Good Bye

Hi Everyone,

We've had a busy week with bugs, eclipses, movies, and fun.

On Monday we read some stories from the reading book, and also worked on some grammar work in the Tops books.

On Tuesday we went to Fu Yang park to see the various species of insects and plants. The tour guides were very informative, and the kids came away with a new found sense of bug life at the park.

On Wednesday morning we went to the park near Tree House to see the solar eclipse. The kids were very surprised and many of them asked "why the moon was eating the sun? "

On Thursday we practiced writing sentences and did more reading.

And finally on Friday we finished the reading book in the morning and in the afternoon we watched a short dvd Bonnie brought in and had a "good bye" party for Bonnie, Serena, and Devon.

I've had a wonderful time teaching everyone this past year. All the students have grown tremendously, and it's going to be sad to see Bonnie, Devon, and Serena move on to 1st grade. I know the three of them will do an excellent job, and I look forward to hearing all their stories of their new experiences at Chinese school. Good Luck to all of you, we'll miss you very much!

Graduation 2009

July 17th

Hi everyone,

I'd like to thank everyone for coming to this year's graduation show. The kids worked extra hard this year, and I was very proud of how well they did.

We're almost coming to the end of the semester....One week to go. I can't believe how fast the year has gone by, last September seems like such a short time ago.

The beginning of this week was spent rehearsing for the show with song rehearsal and play practice. On Thursday it was back to work. In Math class we reviewed grouping by colors, shapes, sizes, etc... We've also been working hard on writing sentences in writing class. I've been trying to get the kids to understand the basics of writing a sentence, like starting with a capitol letter, leaving space between each word, and finally ending each sentence with the appropriate punctuation.On Friday we did more review of grouping in math, and in the afternoon we practiced the sentence patterns: " Whose cat is this? It's his/her cat."

Aston did great this week. He did a very good job on Wednesday, and was very excited and happy to sing the song " Bare Necessities".

Albert did great dancing for the graduation show. He sang loud and clear, and was happy to entertain everyone.

Claire was very good as the baby ostrich. Her and Albert did very good, they especially loved being together on stage.

Bonnie was great on Wednesday. She's a natural at acting, and seems to enjoy herself very much when she's on stage.

Serena made a very good lion. She tried very hard and worked well with Jerry. The two of them were more silly than scary though.

Devon has made tremendous progress this year. He's shown a lot of progress in all his class subjects, and has done especially well in math and phonics. He also did a great job in the graduation show on Wednesday. Great job, Devon!!!

Hank did very well in Tops. He's also show a lot of improvement in math and reading over the past few weeks.

Kyle has been doing very well writing sentences. He's able to understand the basic concepts behind how to write a sentence, and his handwriting has shown great improvements as well!

July 10th

Hi Everyone,

We only have three more class days to go until this year's graduation show; so it's been rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal at Tree House. We've made tremendous progress and we should be able to put on a great show!

In addition to rehearsal we've also been practicing writing sentences. In art class we made hand prints, and we've also been practicing reading.

I look forward to seeing everyone next Wednesday!

Bonnie, Serena, and Devon need to give a self introduction for Wednesday's graduation show. I've worked with each student and we've come up with a small speech for each child.

Kyle and Hank have made a lot of progress on writing sentences.

Claire and Albert are doing well on the show, but the two of them like to play around a lot ,so I hope on the night of the show they can focus a little more and not play together while they are on stage.

Aston has been making some great drawings. He's becoming a very talented artist!

Irene has been sick this week. I hope you get better soon!

Phil and Benson have made a lot of progress this semester. The two of them are becoming very good at expressing themselves in English.

Eason's English always amazes me. He's very good at writing sentences without any assistance and usually the sentences he writes are very creative and good.

July 3rd

Hello everyone,
It's been a very busy week as we've been preparing for this year's graduation show on July 15th. Between the music practice, the dance practice, and the play rehearsal we haven't had a moments rest. Oh, and when we haven't been rehearsing for the play, we've also been doing our regular schedule of math, reading, phonics, Tops, and science.
On Monday we learned about -ed and -ing endings in phonics class. We and also continued learning about greater than, less than and equals to in math class. On Tuesday we spent a lot of time practicing for the play. On Wednesday we rehearsed, danced and sang. On Thursday we did more of the same....In fact, we're going to be very busy for the next two weeks getting ready for the play. As the old saying goes: " Practice makes perfect ! " On Thursday afternoon we did work in the Tops workbook. On Friday the kids had "show and tell" in the morning, followed by dance rehearsal and play practice.
I hope everyone has a nice weekend.....