Take a Walk In My Shoes

It's Friday at last! I hope you are all enjoying this holy day and I have for you some pictures of our typical day in Kindergarten. Hopefully I will do a more updated one later but this is great to give you an idea of how our day goes by.
Stay tuned:

We start of our day, everyday, by sitting in our circle and talking about the important things...like what the weather is like, what the days of the week are, what month we are in, counting our numbers in the month. There is also time for the students to raise their hand and talk about something to the whole class.

Center work: Although we don't do this daily this is a main part of our program. The students are split into groups and they start working on different activities for the same concept...Here it was for patterns. There was gluing, cutting, coloring, and shaping play-dough.

P.E. time is everyone's favorite...even though its only one day a week we try to have the most fun with it. Every week is a different activity. In the pictures they were playing with Mrs. Nisreen, the school P.E. teacher, and they had a blast.

 

So much Fun!

Like I said I'm going to try and add more pictures because these next few weeks we will be doing alot  more crafts. Especially since we are working on the Summer Project for the Seasons. you will hear more about that later Inshallah.

Have a great weekend!

Picture-Mania

Hi Parents,

As you have all been patiently waiting for pictures I thought I would post some pictures of our last two field trips. The first one from the Plant Nursery and the second one from the Bird Zoo.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Have a good evening!





Should I Sleep in English Too?!!

Good Evening Parents,

I'm so sorry for the major gap in posts but my computer was indisposed and I had no motivation to write on another computer. Hopefully this will make up for that!

As some of you may know my bachelors degree was in Speech and Hearing Sciences. I'm currently working on my master's degree for Assessment and Diagnosis in speech and language. So you might be wondering...What does that have to do with KG2?
Well good question and the reality is...a lot! I teach your children the essentials of a new language. I actually chose to be a kindergarten teacher for purposes of studying the development of a new language in children. But the bitter truth is...school is just not enough! Don't get me wrong it goes a looonng way. And I'm sure my parents have noticed how much of a change has happened in your youngsters. When they listen more intently to English, when they say words in English, and when they combine their words together. They've grown so much!

Some people may start to question...well should I do EVERYTHING in English? Well the answer is simply no. That's unreasonable to begin with. Our goal is for your children to be equally established in Arabic as they are in English....so the two must overlap equally. To make this change possible you only need to add a few things to your daily routine. Studies have shown that if a child has about 4-6 hours of exposure to the second language, over a few years they will become equal language users or bilingual. If your child spends 4 hours in school talking in English...then your almost there.

Promoting Language Exposure:
1. Review concepts taken in school. For example if todays topic was shapes...review the shapes with your child. Try to change the context each time. One time use the sentence "I see..." and have your child finish this sentence with a shape they see around them. Example: I see a rectangle (for a door). Next try a different form "I like..." and use the shapes that you like. This increases your child
s awareness for sentence forms. Always, always, always try to review.
2. Increase exposure to music. Youtube is a great website for listening to much nursery rhymes and educational songs that targeting promoting language. A great channel on youtube is The Preschool Learning Station....they have the very famous Five Little Ducks.
3. Increase exposure to English shows and movies. One great thing about English tv shows and movies for children is that they can be very educational. A great show is Curious George which you can find a lot of on Youtube. The magic school bus is also great for kids. Even though your child might not understand everything at first it will become easier with time.
4. Read books. Not only do young children LOVE books...they increase imagination. Language is imagination. We imagine what we want to say...we go to the moon and back with our words. Let your child learn language and explore options...even things that may seem strange and unusual because they open up your child's awareness to things around him/her.
5. Use language everywhere you go. When your in the car..."lets count all the buses we see". "What colors are the cars passing by"...etc. When your in the store..."Which is your favorite fruit"...etc. Use English whenever you can. The more places you use English the more your child's brain will store that information and remember to use it in different times.

I hope this post has been helpful....and I hope you continue to see progress in your child's language. I see great things and I have great expectations. The sky is the limit!
Thanks,
Hanan

Owl I want to do is Read!

KG2 loves to read! We spend so much time in class reading our sight words and trying our sentence combinations with them. Based on our discussions yesterday in the parent teacher meeting, I decided to make this reading booklet for you to use when working with your child.

Click HERE to get this file.

Notes:
1.This is a pdf file, you must click it and then download it to be able to access it on your computer. Print it out if you'd like although I may be printing this out at school and sending it home with the kids as well. This file can be your backup if a page gets torn or missing.

2. This book covers all the words we will take from the alphabet...you can keep going if you'd like or stop and wait for us to take the words in class it is up to YOU!

3. This booklet is for NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL KG2.

4. Please let your child write the words on the dotted word and color in the pictures. This book is supposed to be interactive.

5. The purpose of this booklet is to help you practice words with your child, the final page is a practice for how to put the words together to make sentences. ONLY use words from this BOOK. Do NOT add your own words.

Thanks.

Click HERE to get this file.

Oct. 27-31 Update and Plan

Dear parents,

This week has been a very very busy week for your children. We have been reviewing all of the previous concepts and words we learned from the months before. This week we didn't take any new numbers. Please do try your hardest to work with your children as much as possible on revising previous concepts and in English as much as you can.

Please find the link to the National plan and update HERE

Please find the link to the International plan and update HERE

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow at the parents-teacher meeting which begins at 10:00.
Have a great night!

October 20-24 Update

Hello Parents,
As we come to the close of the week I wanted to share with you a few thoughts plus my weekly update which I think you will find easier to view online rather than on the printed sheets in your child's file.

1. Please note that this update is not a COMPLETE list of the things we have taken during the week. It is a brief display of the most important things I have focused on.

2. Please understand that you need to review basic concepts with your child *preferably in English* especially the words, alphabets, and numbers with your child. This is the best way for information to stay fresh in your child's mind. So do try your hardest to review these things constantly.

3. Please note that this week although we covered number 6 we weren't able to actually write so please write number 6 with your child in his/her numbers book.

IM VERY PROUD TO NOTE THAT THIS WEEK YOUR CHILDREN BEGAN READING SENTENCES LIKE "THE BALL IS BIG" OR "THE DOG IS SAD". THIS IS GREAT PROGRESS BUT PLEASE BE AWARE THAT IT TAKES MUCH TIME FOR A CHILD TO BE ABLE TO CONSISTENTLY DO THIS. THIS WORK SHOULD BE CONTAINED AND THE CLASSROOM. ALSO THIS WEEK YOUR CHILDREN BEGAN WRITING SMALL WORDS CONTAINING LETTERS THEY HAVE ALREADY LEARNED LIKE "BAG" "CAB" AND "BED". THIS MAKES ME SO PROUD.

Click HERE to get the update.

Click HERE to get next week's plan.

Thanks

Off to Hajj We Go!

Good Afternoon,
Today I want to share with you some pictures from our Hajj day at school. All the proceedings were explained to the children before and during the actual practice and the kids had so much fun saying the traditional Hajj phrases, "Labaik Allahuma Labaik". They truly enjoyed learning about how Hajj proceeds that when the time came the kids were ready and pumped to go!

They put their Hajj clothing on and walked to the bus where their Hajj passes were punched for their trip. They rode the bus to the empty playground and got ready to do everything from "shave their hair" to "sleeping in the tents".

Here are some pictures for your pleasure:

 

It was an amazing learning experience, and the children enjoyed it to the max. Tune in for more pictures at any time!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Happy Eid

Good morning all,

Being that tomorrow is Eid, I felt like  I should share with you all the much awaited pictures from our Eid part last Thursday.

It was really a great experience for the children and I. We had bundles of fun. We started our day off by making the beautiful Eid cards that you will be receiving tomorrow. The children wrote everything on the inside by themselves except for the year. Some students had more trouble than others and I helped them out a bit.

Then I chose the two with the most beautiful handwriting and I had them write the two cards for Ms. Wafaa and Dr. Jehad. I split the class into two groups and off we went to give them their cards.

Next, we all enjoyed a little funfetti cupcakes and ate our food. Next, it was time for face painting. The children had a blast guessing if they looked like each other or not. P.s they all did!
Then, we divided the class into groups and played some indoor matches where the winners received balloon horns.
Finally, each child received their gifts and it was time for some outdoor fun.

Without further delay, here are some pictures.

 

 

I hope everyone enjoys their Eid with their family as much as I will. And I hope these pictures brighten your day just a bit! You can also find these pictures in the gallery page.

 

Wishing you a peaceful and loving Eid!

Boom Boom Pop Pop

As you all know, our precious kindergarteners and I have been hard at work memorizing lots and lots of songs. We are doing this because songs are a great way to teach and learn English. The rhythm and the beat of the song inspires children to sing along. The more they like a song the more they will learn it.
However, being that English is a second language for these children they need lots and lots of practice in order for their pronunciation to come out properly. Therefore, I have created this lovely music file in order for you to help your child sing the songs with the correct words.

Please note, that the rhythm may not be obvious to you so have your child sing it first and build the words of the song based on your child's singing rhythm.  I hope that makes sense.
There is one song I have not shared and it's the Letter song that goes like this:
Letter A, Letter A, a a aaaa.

The reason I haven't shared it is because I want the children to memorize the correct forms of letters and their sounds.
Please click HERE to download this file.

HERE you will find the phonics song that I'm sure your child has been singing repeatedly.

I hope this is helpful, please use this Eid break to memorize some of the songs.

Enjoy!

Play the Peek-a-Boo Game!

Good morning,
Today I'm going to be providing my first post for my Kindergarten class of 2013. I was really excited to make this blog after seeing all of the parents positive interactions. Here are a few of the things I would like to share with you through this blog:

1. Weekly updates and Plans will be shared through blog posts.
               
            2. Provide pictures from inside the classroom giving you a peek into your child's work.

3. Share personalized worksheets and practice papers for you and your child.

       4. Provide general idea about the classroom setting and work we are doing.

As you can see a lot will be going on here, please try your hardest to check this blog as often as possible. Not only will you have direct access to your child's work, but you will also find out a lot more about what's been going on at school. No personal comments will be shared on this blog. If you would like to contact me about something personal please email me or contact me directly. This blog is a general description of the entire class and not one child in specific. Please respect others privacy and moderate your comments.
Please make an email as soon as possible because personal pictures of your child will not be shared through this blog. If you already have an email please send that to me as soon as you can. So that I may provide you with the pictures.
**Parents please note:
Due to the American Digital Schools philosophy of modernization and technology many posts will contain items that will not be sent home in print form. If anyone is having trouble accessing items presented through the blog please let me immediately. Thanks,