over the world learn and master English phonics, reading and grammar.  We will use this programme in Little Beans comprehensively from next year.  Parents are welcome to be part of this learning adventure with your child.  As a start, visit their website to get an idea of their activities and learn the Jolly songs - then you'll know what your child is singing about!

Websites you may want to visit  are : www.jollylearning.co.uk

 

A GLIMPSE OF OUR CONCERT PRACTICE

 

Our concert theme is PLAY, EXPLORE, LEARN.  This in in line with the belief that children learn best through play and exploration.  The dances are varied, fun and colourful.  Many hours of practice and hard work have been put in.  The process of preparation is important to instill the spirit of teamwork, patience and confidence as well as to develop the children's (as teachers') music & rhythm skills, listening to instructions and directions and kinesthetic development.  So much learning is taking place during the span of time... 

I would just like to share some of the action that is taking place.  See you in November 11 for the concert!  Not sharing info about the dances though, meant to be a surprise!  We are working on the backdrop,  creating collages of masterpieces by ALL THE CHILDREN.    Teacher Mee spent an afternoon teaching Teacher Jane and I how to use artist Jackson Pollock's method to splash colours using unconventional colouring and painting tools such as sponges, brushes, mops, brooms and roller. We made only 4 pieces but  IT WAS FUN BUT MESSY!!!  Can you imagine the big mess when the children start creating???  Have yet to start on this project, dreading the mess that we will make during the process.  You can refer to the website to get a better idea of Pollock's art.
www.storyboardtoys.com/gallery/Jackson-Pollock-lesson-plan.htm

Teacher Mee showing how the masterpeice can be created.

Teacher Yvonne trying her hands to create her own masterpiece. 
Note:  all painting equipment are new, including this penyapu lidi!
 

The dances by the children

 

 

Jie Jies in action!

 

I am one of the placement tutors for students in Early Childhood Education from SEGI college.  The objective is to offer a place for practical training students to have their practicum in my centre.  As a mentor, I provide them with guidance  during their training here as well as to assess their work for the college.  These students provide the centre with a breath of fresh ideas and enthusiasm as they provide us with new teaching ideas and hands-on learning activities for the children.  They usually stay for a duration of 3 to 6 months, depending on their course.  It is  heartening to know that the industry is moving towards professionalism and this is a big step towards helping the teachers and children.

 

 

This term, I am fortunate to have 3 trainees doing their training with us.  They provided us with the much needed assistance in preparation for the concert.   I observe them in their daily interaction with the children, as well as their presentation of their lesson plans.  I would like to share with you some of the interesting activities that our children learnt from them.

 

 

Learning about fractions using a model of a pizza.

Not easy to comprehend, but with the pizza they learnt more than 1/2 or 1/4.  They also learnt about
2/8 or 4/6 and other fractions.

Looking on a real pizza.  Can we eat this later?

Oh yes, we can enjoy the pizza.  Everyone is having 1/????? of the pizza.
 

This is a hibiscus.  A hibiscus is our National Flower.

Painting over the paper to unveil the hidden hibiscus.

Viola!  This is the hibiscus.  The children also learnt about the different parts of the hibiscus -
 petal, stamen, stigma, leaf and they are only 4 years old.

The older children learnt about the Malaysia states and the corresponding flags.

Working as a team to unveil the Malaysian map.

Younger children learning about the letter-sound - jumping and hopping into the correct sound.

Matching the correct sounds together

Listening to isntructions and singing a beloved song using hand-made musical instruments

ICT and the Internet play an important role in contemporary teaching and learning.



The 3-year olds learnt about land and water animals by sorting them in the correct place.

Physical activities are equally important.

Many materials are used with old newspaper, including the 'ball' and 'net'.

Learning about the children's rights

HUNT FOR OUR RIGHTS

Basic skills such as brushing teeth

Brushing their teeth, a daily morning routine at Little Beans

Learning about working together to accomplish a task

The importance of eating healthily and what is the FOOD PYRAMID?

The latest project for them is to carry the Bananas and Apples theme through.

There will be many more lessons before they leave on November 11.  I wish them all the best as they embark on their new ventures; either to further their studies or carving an enriching career in Early Childhood Education.  Thanks Sin Yi, Oreo and Sze Xin jie jie!