I headed over to observe Teacher S's class today. They continued with their usual lessons by counting in multiples of 2, 5 and 10. They also danced around to the nursery songs that they sang.
As the graduation ceremony is nearing, the K2 class had to rehearse on their dances. It gets kind of boring watching them repeating their dances over and over again. But I guess this is necessary as the children needs repetition to learn. *sigh* They can even get their dance steps wrong after 999th time of rehearsal.
After a long rehearsal, teacher S's class continued with their lesson of learning time.
Note to self: It is recommended to show children both digital watch and analog watch (with seconds hand and without) in order for them to be able to differentiate.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Day 10
Today is going to be an interesting day as I will get to see my favorite children from Mrs P's class. I love how sweet those children are. =)
First, I started the day by observing teacher S's K2 class. They were doing counting to prepare them for primary school, especially when they are buying food during recess. They also read a small book titled "Space Travel". Apparently, each child has a series of books that they purchased at the start of the year.
Break time came and soon, we were preparing to bring the K2 class over to the nearby community centre for rehearsal. I was surprised that Mrs P actually knew I drive to work. She approached me to see if it is possible for me to drive C's cousin's car to ferry the children over to the community centre. Eventually, it was decided that it would be better for all of us to walk over to the community centre together. Thus, I assisted Mrs P in bringing her class over to the centre for rehearsal.
On the way to the community centre, I got to learn more about the children's backgrounds. D is a brave girl who doesnt believe in ghosts as she shared stories about the tv programmes that she watched and how her dad tried to bluff her. The rest of the children also shared about which primary school they are going to and pointed out to me where they stayed. I love them all! =)
At the community centre, the children started to rehearse in the hall. It was quite stuffy as the aircon was not on. Furthermore, the doors were all locked, so there was not much ventilation. The poor children had to sweat, especially after the long walk from the kindergarten to the centre. I pointed it out to the principal and she headed over to the office to ask for the keys. The situation improved slightly later on. In addition, the principal briefed me on the layout of the community centre by showing me around, such as where the preparation rooms and toilets are located. I then proceeded to watch the children rehearse. All of the poor children were sweating alot due to the heat. I wanted so much to go to the NTUC fairmarket nearby to get some icecream or ice pops for them. Nonetheless, I decided against it as there were 5 K2 classes present. That would mean I have to get icecreams or icepops for approximately 120 children. I cant just play favoritism outright and get it for my favorite class, right?
After a few rounds of rehearsal, I helped to bring the sweaty and tired children back to the kindergarten. As it was about to rain, the sky was overcast and strong winds blew. One child commented that, "There is aircon in the sky." Adorable children! =) When Mdm C told the children "not to stand near the drains as they may drop into the drains and swim away like the fishes", the more grown-up children retorted, "not funny". Sometimes, I really don't know whether to laugh or cry at the children's comments.
Upon return back to the kindergarten, the children cooled down and drank water. Their bottles were refilled with water prepared by the aunty. The teachers then wrapped up their lessons by reading storybook to the children.
First, I started the day by observing teacher S's K2 class. They were doing counting to prepare them for primary school, especially when they are buying food during recess. They also read a small book titled "Space Travel". Apparently, each child has a series of books that they purchased at the start of the year.
Break time came and soon, we were preparing to bring the K2 class over to the nearby community centre for rehearsal. I was surprised that Mrs P actually knew I drive to work. She approached me to see if it is possible for me to drive C's cousin's car to ferry the children over to the community centre. Eventually, it was decided that it would be better for all of us to walk over to the community centre together. Thus, I assisted Mrs P in bringing her class over to the centre for rehearsal.
On the way to the community centre, I got to learn more about the children's backgrounds. D is a brave girl who doesnt believe in ghosts as she shared stories about the tv programmes that she watched and how her dad tried to bluff her. The rest of the children also shared about which primary school they are going to and pointed out to me where they stayed. I love them all! =)
At the community centre, the children started to rehearse in the hall. It was quite stuffy as the aircon was not on. Furthermore, the doors were all locked, so there was not much ventilation. The poor children had to sweat, especially after the long walk from the kindergarten to the centre. I pointed it out to the principal and she headed over to the office to ask for the keys. The situation improved slightly later on. In addition, the principal briefed me on the layout of the community centre by showing me around, such as where the preparation rooms and toilets are located. I then proceeded to watch the children rehearse. All of the poor children were sweating alot due to the heat. I wanted so much to go to the NTUC fairmarket nearby to get some icecream or ice pops for them. Nonetheless, I decided against it as there were 5 K2 classes present. That would mean I have to get icecreams or icepops for approximately 120 children. I cant just play favoritism outright and get it for my favorite class, right?
After a few rounds of rehearsal, I helped to bring the sweaty and tired children back to the kindergarten. As it was about to rain, the sky was overcast and strong winds blew. One child commented that, "There is aircon in the sky." Adorable children! =) When Mdm C told the children "not to stand near the drains as they may drop into the drains and swim away like the fishes", the more grown-up children retorted, "not funny". Sometimes, I really don't know whether to laugh or cry at the children's comments.
Upon return back to the kindergarten, the children cooled down and drank water. Their bottles were refilled with water prepared by the aunty. The teachers then wrapped up their lessons by reading storybook to the children.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Day 9
Today, I changed class and headed over Teacher S's K2 class. She was quite open with the children and allowed them to be active. It was amazing how they could memorize so many nursery rhymes. They could even dance to the songs. I guess that is because this class has the biggest classroom within the entire cramp kindergarten. The class then proceeded to have a show and tell session whereby the children took turns to share about their items. The children were pretty shy about it, unlike the U.S kids. In fact, they were so shy that their voice becomes almost inaudible.
Next, the K2 children had their graduation ceremony rehearsal. The principal then pulled me in the staff room to brief me on the logistics of the graduation ceremony. Apparently, such logistics planning down to the minor details is part and parcel of a principal's role. She has been a really supportive mentor and I am thankful for this.
I proceeded to share with her about my ideas for face mask for the concert and my preparation materials for Goldilocks and the three bears. Coincidentally, teacher N was about to teach that story to the nursery class. Thus, I sat in her class to observe. Under the nursery guided curriculum, puppets and cards were made available to engage the children in the story. If time permits, dramatic play is encouraged as well.
Later, I returned to teacher S's class where she has set up food and drinks stalls to stimulate the canteen scenario in primary school. She even provided the children with real coins to purchase food and drinks from the stalls set up by other children.
I ended the day off by helping the principal to fold the graduation ceremony itienry and pack them neatly in a box.
Next, the K2 children had their graduation ceremony rehearsal. The principal then pulled me in the staff room to brief me on the logistics of the graduation ceremony. Apparently, such logistics planning down to the minor details is part and parcel of a principal's role. She has been a really supportive mentor and I am thankful for this.
I proceeded to share with her about my ideas for face mask for the concert and my preparation materials for Goldilocks and the three bears. Coincidentally, teacher N was about to teach that story to the nursery class. Thus, I sat in her class to observe. Under the nursery guided curriculum, puppets and cards were made available to engage the children in the story. If time permits, dramatic play is encouraged as well.
Later, I returned to teacher S's class where she has set up food and drinks stalls to stimulate the canteen scenario in primary school. She even provided the children with real coins to purchase food and drinks from the stalls set up by other children.
I ended the day off by helping the principal to fold the graduation ceremony itienry and pack them neatly in a box.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Day 8
Finally I managed to observe Mrs K's K1 class for the entire day today. From her, I learnt quite a fair bit about classroom management. For instance, she has a silence exercise whereby she makes the children keep quiet for 50 seconds so as to calm all the children down before moving on to the next activity.
Besides, she is also creative in her morning exercises as she would sometimes add in new movements in her exercise routine to get the children excited, such as the fishermen casting the net action.
For the writing exercises, the children continued on the words that they have learnt yesterday. They also did a worksheet that allows them to draw out the number that is stated. For instance, if given the number 8, it means that the child has to draw out 8 cones/smiling faces/flowers. As usual, when given the standard set of instructions, children always love to deviate. They would ask the teacher whether they are allowed to draw angry or sad faces instead of smiling faces.
In addition, I had a long chat with Mrs K ,who was very willing to share about her experience. According to her, the most important thing a kindergarten teacher ought to do is to practise diplomacy towards the children's parents. It is crucial for a teacher to try to get to know parents as quickly as possible and build up a good relationship such that the parents would not try to pick on you, especially if the child tells tales to their parents. She also mentioned about a few children in her class. For instance, the parents of the child with special needs in her class seem to be in denial of their child's situation and refuse to admit. In addition, there is a boy, E, who went home and started cursing vulgarity. E's mum was shocked and upset and came over to the school to demand an explanation, pushing the blame to the children who are interacting with E and claiming that they are the ones who taught E those vulgarities. Upon further investigation, Mrs K realized that it was actually E who taught the rest of the children vulgarities and politely gotten back to E's mum that E is the one who is using the most vulgarities in the class. That statement got her quiet.
Other than learning how to deal with both classroom situation and parents, Mrs K also shared with me about some storybook telling ideas. Apparently, there is a Japanese storybook telling method, known as Kamishibai. It is pretty interesting as the set consists of large pictures with the story written at the back of the cardboard. This allows the teachers to engage the interest of the children while reading out the story to them. Perhaps I would check it out soon.
Besides, she is also creative in her morning exercises as she would sometimes add in new movements in her exercise routine to get the children excited, such as the fishermen casting the net action.
For the writing exercises, the children continued on the words that they have learnt yesterday. They also did a worksheet that allows them to draw out the number that is stated. For instance, if given the number 8, it means that the child has to draw out 8 cones/smiling faces/flowers. As usual, when given the standard set of instructions, children always love to deviate. They would ask the teacher whether they are allowed to draw angry or sad faces instead of smiling faces.
In addition, I had a long chat with Mrs K ,who was very willing to share about her experience. According to her, the most important thing a kindergarten teacher ought to do is to practise diplomacy towards the children's parents. It is crucial for a teacher to try to get to know parents as quickly as possible and build up a good relationship such that the parents would not try to pick on you, especially if the child tells tales to their parents. She also mentioned about a few children in her class. For instance, the parents of the child with special needs in her class seem to be in denial of their child's situation and refuse to admit. In addition, there is a boy, E, who went home and started cursing vulgarity. E's mum was shocked and upset and came over to the school to demand an explanation, pushing the blame to the children who are interacting with E and claiming that they are the ones who taught E those vulgarities. Upon further investigation, Mrs K realized that it was actually E who taught the rest of the children vulgarities and politely gotten back to E's mum that E is the one who is using the most vulgarities in the class. That statement got her quiet.
Other than learning how to deal with both classroom situation and parents, Mrs K also shared with me about some storybook telling ideas. Apparently, there is a Japanese storybook telling method, known as Kamishibai. It is pretty interesting as the set consists of large pictures with the story written at the back of the cardboard. This allows the teachers to engage the interest of the children while reading out the story to them. Perhaps I would check it out soon.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Day 7
Today, I headed over to Mrs K's K1 class for observation. She started off with the usual morning exercise, followed by the good morning song and attendance taking. She also started checking the fingernails of the children to make sure that they are short and clean. She then proceeded to teach phonics, mainly focusing on 3-letters words, such as ten men, fun run, and red hot. After teaching, she assigned them written assignments that include them writing words and drawing.
While I was observing them, the principal came over and pulled me out of the classroom. Apparently, there seems to be an emergency in the other kindergarten. One of the teachers was late and parents of two children were waiting to meet her. I followed her like a little lamb, thinking that the other kindergarten was just a stone's throw away. It was only awhile did I realize that she was actually trying to flag a cab down to bring us to the other kindergarten. I informed her that I drove as I did not want to travel from the other kindergarten back to the original kindergarten to retrieve my car. She hitted me lightly for not informing her earlier. I guess that broke the ice slightly as she started to share more about her duties as a principal in the car.
When we reached the other kindergarten, it was slightly more run down than the original kindergarten. Apparently, for that kindergarten, it will be closing down at the end of the year and converted into a centre that offers enrichment courses. The principal brought me to meet the teacher who explained the conflict situation to us. It appears that a boy has bitten a girl, which angered the girl's parents. As such, the girl's parents scolded him. This resulted in the boy's parents being unhappy. Intertwined with the entire story were some of the lies told by the boy who was afraid of telling the truth.
After listening to the teacher's explanation, I helped out with another teacher's filing of portfolios for individual children. The teacher was quite nice as she patiently explained to me on how I should go about the filing. Through the portfolios, I am able to grasp an idea of what the children have learnt and done for the term. While I was working on the portfolios, the teacher even served me coffee and cake. The coffee was nice smelling and the cake was quite nice, considering that I have not had my breakfast.
Next, at 1020 am, I followed her to observe how she teached her class in identifying shapes. She read to them books before assigning them worksheets to identify the different shapes. In the meantime, she pulled some of the students out to rehearse their dance for their graduation ceremony. Both the principal and I watched the teacher directing the dance for the children. We then discussed on how we could further improved the dance with the usage of props such as masks or flowers. Nonetheless, I think the plans are shelved due to shortage of resources and time. I hope to be able to create the masks for the children to wear though.
While the children were working on their worksheets, the teacher was discussing tips on how I could manage a class properly by asking the children to settle their own conflicts. She also shared some teaching tips like how to make the environment works for you while teaching instead of against you. For instance, she brought in different types of sand for the children to have a feel of the different textures.
Soon, it was 1130am. The principal went out to meet the parents in conflict. I did not go along as I felt that the parents might think I am an intruder in their conflict. The principal passed me the storybook, "Goldilocks and the 3 bears" to read to the Nursery class and plan for their lessons. I helped to take over the K1 class while the teacher freed herself to meet the parents of both parties. They were learning about weathers such as rainy, sunny and cloudy. I taught them more weathers in that brief session. Soon, it was time for them to end school and the teacher returned to wrap things up.
The principal happily told me that the matter was settled and I sent her back to the original kindergarten. On the way back, she shared with more about the kindergarten, such as the kindergarten fees and the budget for the concert, which was actually quite limited, considering that the parents only paid 30 bucks for the graduation ceremony. It was really a tight budget constraint as part of the money was also used to book the concert hall.
In all, today was an enlightening day and I learnt quite abit of the role of a principal. FINALLY! When I went home, I searched online and found some interesting ideas such as making a bear puppet and teaching them the "Pease porridge hot" nursery rhyme.
While I was observing them, the principal came over and pulled me out of the classroom. Apparently, there seems to be an emergency in the other kindergarten. One of the teachers was late and parents of two children were waiting to meet her. I followed her like a little lamb, thinking that the other kindergarten was just a stone's throw away. It was only awhile did I realize that she was actually trying to flag a cab down to bring us to the other kindergarten. I informed her that I drove as I did not want to travel from the other kindergarten back to the original kindergarten to retrieve my car. She hitted me lightly for not informing her earlier. I guess that broke the ice slightly as she started to share more about her duties as a principal in the car.
When we reached the other kindergarten, it was slightly more run down than the original kindergarten. Apparently, for that kindergarten, it will be closing down at the end of the year and converted into a centre that offers enrichment courses. The principal brought me to meet the teacher who explained the conflict situation to us. It appears that a boy has bitten a girl, which angered the girl's parents. As such, the girl's parents scolded him. This resulted in the boy's parents being unhappy. Intertwined with the entire story were some of the lies told by the boy who was afraid of telling the truth.
After listening to the teacher's explanation, I helped out with another teacher's filing of portfolios for individual children. The teacher was quite nice as she patiently explained to me on how I should go about the filing. Through the portfolios, I am able to grasp an idea of what the children have learnt and done for the term. While I was working on the portfolios, the teacher even served me coffee and cake. The coffee was nice smelling and the cake was quite nice, considering that I have not had my breakfast.
Next, at 1020 am, I followed her to observe how she teached her class in identifying shapes. She read to them books before assigning them worksheets to identify the different shapes. In the meantime, she pulled some of the students out to rehearse their dance for their graduation ceremony. Both the principal and I watched the teacher directing the dance for the children. We then discussed on how we could further improved the dance with the usage of props such as masks or flowers. Nonetheless, I think the plans are shelved due to shortage of resources and time. I hope to be able to create the masks for the children to wear though.
While the children were working on their worksheets, the teacher was discussing tips on how I could manage a class properly by asking the children to settle their own conflicts. She also shared some teaching tips like how to make the environment works for you while teaching instead of against you. For instance, she brought in different types of sand for the children to have a feel of the different textures.
Soon, it was 1130am. The principal went out to meet the parents in conflict. I did not go along as I felt that the parents might think I am an intruder in their conflict. The principal passed me the storybook, "Goldilocks and the 3 bears" to read to the Nursery class and plan for their lessons. I helped to take over the K1 class while the teacher freed herself to meet the parents of both parties. They were learning about weathers such as rainy, sunny and cloudy. I taught them more weathers in that brief session. Soon, it was time for them to end school and the teacher returned to wrap things up.
The principal happily told me that the matter was settled and I sent her back to the original kindergarten. On the way back, she shared with more about the kindergarten, such as the kindergarten fees and the budget for the concert, which was actually quite limited, considering that the parents only paid 30 bucks for the graduation ceremony. It was really a tight budget constraint as part of the money was also used to book the concert hall.
In all, today was an enlightening day and I learnt quite abit of the role of a principal. FINALLY! When I went home, I searched online and found some interesting ideas such as making a bear puppet and teaching them the "Pease porridge hot" nursery rhyme.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Day 6
Today, I started observing Mrs K's K1 class. She is a very good and patient mentor, who imparted lots of knowledge to me, especially on safety and hygiene. So, for the beginning of the day, the children have to take off their shoes before the teacher puts disinfection lotion on their hands. She then proceeded to start her daily morning exercise with the children, which somehow resembles the Singapore workout. In doing so, it helps in developing the children's motor skills and in a way, reduces the high energy level of the children. (Although in my humble opinion, it might have a counter-effect of making the children more alert and energetic.) The exercise includes actions such as head rotation, wrist rotation, bending of hips, knees rotation, hand on knee bending, slow jog and fast jog. Whilst observing the exercise routine carried out in the classroom, I wonder if it would be better for the exercise to be conducted outdoors, especially since there are potential safety hazards such as the sharp corners of cupboards within the classroom. Mrs K also encouraged the children to bring their own handkerchiefs to wipe their hands after washing. No wonder I saw many children having their own handkerchiefs in the pockets of their uniforms. I was then pulled out to help out with Mdm N as Mrs C was absent on that day. Besides, the specialist for special needs children from HQ travelled down to the kindergarten to observe the two special needs children in the kindergarten. Sight of her makes me miss HQ very much. The difference in attitude and treatment was totally obvious despite both of us representing HQ. :( Why has SC not visited me yet?! As the nursery classes have not arrived, Mdm N was helping the K2 children to rehearse their recipient of their graduation certificates during their ceremony. It was adorable to see the children rehearsing. They then proceeded to rehearse the dance that they have prepared for their ceremony. For this K2 class, they would be performing rock and roll. The nursery children soon reported to school and Mdm N got busy preparing them for the assembly. As usual for assembly, the children sang various songs and recited the pledge in different languages. I am starting to get used to such a routine. After assembly, I sat in for Mdm N's class for awhile. She taught the children about the weather and made them sing different nursery songs, such as Twinkle twinkle little star. She even had her own rendition, which was Twinkle twinkle little moon, that was shaped like a pancake instead of a diamond. I then proceeded to help out with Mrs C's nursery class since she was not around that day. I looked after the children during their break time and read to them a book about witches before their Chinese class. As there was time constraint, I did not have the opportunity to delve deeper into the subject of halloween.
After the chinese lesson of nursery class, I resumed taking care of them. I let them into their individual learning activities corners. One of the problems that I faced with nursery children is that they always like to switch learning corners and that itself created lots of problems for me. When I allowed one kid to switch, the rest of them will try to approach to me to request for switches. I guess I have to learn how to be strict with the class to prevent such a problematic scenario from happening. I also faced the problem of children complaining about trival issues to me. One of the tricks that other teachers have imparted was to ask the children to settle those issues among themselves. I have yet to master the skill of convincing the children to do so but I am working on it.
During the session, I taught two girls the art of folding hearts. I enjoyed my interaction with them but other children love to poke their heads in and requested to join in. As much as I want to try to interact with each individual and get to understand them better, I am afraid I might be neglecting the rest of the class.
Time always seems to pass by quickly when we are enjoying the activities that we are doing. Very soon, it was time for the children to pack up as another teacher would be taking over to wrap things up and read a story for the children.
I met up with the principal for a brief meeting. It was nerve wrecking as she always put on a strict front and I tend to be tongue-tied in front of her. Hope that this would not occur again and things would improve.
P.S: Happy Birthday, dada!
P.P.S: When I walk over to the K2 class briefly, I was being offered a Rocher chocolate by sweet C. It was her birthday too. She is totally adorable. =)
After the chinese lesson of nursery class, I resumed taking care of them. I let them into their individual learning activities corners. One of the problems that I faced with nursery children is that they always like to switch learning corners and that itself created lots of problems for me. When I allowed one kid to switch, the rest of them will try to approach to me to request for switches. I guess I have to learn how to be strict with the class to prevent such a problematic scenario from happening. I also faced the problem of children complaining about trival issues to me. One of the tricks that other teachers have imparted was to ask the children to settle those issues among themselves. I have yet to master the skill of convincing the children to do so but I am working on it.
During the session, I taught two girls the art of folding hearts. I enjoyed my interaction with them but other children love to poke their heads in and requested to join in. As much as I want to try to interact with each individual and get to understand them better, I am afraid I might be neglecting the rest of the class.
Time always seems to pass by quickly when we are enjoying the activities that we are doing. Very soon, it was time for the children to pack up as another teacher would be taking over to wrap things up and read a story for the children.
I met up with the principal for a brief meeting. It was nerve wrecking as she always put on a strict front and I tend to be tongue-tied in front of her. Hope that this would not occur again and things would improve.
P.S: Happy Birthday, dada!
P.P.S: When I walk over to the K2 class briefly, I was being offered a Rocher chocolate by sweet C. It was her birthday too. She is totally adorable. =)
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Day 5
After a long weekend which passes really quickly, it was time to return back to the kindergarten. To tell the truth, I kind of missed the kindergarten kids on Monday. Nonetheless, I am glad that I have some time off to work on the readings.
When I reached the kindergarten, my head was hurting quite abit due to my lack of sleep the previous night. As such, this affected my mood that day and I wasn't really in the mood to smile cheerfully and chat with the kindergarten children. On that day, I went to Mrs P's class and some of the children approached to greet me. Moreover, I think children are really sensitive and some of them can sense if their teacher was in a good mood or not.
Mrs P started teaching the children phonics, inclusive of ch, wh, sh, th, and bl. I think it would take me some time to be able to grasp the teaching of phonics as I wasn't brought up learning such stuff. It makes me wonder how I acquired my English language skills when I was young.
Halfway through the lesson, I was being pulled out to help take care of Ms S's K1 class, which was the class that I was originally attached to at first. It was activities and learning corner time and I guided the children to their respective areas. At least for this class, they were more settled down and did not request to change their learning corners all the time, like the nursery class. Nonetheless, for the Library corner group, the children did not have sufficient resources to engage their interest and learning. In fact, for this corner, there were only 3 puzzles which the children have been exposed to for the entire year, and 1 english book which was not at the suitable reading level for the children. I felt pity for the children and decided that I would join them and read the book to them. I also borrowed a book from the other class to read to them.
Soon, it was chinese lesson for the K1 class and I returned to Mrs P's K2 class to help out. They were doing an mini-essay (writing at least 5 sentences) about their favourite toys. Many of them had difficulty coming out with sentences or even spelling. I had to go around and teach them. For some, they wrote similar sentences, meaning that they wrote "My favourite toy is XXX.", with XXX being the only variable. -_-"
After the K1 class' chinese lesson, I resumed looking after them. It was break time and I made the children wash their hands before serving them food. Blur me did not notice the additional plastic bag inside the bag of cakes, which was meant to be a plastic hand glove. No wonder I felt weird serving the food with bare hands even though I washed my hands beforehand. Mrs K reminded me of the plastic bag and serving food became a breeze. Most of the children started eating except for one particular group. I was unaware of the group until much later when I started making my rounds. I was surprised when they asked me, "Teacher, can we eat our food?" I told them to go ahead and they replied, "But we have not sing the Thank You song." It was then did it dawned to me that the children were supposed to sing the thank you song before every meal. The children in this group were so obedient and it makes me kind of sad at the same time that they are programmed to be like little robots. I gave them the go-ahead nod and they started singing before attacking their meals. Hence, note to self, always remember to let the children sing the Thank You song before their meals.
It was A's birthday and he started telling me excitedly about the gifts that he has prepared for his classmates. A is slightly slow in his academic work but when it comes to work concerning his motor skills, he is actually pretty good.
After their meals, they were assigned to draw out what they would like to do during their holidays. When Ms S suggested swimming, most of the kids started drawing that as the activity that they would like to do during their holidays. It seems like for this class, they are wired to be really obedient and listen to all instructions, resulting in an inhibition of their creativity and expression. I hope that with time, the children will learn to express themselves and not "copy" each other's ideas.
When Ms S came back to her K1 class after she has finished helping out with the make up of the K2 class, I returned to the K2 class. They were wrapping up on what they have learnt for that day, especially the phonics. They came out with different words starting with "bl" together and wrote those words in their exercise books. When they are done writing, Mrs P had to check each individual's work and get each child to read out all the words that they have written to her. I helped out and in the end, I had a longer queue of children approaching me. Popularity comes with more work!
Soon, the day ended and boy am I glad. It is a great relief to my heavy head today.
P.S: A K2 girl approached me during Mrs P's class when school was almost over to ask me about the four faces in U.S. I told her that I would get back to her tomorrow. I guess I would probably head down to the library later to get some books on her question and some books for the K1 library corner.
When I reached the kindergarten, my head was hurting quite abit due to my lack of sleep the previous night. As such, this affected my mood that day and I wasn't really in the mood to smile cheerfully and chat with the kindergarten children. On that day, I went to Mrs P's class and some of the children approached to greet me. Moreover, I think children are really sensitive and some of them can sense if their teacher was in a good mood or not.
Mrs P started teaching the children phonics, inclusive of ch, wh, sh, th, and bl. I think it would take me some time to be able to grasp the teaching of phonics as I wasn't brought up learning such stuff. It makes me wonder how I acquired my English language skills when I was young.
Halfway through the lesson, I was being pulled out to help take care of Ms S's K1 class, which was the class that I was originally attached to at first. It was activities and learning corner time and I guided the children to their respective areas. At least for this class, they were more settled down and did not request to change their learning corners all the time, like the nursery class. Nonetheless, for the Library corner group, the children did not have sufficient resources to engage their interest and learning. In fact, for this corner, there were only 3 puzzles which the children have been exposed to for the entire year, and 1 english book which was not at the suitable reading level for the children. I felt pity for the children and decided that I would join them and read the book to them. I also borrowed a book from the other class to read to them.
Soon, it was chinese lesson for the K1 class and I returned to Mrs P's K2 class to help out. They were doing an mini-essay (writing at least 5 sentences) about their favourite toys. Many of them had difficulty coming out with sentences or even spelling. I had to go around and teach them. For some, they wrote similar sentences, meaning that they wrote "My favourite toy is XXX.", with XXX being the only variable. -_-"
After the K1 class' chinese lesson, I resumed looking after them. It was break time and I made the children wash their hands before serving them food. Blur me did not notice the additional plastic bag inside the bag of cakes, which was meant to be a plastic hand glove. No wonder I felt weird serving the food with bare hands even though I washed my hands beforehand. Mrs K reminded me of the plastic bag and serving food became a breeze. Most of the children started eating except for one particular group. I was unaware of the group until much later when I started making my rounds. I was surprised when they asked me, "Teacher, can we eat our food?" I told them to go ahead and they replied, "But we have not sing the Thank You song." It was then did it dawned to me that the children were supposed to sing the thank you song before every meal. The children in this group were so obedient and it makes me kind of sad at the same time that they are programmed to be like little robots. I gave them the go-ahead nod and they started singing before attacking their meals. Hence, note to self, always remember to let the children sing the Thank You song before their meals.
It was A's birthday and he started telling me excitedly about the gifts that he has prepared for his classmates. A is slightly slow in his academic work but when it comes to work concerning his motor skills, he is actually pretty good.
After their meals, they were assigned to draw out what they would like to do during their holidays. When Ms S suggested swimming, most of the kids started drawing that as the activity that they would like to do during their holidays. It seems like for this class, they are wired to be really obedient and listen to all instructions, resulting in an inhibition of their creativity and expression. I hope that with time, the children will learn to express themselves and not "copy" each other's ideas.
When Ms S came back to her K1 class after she has finished helping out with the make up of the K2 class, I returned to the K2 class. They were wrapping up on what they have learnt for that day, especially the phonics. They came out with different words starting with "bl" together and wrote those words in their exercise books. When they are done writing, Mrs P had to check each individual's work and get each child to read out all the words that they have written to her. I helped out and in the end, I had a longer queue of children approaching me. Popularity comes with more work!
Soon, the day ended and boy am I glad. It is a great relief to my heavy head today.
P.S: A K2 girl approached me during Mrs P's class when school was almost over to ask me about the four faces in U.S. I told her that I would get back to her tomorrow. I guess I would probably head down to the library later to get some books on her question and some books for the K1 library corner.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Day 4
TGIF! It's the day for the K2 class to have their rehearsal for graduation ceremony. When I reached the kindergarten, I realized that most of the students are dressed in their PE attire. I guess friday is their designated day for their PE lesson, which helps to develop their motor skills. It is kind of sad that they only have one day to have outdoor fun, especially since they are just kids.
So, anyway, when I entered the K2 class, I was greeted by an aura of excitement. The children were all excited about dressing up for their rehearsal. An adorable indian girl greeted me and commented sweetly, "Teacher, you look very cute today. Yesterday, you were a little bit cute. Today, you are very cute." Aww, it was so sweet of her, especially with her actions that accompanied her praise. Mrs P also commented that I look sweet in my purple top today. It was surprising as it is not my usual style to dress in bright colors. Yea, I am more of a black and white gal, but I guess bright colored clothings tend to attract people more.
We proceeded to get the children changed into their costumes. The girls wore a sexy white top that requires tying of knots at their tummy areas. Some of the girls were unable to tie knots and asked me for help. Yes, you heard it right. I, who always have trouble tying knots myself, have to "pretend" to help children tie knots. As their strings were pretty short, I only tie a double knot for them and not a ribbon knot. I guess it is a "silent" pre-requisite for kindergarten teachers to be equipped with basic skills such as tying of knot.
When the children were changing, a girl, P, observed a picture depicting a girl standing next to the window with "white" hair. She questioned me on why the girl has white hair. I tried to explain to her about the sunlight effect on the girl's black hair and I sure do hope that she understood the concept that I was trying to put forth.
After getting the children changed into their attires, the rest of the teachers, inclusive of the principal, and I started helping the children to put on make up. I was in charge of styling the guys' hair with gel. I guess I did a pretty decent job overall for my first attempt in styling boys' hair. At least, some of the boys look cute after styling. The girls even commented that some boys look cute in their styled hair, boosting the ego of those boys. =) For some of the boys, I felt guilty towards them as I know I sort of created a mess out of their hair. Yea, I don't have the talent to be a hair stylist. The boys were all well-behaved and sat down quietly without moving, trusting me to do a good job with their hair. It makes me want to do a good job for all of them but with my limited constraints, I was unable to create the best hair styles for some of them, especially if their hair length is long. Nonetheless, they showed no disappointment even when I felt that I did a lousy job. This is especially so for one of the boys, whom I put too much styling gel on as I somehow could not get his hair spiked up.
Upon completion of the styling of hair for the boys, I proceeded to help out with the make up of the children. I put on lipsticks for both the girls and boys - a bright red color lipstick for the girls and a coral color lipstick for the boys. It was difficult to put on lipstick for the kids as their lips are pretty small as compared to the thickness of the lipstick and they love to purse their lips. Moreover, I tried my best and I managed to apply lipstick for most of them. It was alot easier than styling the boys' hair!
Finally, when all the children have finished their dressing up, they posed in front of the backdrop for both individual shot and group shot. While the teachers were busy taking photographs of the K2 children as a group, I felt an intruding presence somewhere at the back. When I turned around to take a look, I spotted a nursery girl using her toy camera and imitating the teachers to take photograph of the K2 kids. That melted my heart and I approached her to tease her. She was really shy and turned away whenever I tried to take a photograph of her. She is really adorable and I love playing at the dramatic corner with her. Her friend was also friendly and was less shy. Thus, I was only able to catch a picture of her friend and the back of her.
While the teachers were busy with the K2 children, I started getting involved with the nursery class. I played with some of the children at the dramatic corner and got them expressing themselves. Somehow, the teachers in this kindergarten always seem to leave the children alone during their activities time. It seems to me that this may not be an appropriate thing to do as playtime is usually the best time to give individuals attention and understand the kids better. Besides, playtime also offers the opportunity for children to develop their language skills through expression and communication with teachers. Other than dramatic corner, I also got involved with the children in the bricks corner and arts and crafts corner. Some of the children were trying to build and join bricks to be as long as possible. However, they realize that for the bricks that extended out of the table, they seem to keep dropping and the children were never able to build as long as they wished. For the children in the arts and crafts corner, they were playing with dough and making different shapes with the mould maker. Some of the girls were really friendly and I enjoyed talking to them.
Another thing that I learnt today is about children's jealousy. When the K2 girls saw me at the nursery class, they approached me and asked me what I was doing there and that I should belong to their class. I felt torn as I didn't realize that my actions would result in such an emotion. It is hard for me to separate myself as I do not technically belong to any particular class for now. I try to be the friend for all children and hope that I could stretch their potential. I love it especially when children would just approach me to talk to me and tell me more about themselves. For instance, a girl approached me today to inform me of the primary school that she is going to. Another girl also approached me for help to find her plastic bag for her shoes, which apparently had flown away while she was doing her make up and photo shots. I was unable to help her and tried to offer alternative solutions to appease her.
In all, today was a tiring day but it sure built a stronger bond between both teachers and children. What tugged my heart most today was a comment by a K2 girl, "Yea! Today no need to do do worksheets!" It makes me think of what the rigid local education system has done to deprive these children of their childhood enjoyment.
So, anyway, when I entered the K2 class, I was greeted by an aura of excitement. The children were all excited about dressing up for their rehearsal. An adorable indian girl greeted me and commented sweetly, "Teacher, you look very cute today. Yesterday, you were a little bit cute. Today, you are very cute." Aww, it was so sweet of her, especially with her actions that accompanied her praise. Mrs P also commented that I look sweet in my purple top today. It was surprising as it is not my usual style to dress in bright colors. Yea, I am more of a black and white gal, but I guess bright colored clothings tend to attract people more.
We proceeded to get the children changed into their costumes. The girls wore a sexy white top that requires tying of knots at their tummy areas. Some of the girls were unable to tie knots and asked me for help. Yes, you heard it right. I, who always have trouble tying knots myself, have to "pretend" to help children tie knots. As their strings were pretty short, I only tie a double knot for them and not a ribbon knot. I guess it is a "silent" pre-requisite for kindergarten teachers to be equipped with basic skills such as tying of knot.
When the children were changing, a girl, P, observed a picture depicting a girl standing next to the window with "white" hair. She questioned me on why the girl has white hair. I tried to explain to her about the sunlight effect on the girl's black hair and I sure do hope that she understood the concept that I was trying to put forth.
After getting the children changed into their attires, the rest of the teachers, inclusive of the principal, and I started helping the children to put on make up. I was in charge of styling the guys' hair with gel. I guess I did a pretty decent job overall for my first attempt in styling boys' hair. At least, some of the boys look cute after styling. The girls even commented that some boys look cute in their styled hair, boosting the ego of those boys. =) For some of the boys, I felt guilty towards them as I know I sort of created a mess out of their hair. Yea, I don't have the talent to be a hair stylist. The boys were all well-behaved and sat down quietly without moving, trusting me to do a good job with their hair. It makes me want to do a good job for all of them but with my limited constraints, I was unable to create the best hair styles for some of them, especially if their hair length is long. Nonetheless, they showed no disappointment even when I felt that I did a lousy job. This is especially so for one of the boys, whom I put too much styling gel on as I somehow could not get his hair spiked up.
Upon completion of the styling of hair for the boys, I proceeded to help out with the make up of the children. I put on lipsticks for both the girls and boys - a bright red color lipstick for the girls and a coral color lipstick for the boys. It was difficult to put on lipstick for the kids as their lips are pretty small as compared to the thickness of the lipstick and they love to purse their lips. Moreover, I tried my best and I managed to apply lipstick for most of them. It was alot easier than styling the boys' hair!
Finally, when all the children have finished their dressing up, they posed in front of the backdrop for both individual shot and group shot. While the teachers were busy taking photographs of the K2 children as a group, I felt an intruding presence somewhere at the back. When I turned around to take a look, I spotted a nursery girl using her toy camera and imitating the teachers to take photograph of the K2 kids. That melted my heart and I approached her to tease her. She was really shy and turned away whenever I tried to take a photograph of her. She is really adorable and I love playing at the dramatic corner with her. Her friend was also friendly and was less shy. Thus, I was only able to catch a picture of her friend and the back of her.
While the teachers were busy with the K2 children, I started getting involved with the nursery class. I played with some of the children at the dramatic corner and got them expressing themselves. Somehow, the teachers in this kindergarten always seem to leave the children alone during their activities time. It seems to me that this may not be an appropriate thing to do as playtime is usually the best time to give individuals attention and understand the kids better. Besides, playtime also offers the opportunity for children to develop their language skills through expression and communication with teachers. Other than dramatic corner, I also got involved with the children in the bricks corner and arts and crafts corner. Some of the children were trying to build and join bricks to be as long as possible. However, they realize that for the bricks that extended out of the table, they seem to keep dropping and the children were never able to build as long as they wished. For the children in the arts and crafts corner, they were playing with dough and making different shapes with the mould maker. Some of the girls were really friendly and I enjoyed talking to them.
Another thing that I learnt today is about children's jealousy. When the K2 girls saw me at the nursery class, they approached me and asked me what I was doing there and that I should belong to their class. I felt torn as I didn't realize that my actions would result in such an emotion. It is hard for me to separate myself as I do not technically belong to any particular class for now. I try to be the friend for all children and hope that I could stretch their potential. I love it especially when children would just approach me to talk to me and tell me more about themselves. For instance, a girl approached me today to inform me of the primary school that she is going to. Another girl also approached me for help to find her plastic bag for her shoes, which apparently had flown away while she was doing her make up and photo shots. I was unable to help her and tried to offer alternative solutions to appease her.
In all, today was a tiring day but it sure built a stronger bond between both teachers and children. What tugged my heart most today was a comment by a K2 girl, "Yea! Today no need to do do worksheets!" It makes me think of what the rigid local education system has done to deprive these children of their childhood enjoyment.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Day 3
For today, I went over to one of the K2 classes to observe the children and the entire experience was new and different from that of the K1 class. The children in the K2 class were more open and more embracing towards strangers. Perhaps it is because they are preparing to go to primary school and are slowly developing their social skills. As today is both G's and C's birthday, the children in the class sang the english, chinese and malay version of the birthday song to both of them. I was pretty impressed that they actually know the song in three languages as I myself do not even know. G's mum was generous and even brought a cake along for G to celebrate with his classmates. On the other hand, C's parents did not bring a cake for her and I hope that she does not feel upset by it. The cake that G's mum brought was really yummy and I enjoyed the slice of cake for my breakfast =)
I started learning about developing lesson plan when the principal passed me the curriculum guide. I also flipped through some of the samples of the lessons planned for the year and I found some of the ideas pretty interesting. I can't wait to come out with a lesson plan of my own. All my ideas are bursting to come out but for now, I have to try to suppress them by venting them in my trusty old notebook, which by the way, no longer has its covers. I sure hope that the classroom environment changes when I start my teaching practicum next year. The current classroom is really not conducive for encouraging creativity and I wish to make some changes.
Anyway, back to the birthday children. C's uniform is really short. In fact, it is so short that her shorts underneath can be seen. She seems to be uncomfortable with her uniform as she keeps trying to make adjustment to her uniform but to not much avail. This shows the dilemma of a parent - to be willing to spend the extra bucks to buy a new uniform for the child's comfort or to save up since the child is growing at a fast speed at this stage anyway. G, the other birthday child, was a really adorable boy. He was a shy and sweet boy. On the other hand, his friend, E was a super active boy. E chatted alot to me and even showed me that he can move his knees like mr bean. The other kids then joined him and all started chatting to me about mr bean show, which apparently is on tv at 5pm everyday. Some of them also excitedly informed me about their purchase of their Primary One school uniforms and even complained about the number of books that they have to buy. It is a phrase in the local education landscape that everyone has to go through, isn't it?
The girls are also really adorable as they will observe me entirely and by that, I really mean from head to toe. Some of the girls will shyly comment that I am pretty and that I have a nice looking hair band. They make me shy! They also observe the slippers that I was wearing and commented that it was spoilt, which I wasn't even aware of myself. You see, the slippers that I was wearing belongs to the centre and it is of a size that is much bigger than my feet. Nonetheless, I still wear it as I really do not wish to walk barefoot around in the kindergarten. I am thinking of getting a pair of bedroom slippers but that would mean that I have to bring the slippers to school everyday. Oh well, I will consider about it.
As for the lessons taught today, it includes phonetics (as usual) and imparting the value of money. I really have no idea what phonetic is all about but as long as it helps children to learn how to read, it is probably useful, and I should learn more about it. From my interaction with the children during playtime, I also realized that some children are still unable to know the value of money (like the value of items printed in coupons). Nonetheless, they are slowly learning and they seem to be much better off than the K1 children whom I interacted with yesterday.
On a sweet ending note, I had an enjoyable time playing with the girls in the dramatic corner today. They were playing with the dettol hand sanitizer that one girl brought to school and even offered me some. Yes, you didn't read it wrongly. They were playing and were easily amused by the fragrance that the hand sanitizer gives off.
P.S: Tomorrow is the children's rehearsel for their graduation ceremony and the kids are all excited preparing for it. I feel happy for them too and I can't wait to see them perform. At the same time, I know I will miss them next year.
I started learning about developing lesson plan when the principal passed me the curriculum guide. I also flipped through some of the samples of the lessons planned for the year and I found some of the ideas pretty interesting. I can't wait to come out with a lesson plan of my own. All my ideas are bursting to come out but for now, I have to try to suppress them by venting them in my trusty old notebook, which by the way, no longer has its covers. I sure hope that the classroom environment changes when I start my teaching practicum next year. The current classroom is really not conducive for encouraging creativity and I wish to make some changes.
Anyway, back to the birthday children. C's uniform is really short. In fact, it is so short that her shorts underneath can be seen. She seems to be uncomfortable with her uniform as she keeps trying to make adjustment to her uniform but to not much avail. This shows the dilemma of a parent - to be willing to spend the extra bucks to buy a new uniform for the child's comfort or to save up since the child is growing at a fast speed at this stage anyway. G, the other birthday child, was a really adorable boy. He was a shy and sweet boy. On the other hand, his friend, E was a super active boy. E chatted alot to me and even showed me that he can move his knees like mr bean. The other kids then joined him and all started chatting to me about mr bean show, which apparently is on tv at 5pm everyday. Some of them also excitedly informed me about their purchase of their Primary One school uniforms and even complained about the number of books that they have to buy. It is a phrase in the local education landscape that everyone has to go through, isn't it?
The girls are also really adorable as they will observe me entirely and by that, I really mean from head to toe. Some of the girls will shyly comment that I am pretty and that I have a nice looking hair band. They make me shy! They also observe the slippers that I was wearing and commented that it was spoilt, which I wasn't even aware of myself. You see, the slippers that I was wearing belongs to the centre and it is of a size that is much bigger than my feet. Nonetheless, I still wear it as I really do not wish to walk barefoot around in the kindergarten. I am thinking of getting a pair of bedroom slippers but that would mean that I have to bring the slippers to school everyday. Oh well, I will consider about it.
As for the lessons taught today, it includes phonetics (as usual) and imparting the value of money. I really have no idea what phonetic is all about but as long as it helps children to learn how to read, it is probably useful, and I should learn more about it. From my interaction with the children during playtime, I also realized that some children are still unable to know the value of money (like the value of items printed in coupons). Nonetheless, they are slowly learning and they seem to be much better off than the K1 children whom I interacted with yesterday.
On a sweet ending note, I had an enjoyable time playing with the girls in the dramatic corner today. They were playing with the dettol hand sanitizer that one girl brought to school and even offered me some. Yes, you didn't read it wrongly. They were playing and were easily amused by the fragrance that the hand sanitizer gives off.
P.S: Tomorrow is the children's rehearsel for their graduation ceremony and the kids are all excited preparing for it. I feel happy for them too and I can't wait to see them perform. At the same time, I know I will miss them next year.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Day 2
Today was slightly better as the ice has been broken. The teacher tried to know me better and things seem to improve as she initially thought that I was an auditor who was observing her every single movement in class. The children seem to be slowly used to my presence and stop staring at me. Perhaps this is because S, the special needs girl, was not in class today. I am unsure why she wasn't present but I do hope it is not because of me.
So far, I have successfully remembered the names of a handful of kids. I strive to remember all of their names by the end of this week (or hopefully earlier than that). It was better when they were all sitting down in groups and I remember them according to their positions. However, when the kids start engaging in their different activities, it becomes slightly more difficult for me to be able to remember all their names.
The kids are always amusing and they never fail to amaze me with the stuff that they come up with. For instance, I was chatting with a boy, A, yesterday and he showed me his creation of a little boy with his puzzle shapes. He said that the "puzzle boy" was his brother and so I probed further to ask about how old his brother was. However, A does not seem to comprehend my question and so I changed the question to a slightly easier one - What's the name of your brother? He proceeded to answer me and even went on to tell me about the names of his entire family, including his parents. -_-" I was amused at him but I listened to his soft mumbles with concentration. It was only today that I realize that he wasn't really strong in his academics and was a slow learner. I am glad that I had taken the time off to try to understand him better and I do hope that I will be able to slowly learn how to guide him and improve his academic standing.
Another incident that happened today was a gal, J, who brought stickers to class. She offered her stickers to me but I politely declined (or perhaps I wasn't polite enough) as I thought she might not bear to part with her stickers. I would if I were her! The teacher later told me that she brought the stickers specially for me, and her words stung me immediately. I was unsure of what to do and I sure hope that she will not be upset by my rejection. *pray hard* The least thing I want to do is to upset any kid.
I also played with kids from the other K1 class today during their activities corner. There was printed money at the dramatic corner and of course, me being the finance major graduate, was attracted to this corner. I tried to teach them the value of money but I realize that for some kids, they are unsure of the value of money. For instance, when I showed some of the kids a $1000 note, they told me that it was a $10 note. Similarly, when I showed them a $50 note, they told me it was a $5 note. It seems that they were unable to recognize the extra zeroes at the back. Moreover, some of the kids were brighter and they were able to identify the different currency notes when I tested them in a group setting. I also asked them which notes they would prefer - a $1000 note or $2 note. One of the boys who was pretty smart immediately took the $1000 note whereas a gal chose the $2 note. The boy then proceeded to laugh at her. I gently asked her about her choice in notes and she replied that with a $2 note, she would be able to buy her lunch. Isn't it sweet? But I sure do hope to be able to teach them the value of money so that they will not be cheated in any way when they are purchasing items on their own. Hopefully, society will not be cruel enough to cheat any young kids of their pocket money.
In addition, during the activities period for the K1 class that I was in, I joined the group who was working on puzzles. As there were only 3 puzzles for 4 children, there was insufficient resources for the kids to work on. Besides, the puzzles were too simple and not challenging enough for the kids as they seemed to have worked on the puzzles for many times before. I wonder how this could be improved on in a permanent way. Perhaps I should suggest to hq to have a puzzle renting shop or department in the near future to rotate puzzles among all centres. That would be costly though. Nonetheless, working on a puzzle that you know the solution in advance certainly takes the fun out of the challenge. One of the girls, V, was also unwilling to share her puzzles with the other gal. When the other gal requested for her turn, V allowed her to play the puzzle on the condition that she controlled all the pieces, and that is V would pass her the pieces of puzzle one by one. As a teacher, I have no idea what I should do in such a scenario. I know I should step in to teach the child to share but I am in no position to do so and I sure don't wish to see any parent coming over with a chopper over my head. Thus, I chose the easy way out and that is to pull the other gal out from the situation and get her to work with other peers.
Last but not least, for the other K1 class, I personally witnessed a boy lying on the floor mat at the reading corner while another boy stepped on his back. I just stood there and do nothing as the other boy who was lying on the floor was smiling. The other teacher saw this incident and came over to scold the boy and punish him. At that moment, I felt like a total idiot. It seems like I cant differentiate what is right and wrong myself. The worse thing is when I saw the whole incident, I was dreaming of the Javanese massage that has a massager stepping on ur back and how nice that would be. I know, I am such an idiot. I should learn to snap out of my weird fantasy daydreams and be firm with students at times.
Best thing of today: Class was cancelled at SP =)
So far, I have successfully remembered the names of a handful of kids. I strive to remember all of their names by the end of this week (or hopefully earlier than that). It was better when they were all sitting down in groups and I remember them according to their positions. However, when the kids start engaging in their different activities, it becomes slightly more difficult for me to be able to remember all their names.
The kids are always amusing and they never fail to amaze me with the stuff that they come up with. For instance, I was chatting with a boy, A, yesterday and he showed me his creation of a little boy with his puzzle shapes. He said that the "puzzle boy" was his brother and so I probed further to ask about how old his brother was. However, A does not seem to comprehend my question and so I changed the question to a slightly easier one - What's the name of your brother? He proceeded to answer me and even went on to tell me about the names of his entire family, including his parents. -_-" I was amused at him but I listened to his soft mumbles with concentration. It was only today that I realize that he wasn't really strong in his academics and was a slow learner. I am glad that I had taken the time off to try to understand him better and I do hope that I will be able to slowly learn how to guide him and improve his academic standing.
Another incident that happened today was a gal, J, who brought stickers to class. She offered her stickers to me but I politely declined (or perhaps I wasn't polite enough) as I thought she might not bear to part with her stickers. I would if I were her! The teacher later told me that she brought the stickers specially for me, and her words stung me immediately. I was unsure of what to do and I sure hope that she will not be upset by my rejection. *pray hard* The least thing I want to do is to upset any kid.
I also played with kids from the other K1 class today during their activities corner. There was printed money at the dramatic corner and of course, me being the finance major graduate, was attracted to this corner. I tried to teach them the value of money but I realize that for some kids, they are unsure of the value of money. For instance, when I showed some of the kids a $1000 note, they told me that it was a $10 note. Similarly, when I showed them a $50 note, they told me it was a $5 note. It seems that they were unable to recognize the extra zeroes at the back. Moreover, some of the kids were brighter and they were able to identify the different currency notes when I tested them in a group setting. I also asked them which notes they would prefer - a $1000 note or $2 note. One of the boys who was pretty smart immediately took the $1000 note whereas a gal chose the $2 note. The boy then proceeded to laugh at her. I gently asked her about her choice in notes and she replied that with a $2 note, she would be able to buy her lunch. Isn't it sweet? But I sure do hope to be able to teach them the value of money so that they will not be cheated in any way when they are purchasing items on their own. Hopefully, society will not be cruel enough to cheat any young kids of their pocket money.
In addition, during the activities period for the K1 class that I was in, I joined the group who was working on puzzles. As there were only 3 puzzles for 4 children, there was insufficient resources for the kids to work on. Besides, the puzzles were too simple and not challenging enough for the kids as they seemed to have worked on the puzzles for many times before. I wonder how this could be improved on in a permanent way. Perhaps I should suggest to hq to have a puzzle renting shop or department in the near future to rotate puzzles among all centres. That would be costly though. Nonetheless, working on a puzzle that you know the solution in advance certainly takes the fun out of the challenge. One of the girls, V, was also unwilling to share her puzzles with the other gal. When the other gal requested for her turn, V allowed her to play the puzzle on the condition that she controlled all the pieces, and that is V would pass her the pieces of puzzle one by one. As a teacher, I have no idea what I should do in such a scenario. I know I should step in to teach the child to share but I am in no position to do so and I sure don't wish to see any parent coming over with a chopper over my head. Thus, I chose the easy way out and that is to pull the other gal out from the situation and get her to work with other peers.
Last but not least, for the other K1 class, I personally witnessed a boy lying on the floor mat at the reading corner while another boy stepped on his back. I just stood there and do nothing as the other boy who was lying on the floor was smiling. The other teacher saw this incident and came over to scold the boy and punish him. At that moment, I felt like a total idiot. It seems like I cant differentiate what is right and wrong myself. The worse thing is when I saw the whole incident, I was dreaming of the Javanese massage that has a massager stepping on ur back and how nice that would be. I know, I am such an idiot. I should learn to snap out of my weird fantasy daydreams and be firm with students at times.
Best thing of today: Class was cancelled at SP =)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
First day at Kindergarten
First day at kindergarten proves to be what I had expected. The kindergarten was unprepared for my arrival as there was a miscommunication on the exact date of my "intrusion". As such, the principal was kind of caught off-guard at my arrival. The assembly at the kindergarten was probably one of the longest assemblies I have ever had in my entire life. Yes, and I really do mean it. For the most part of my school life that I remember, I probably only sing the national anthem and recite the english version of pledge. Nonetheless, for the kindergarten, I had to not only recite the pledge in english version, but also in chinese version. Besides, the kids had to sing the other songs, inclusive of the kindergarten song, coupled with the accompanying actions. I hope to be able to catch up fast and learn all these movements as soon as possible so as to facilitate my "blending in".
Some of the kids are really welcoming and excited to see me, which was really sweet of them. For today, I was assigned to follow the K1 class for the entire morning session. They were pretty well behaved, though they keep staring at me. I felt slightly uneasy but I do understand that as kids, they tend to be more curious about strangers. Hopefully, they will be able to accept me into their class soon. It was difficult trying to remember their names but I am trying my best. Now, I finally understand how hard it is for a teacher to have to remember every single person's names and faces.
In this class, there was a girl with special needs. She is unable to participate in the group's activities and she seems to be staring in space most of the time. For the activity sheet given, she chose to color the entire sheet of paper and her colorings were usually not within the lines of the picture. It was then did it dawn upon me about the existence of such special needs children and the difficulties that they face in learning. It makes me curious and want to find out more about what I can do to try to help her develop in her own learning since she was just left alone to do her own stuff during group work.
I also made a mental note about how I could possibly improve the environment of the kindergarten so as to enhance the children's learning. Nonetheless, given the awkward position that I am in now, I really have no idea to whom I can propose or put forth my ideas to so as to not make the situation worse that it already is. He told me that I am too eager to excel in my work but this is just the way I function. Perhaps this may not be the right industry for me. I feel so suffocated and helpless without any authoritative control, and this is stifling my personal development.
Some of the kids are really welcoming and excited to see me, which was really sweet of them. For today, I was assigned to follow the K1 class for the entire morning session. They were pretty well behaved, though they keep staring at me. I felt slightly uneasy but I do understand that as kids, they tend to be more curious about strangers. Hopefully, they will be able to accept me into their class soon. It was difficult trying to remember their names but I am trying my best. Now, I finally understand how hard it is for a teacher to have to remember every single person's names and faces.
In this class, there was a girl with special needs. She is unable to participate in the group's activities and she seems to be staring in space most of the time. For the activity sheet given, she chose to color the entire sheet of paper and her colorings were usually not within the lines of the picture. It was then did it dawn upon me about the existence of such special needs children and the difficulties that they face in learning. It makes me curious and want to find out more about what I can do to try to help her develop in her own learning since she was just left alone to do her own stuff during group work.
I also made a mental note about how I could possibly improve the environment of the kindergarten so as to enhance the children's learning. Nonetheless, given the awkward position that I am in now, I really have no idea to whom I can propose or put forth my ideas to so as to not make the situation worse that it already is. He told me that I am too eager to excel in my work but this is just the way I function. Perhaps this may not be the right industry for me. I feel so suffocated and helpless without any authoritative control, and this is stifling my personal development.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Last Gathering
All of us had to report to hq today and it would probably be the last time we will be meeting each other together before we are separated into different groups for our classes at SP and different kindergartens. As rational as I try to be, I think I will miss some of my colleagues. I will miss all their crazy jokes and sudden emo-ness in classes (especially in the afternoon classes) and their different "capabilities". I sincerely wish everyone well and hope that they enjoy themselves at the kindergartens that they are assigned to.
On a different note, the new career path plotted seems interesting. Moreover, nothing is concrete yet, so I guess we'll just see when the time comes.
P.S: I really really love the fishhead beehoon stall at the market. It is probably one of the best things that I will miss working at hq.
On a different note, the new career path plotted seems interesting. Moreover, nothing is concrete yet, so I guess we'll just see when the time comes.
P.S: I really really love the fishhead beehoon stall at the market. It is probably one of the best things that I will miss working at hq.
Friday, October 16, 2009
End of Orientation
Today marks the last day of my orientation. It seems as though time passes by really fast when you wish for it to slow down and vice versa. October 5th was the day i started my starter kit at SP, which lasted for approximately 2 weeks. During that period of time, my colleagues and I had to report to SP for lectures that started from crazily early 8am till 730pm. So as anyone can imagine, I have to be awake before the sun rises and only be home after the sun sets. Nonetheless, for some days, classes ended early. By that, I meant the classes ended in the evenings, approximately 4pm. As for the usefulness of the course, I personally have my reservations about it. More often than not, the question of my presence in the course and whether this career path is right for me arises. In a way, I do regret my choices. I have never in my life dreamt that this would be the career path for me. The scenario of a person with a masters in finance having to step foot into the slow-moving early childhood education industry and starting off from a diploma tends to raise the eyebrows of many. It does sounds depressing but no matter what happens, I will try to remain positive and make the best out of any circumstance.
Monday, September 7, 2009
First Day at Work
Today is my first day at work. It was exciting and nerve-wrecking at the same time. I am excited to meet new colleagues but I do worry whether I would be able to get along well with them. Hopefully, everything would turn out fine. I almost ruined my first day by entering in the wrong direction on the PIE expressway. I then proceeded on to turn out from the Bukit Timah filter lane and headed for the ECP expressway instead since this was the route that I took to go for my interview. Luckily, I was in time for work and there were two other colleagues who arrived much later than me.
It was surprising to meet boss at the lobby waiting for us. He introduced a south korean gal to me and asked me to guess what her nationality was. When I guessed correctly, I think the fun was gone. Yea, I am a fun dooper. I have always been that kind of person, I guess. He (not my boss) used to describe me as the gal who enters a lively party and sapped all the energy out of it, making it dark and gloomy. I cant help it, can I?
So after everyone has arrived, we started to fill up those forms required by HR. He started acting all secretive as he tried to separate all of us and prevent us from getting to know each other's salary. Despite me really wanting to know others' salary, I dont have the intention of letting others know. This reminds me of the Nash equilibrium and the prisoners' dilemma situation. Yes, I majored in Economics during my undergraduate years.
Having filled up all the required forms for both HR and Singapore Polytechnic, we proceeded to Bedok Green Primary School for our Lego Training session. We were quite late then and so, it was almost tea session by the time we arrived. Lipton's milk tea was pretty good in my opinion, although some claimed that it was too sweet for their liking. Char siew buns were served for morning tea session and we then proceeded to continue with our Lego training.
The Lego training was quite interesting, though the lecturing parts were slightly boring. I was just more interested in getting into action and play the Lego toys rather than sitting through the lectures. Lunch was on the house, so that was one good thing about the training session. Nonetheless, only a spicy dish was served -- curry chicken rice. I usually enjoy the normal type of curry chicken but for this stall, it was too spicy for my indulgence. I barely touch my plate despite me feeling terribly hungry. For afternoon tea session, we had sweet potato soup which I skipped as I wasn't feeling too well then.
Eventually, 4pm came and we knocked off from work. This pretty much wrapped up my entire first day at work.
It was surprising to meet boss at the lobby waiting for us. He introduced a south korean gal to me and asked me to guess what her nationality was. When I guessed correctly, I think the fun was gone. Yea, I am a fun dooper. I have always been that kind of person, I guess. He (not my boss) used to describe me as the gal who enters a lively party and sapped all the energy out of it, making it dark and gloomy. I cant help it, can I?
So after everyone has arrived, we started to fill up those forms required by HR. He started acting all secretive as he tried to separate all of us and prevent us from getting to know each other's salary. Despite me really wanting to know others' salary, I dont have the intention of letting others know. This reminds me of the Nash equilibrium and the prisoners' dilemma situation. Yes, I majored in Economics during my undergraduate years.
Having filled up all the required forms for both HR and Singapore Polytechnic, we proceeded to Bedok Green Primary School for our Lego Training session. We were quite late then and so, it was almost tea session by the time we arrived. Lipton's milk tea was pretty good in my opinion, although some claimed that it was too sweet for their liking. Char siew buns were served for morning tea session and we then proceeded to continue with our Lego training.
The Lego training was quite interesting, though the lecturing parts were slightly boring. I was just more interested in getting into action and play the Lego toys rather than sitting through the lectures. Lunch was on the house, so that was one good thing about the training session. Nonetheless, only a spicy dish was served -- curry chicken rice. I usually enjoy the normal type of curry chicken but for this stall, it was too spicy for my indulgence. I barely touch my plate despite me feeling terribly hungry. For afternoon tea session, we had sweet potato soup which I skipped as I wasn't feeling too well then.
Eventually, 4pm came and we knocked off from work. This pretty much wrapped up my entire first day at work.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Phone Day
It was nerve-wrecking today. As I have mentioned in my earlier post, I am making a decision that is likely going to change the path of my life. I sure do hope that I do not regret making this decision.
It took quite alot of nerves for me to reject my employer whom I have signed a contract with. Of course, they certainly weren't too happy about it and requested that I send them a formal email. I did so and all I could do next was for them to direct the email to the management to decide my fate in penalty. The next thing to do was to inform my new employer that I would be accepting their job offer to be a kindergarten teacher. It was less nerve-wrecking than the previous call, of course.
And so this is it, my fate is sealed. My path in life is chosen.
It took quite alot of nerves for me to reject my employer whom I have signed a contract with. Of course, they certainly weren't too happy about it and requested that I send them a formal email. I did so and all I could do next was for them to direct the email to the management to decide my fate in penalty. The next thing to do was to inform my new employer that I would be accepting their job offer to be a kindergarten teacher. It was less nerve-wrecking than the previous call, of course.
And so this is it, my fate is sealed. My path in life is chosen.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Decisions and more decisions
Today is the day I am faced with a big decision to make. A decision that would change my life forever. Decision making is always tough. I tend to lose sleep over making decisions and today is a perfect example of one such day. I went for medical check up at raffles medical centre at north bridge road. The check up took pretty long, approximately 2 hrs or so. When it was finally my turn to meet the doctor, I realize he wasn't exactly as smart as how I imagine a normal doctor would be. I approached him about my split nails problem and he advised me to seek advice from a nail manicurist instead -_-". Perhaps I couldn't control myself and rolled my eyes at him. He proceeded on to mumble about other suggestions such as taking nail calcium tablets. Very smart indeed. I am sure it wasn't the issue of lack of calcium as one hand of mine has perfectly normal nails whereas the other hand seems to have nail problems.
For lunch, I decided to settle it at Coffee Bean within the hospital. The chicken pasta was so-so and wasn't fantastically nice for its price. What was enjoyable was the atmosphere, since I got to web-cam him with free wi-fi. Momentarily, it felt like he was just sitting across me, accompanying me to chill at the cafe. But of course, that wasn't the case.
At that time, I was wondering whether I ought to proceed on for an interview at the headquarter since I have already secured an analyst job then. Nonetheless, I followed my heart and decided to just attend the interview with an open heart and mind. In a way, it paid off, I guess. It was more of a getting to know you better session and he started plotting a career progression path for me. It sounded tempting, especially with an increment in pay that exceeded the pay for the current job that I had secured. Furthermore, I would be getting an advanced diploma in early childhood education, not that I am in need of such a certificate, considering that I do have a masters. Perhaps the most seducing temptation of all was the acknowledgement and appreciation of talent. The swiftness and openness in offering a pay that was actually pledged to my qualification, without even bothering to take a double check at my certificates. I know, I am shallow, but I do appreciate being appreciated at times. I am sick of hearing about how I lack working experience and therefore I have to be assigned to a fresh graduate pay. That is how society works, especially in the local scene. It works so well to crush fresh graduates' dreams, in particular, those who dare to dream big. It is ironic indeed.
And so, this is how I found myself wandered into the world of a mixture of children and political party, with a pending burden of an upcoming breaking contract penalty. A surprise to many and myself, but that's me.
For lunch, I decided to settle it at Coffee Bean within the hospital. The chicken pasta was so-so and wasn't fantastically nice for its price. What was enjoyable was the atmosphere, since I got to web-cam him with free wi-fi. Momentarily, it felt like he was just sitting across me, accompanying me to chill at the cafe. But of course, that wasn't the case.
At that time, I was wondering whether I ought to proceed on for an interview at the headquarter since I have already secured an analyst job then. Nonetheless, I followed my heart and decided to just attend the interview with an open heart and mind. In a way, it paid off, I guess. It was more of a getting to know you better session and he started plotting a career progression path for me. It sounded tempting, especially with an increment in pay that exceeded the pay for the current job that I had secured. Furthermore, I would be getting an advanced diploma in early childhood education, not that I am in need of such a certificate, considering that I do have a masters. Perhaps the most seducing temptation of all was the acknowledgement and appreciation of talent. The swiftness and openness in offering a pay that was actually pledged to my qualification, without even bothering to take a double check at my certificates. I know, I am shallow, but I do appreciate being appreciated at times. I am sick of hearing about how I lack working experience and therefore I have to be assigned to a fresh graduate pay. That is how society works, especially in the local scene. It works so well to crush fresh graduates' dreams, in particular, those who dare to dream big. It is ironic indeed.
And so, this is how I found myself wandered into the world of a mixture of children and political party, with a pending burden of an upcoming breaking contract penalty. A surprise to many and myself, but that's me.
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