Dear parents:

This week we had 3 brand new students that joined our class. They are Ricky (T. Beryl's child), Ruby (Paige’s younger sister), and Dora L (or Baby Dora).

For phonics class, we started again with the letter “D”, “d” , and the related words that begin with that sound like doll, dog, door, diamond, and dice. The kids had to cross out the words whose beginning sounds were not “d” such as “apple” and “carrot”.

For social studies, we started a new unit “Adjectives”. I introduced them to new adjectives like “deep & shallow”, “long & short”, “strong & weak”, “Dirty & clean”….and so on.

For motor skill class, we worked on worksheets related to even numbers from 2 to 10. The kids had to put on as many whiskers as the number shown on the picture. For Ellie and Chloe, it was very easy so they both finished quickly before everyone else; but for the others, it was a little challenge for them.

For arts and crafts, we made spiral paper snakes. The kids had to decorate their snakes with crayons. Then, they cut around the spiral on their paper.

Individual comments:

Ricky cried the very first time on Tuesday afternoon when we were making arts and crafts. He repeatedly asked for help from me. I had to assist Baby Dora to cut her snake at the same time. So, I asked him to wait. He thought that I wasn't going to help him.

Baby Dora L. is outgoing and friendly towards her new friends, especially the girls. She enjoys singing and dancing during morning circle.

Ruby was hilarious.She cried only the first day of school…. the others times it was just tears here and there. She is a very independent child who has a unique personality. She doesn't like to drink water, but I'm trying to encourage her to have at least a bottle a day.

Ellie bonded with Ruby quickly on the first day of school. She often volunteers to sit next to her. She also showed her where to put her water bottle and passport by the end of the school day.

Daniel tries harder to stay focused during class time, but he gets distracted very easily. I usually separate him away from Alex. He is willing to try new things such as practicing using scissors.

Alex’s new friends are Daniel and Rick. Alex likes to gain attention from the others by doing silly things such as screaming or banging on the table. When I stopped him, he looked at me and smiled, then pretended that nothing happened. Alex also missed morning circles many times this week.

Henry is catching up in Phonics class. He is not yet familiar with all the alphabet letters and sounds. When I ask him about phonics sounds, he just answers anything off the top of his head.

Emelia and Dora pulled out some small plants in the garden the other day during recess time. I gently pulled their hair and told them this is how the plants feel when you destroyed them. Then, they promised not to destroy any plants and trees.

BIG Dora W. purposely wastes so many tissues when she blows her nose. First, she wipes her nose but somehow her snot starts dripping. Then, she gets many tissues to wipe her nose. I keep reminding her to please get tissues first, before blowing her nose. We don’t want to see snot running from anyone’s nose. It’s very yuck and not hygienic.

Madi pointed at Ruby and said, “Why is she crying?” Then, I had a flash back to months ago when she first came. She cried continuously for 3 weeks.

Sherri raised her hand when I asked, “Whose dad is NOT strong?” I looked at her and said, “So, you’re dad is WEAK!” She shook her head and said, “No, my dad is strong!”.

Chloe was annoyed with Mr. B when he asked her, “How many paper towels do you use to wipe your hands?’” She actually took many like five or more. Later on, she apologised to Mr. B saying that she had been rude to the teacher and she should only take one or two paper towels to dry her hands. I also made her say sorry to the trees, because wasting paper is another way to kill trees.

Dear parents:

First, I would like to welcome Daniel back to the Belugas class this week. Daniel was very shy the first week of school. The next day, he enjoyed playing with the other kids at school like a wild animal returning to the jungle. He ran around back and forth, and chased his friends in the front yard. Throughout this week, he tried eating on his own, brushed his teeth, and put his shoes on / off without asking for help. Surprisingly, he didn’t really cry much.

Tuesday, we went to see a lantern parade at Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. There were tons of different lanterns on display. The kids really liked a few of the special ones like Sponge Bob and his friends; Robots made of CDs; a pirate ship with a ferris wheel.

For phonics class, we started again with the letter “C”, “c”, and the related words that begin with that sound like cat, carrot, caterpillar, comb, and cup. The kids had to cross out the words whose beginning sounds were not “c” such as “astronaut” and “butterfly”.

In math class, we worked more on the opposites “many” and “a few”. The kids had to circle the happy monkey with many bananas, and draw more bananas for the sad monkey who had a few bananas. We also did more sample activities on the white board with Sponge bob and his friends.

For arts and crafts this week, we made “Glass”. The material we needed for this craft were only 3 items. They are color glassy paper, cardboard paper, and glue. They had to glue color glassy paper, one by one, on the frame of the fish on the cardboard paper. For some kids, those who followed directions and paid attention by watching me, made samples on the tail of the fish... they didn’t have problems finishing their fish properly. For the others whose didn’t pay attention, they ended up gluing the pieces on the wrong side of the cardboard paper.

Dear parents:

The weather has been so weird lately, so the kids never had a chance to go to the park early this week. We finally made it to the park on Wednesday morning. We also planted seeds in the green room this week. They were actually very excited to plant their own seeds and to know the process of how to take care of plants.

For phonics class, we started again with the letter “B”, “b” , and the related words that begin with that sound like bus, book, banana, baby bottle, bed, and basket The kids had to cross out the words whose beginning sounds were not b, such as “alligator” and “sun”.

motor skills class, we worked on tracing heart shapes and “U” as smiley faces. We worked on the smaller heart shapes to the bigger ones. Most of them had fun learning how to draw heart shapes on their own, except Alex. He got a little bored and started playing with his pencil instead.

For arts and crafts this week, we made Love birds and “Valentine’s Day Mice”. The kids had to cut out many heart shapes for its beak, wing, and its tail .Lastly, we glued on some googly eyes.

Individual comments:

Chloe liked riding a roller coaster this week. She got so upset with Alex because he sometimes is not reasonable. He cut in front of Chloe while they were lining up or pushed her while washing their hands…and so on. I reminded Chloe that if she only expresses herself through crying from now on, I will change her name to “Baby” instead.

Alex got frustrated while we were cutting the hearts for the bird. Then, he tore the paper in half. After trying to use the scissors again, he asked me for help. But, when I tried to show him how to use the scissors properly, he swiped them off my hands. I think that it’s a good idea for the kids to experience new things, as long as they are under an adult's supervision. Alex sometimes is bossy toward his peers. If he wants to do something, he just forces it through his ways.

Ellie answered that she will give flowers and candies to Joyce, when I asked her who is she going to give the flowers to? I told them that Valentine's Day is not only for Mom and Dad, but also for friends, grandpa, grandma, aunties, uncles and/or teachers. Ellie didn’t want to eat during lunch and snack. I found that her stomach was bloated with so much gas.

Sherri tried to scoop up her food on her own from Wednesday. We had a deal that I will only help her scoop up her food from her bowl once during meal time. Then, she did it by herself and she was also very proud of herself for being a big girl.

Henry was able to cut many heart shapes by himself easily while we were making “Love birds”. He made it specifically for Mom and Dad for Valentine’s Day. He did a very good job, and we hope Mom and Dad like it.

Dora was actually behaved better after a few days of time out. She promised that she will not push, hit, or bite anyone. She is not a dog; therefore, she can’t bite anyone.

Mia wore angel wings to school on Wednesday and made all the girls envious. She said that she wanted be an angel just like Cupid to bring love to everyone and be friends with everyone.

Tanya keeps on saying that Mom and Dad are too busy, and so won’t spend too much time with her during Chinese New Year. So, she said she'll come to school alone during the vacation. (by herself)

I wish you and your family a good Chinese New Year Vacation.

Dear parents:

We are starting our first week of the semester on Monday. This semester is going to be so awesome. We have new classrooms, gym area, green house, aquarium, snack bar, and many more new facilities. I'm sure the kids are also looking forward to welcoming this new semester as well.

For phonics class, we started again with the letter “A”, “a” , and the related words that begin with that sound like alligator, astronaut, ambulance, and ax. The kids had to cross out the words whose beginning sound were not “a” such as “fish “and “boat”.

For social studies class, our first unit was “Valentine’s Day”. We talked about the origin of Valentine's Day, Valentine's cards, cupid, roses, candies, chocolate, hugs, kisses, love, and much more.

In math class, we worked on the opposites “ high “ & “ low” and “ top “ & “ bottom”. We also did many classroom activities related to this concept.

For arts and crafts this week, we made “Wild Caterpillars”. The materials we needed were styrofoam balls, pipe cleaners, markers, and cardboard papers. We decorated the styrofoam balls with markers. Then , we glued them side by side as a caterpillar's body. Next, we glued the pipe cleaner as their antennas. Lastly, we drew grass and soil as ground.

Individual comments:

Sherri was so cute. She mentioned her grandpa during social studies. Then, she started saying childish things likes: “My house has…..” Later on, I corrected with her “Guess what?” Less than two minutes later, she repeated “T. Angel, guess what? We have ……at home.”

Alex learned a hard lesson this week to share with the others. When he tried to grab tools from Dora, Dora wouldn’t let go either. I took him aside and told him that he has to ask Dora first before he takes it from her. They both got a lesson from it.

Henry was on time almost all week long. I told him that coming to school on time is also part of his responsibility, just like Mom or Dad going to work.

Madi likes to use several colors to color her objects now. I remember she colored her “ambulance” with orange, red, and blue. It actually looked very nice.

Dora hugged Alex when I showed them flashcards for Valentine's Day. I'm guess that Dora sees him as her little brother Arthur. The funniest thing is that Dora is just few months older than him.

Mia kept saying “ I will pee pee out ”, instead of “ I can't wait to go the bathroom” when she is in a hurry to go for number 1.

Ellie answered that she will give flowers and candies to Joyce, when I asked her who is she going to give the flowers to? I told them that Valentine's Day is not only for Mom and Dad, but also for friends, grandpa, grandma, aunties, uncles and/or teachers.

Chloe was so sweet when gave me a big hug and told me that she missed me so much on Monday.

Hello Beluga Family

Teacher Jason here, reporting on how the week went for our baby belugas. This week Teacher Angel had to leave school for three days, and so I was lucky enough to take over in her place!

In Phonics this week:We covered the U sound (umbrella, up, upside down)

With concepts: We did opposites (up and down, in and out, and so forth) and talked about tons of different hobbies (making rockets, playing with puppets, baking cookies, and exercise).

The class as a whole was fantastic! They completed all their weeks coursework with ease and were well behaved.

Individual comments:

Mia was a perfect student this week, always followed instruction and always insisted that I sit next to her when we ate lunch.

Chloe loved our morning exercises, she especially liked the imaginary apple picking! She may have the making of being a superstar considering the fact that she is nearly always singing or dancing around!

Ivy was the best behaved this week, I never had to tell her to do something twice! I love her attitude.

Tanya started off a bit rocky for me, but her behavior improved as the week ended. She also insisted that I call her "Tanya-yayayaya" and she became ecstatic the moment I gave in.

Madi did fine up until some of the opposites lessons. During this time, she became a bit emotional because she wasn't getting the answers correct right away. I let her try a few times, and she ended up becoming a bit flustered, but in the end got the right answer and was back to her happy self!

Dora was a bit naughty this week. I had to discipline her for biting and pushing other students on the first day. Today however she was much better behaved, infact she sometimes said "Shhh teacher is talking" when other students were talking out of turn.

Henry was "Mr. Man" this week, due to the fact that he was always assisting some of the shorter or younger girls in the class. He made sure that he picked up Sherri's chair before his and always made sure the other girls had snacks before he started to eat.

At first, I was worried about Alex since I know that Tree House Academy is still new to him. However, those qualms were quickly washed away with his really happy attitude. Don't let his crying in the morning fool you, once he walks into the classroom as if it was his to teach!

Sherri has an exceptionally quick memory, she picked up all the hobbies and won the memory game that corresponded with that lesson!

Hope everyone has a great weekend,

Teacher Jason.

Dear parents:

For phonics class, I introduced the letter “S”, “s”, and the related words such as snake, six, sun, suitcase, sandwich, and star.

For social studies class, we started a new unit on “Hobbies”. We learned many different hobbies that people do when they have free time such as playing cards, jogging, playing with trains, talking o

n the phone, doing exercise…and so on.

For motor skills class, we

learned

a new rhyme called “Humpty Dumpy”.

“Humpty Dumpy sat on a wall.”

“Humpty Dumpy had a great fall.”

"All the kings’ horses and all the king's men couldn’t put

him together again!” Later on, they did a scissor cutting worksheet.The kids had to figure out on their own how to put “Humpty Dumpy” “together again!”

Individual comments:

Alex was able to stay in his seat for a longer period of time. He tries to put down/up his pants while he goes to the bathroom. If he is in a hurry to the bathroom then he might cry. He was so excited to have his first try to use scissors this week.

Chloe said she likes to talk to her grandparents on the phone when she has free time. Chloe was happy to see Dora and Ivy on Monday. She even told them

that they are her best friends.

Madi was eager to learn the new sound of the letter “S” this week. She loves snakes and squirrels.

Dora was very kind. We went to the park on Wednesday. Alex was chasing a squirrel he saw in a tree. He accidentally fell; Dora picked him up and took care of him.

Mia finally returned to school after a stomach flu. She was so happy to come back and see her friends again.

Sherri grasped on some math logic so quickly. This week we worked on sequencing patterns and on shapes, instead of colors.

Ellie wore her new shiny dressy shoes on Wednesday but she cut herself.She peed in her sleeping bag and also on her tights.

Ivy was very emotional this week. She refused to go to Mr. B’s class for phonics on Monday. I gave her a little break because I don’t like to force her, especially since she was physical still ill. Wednesday, I told her that she must to go Mr. B’s, because she is already grown up and has to become a big girl. She cried and told me that she doesn’t want to go. I brought her into the classroom and calmed her down.

Henry enjoyed our field trip so much, especially the chance he had to see Taiwanese domestic frogs at a close distance. During lunch time, he opened his bag and shared all his food with his friends.