Boo,Boo,Boo Halloween

Dear parents,

For phonics class, I introduced the letter “N”, and the related words including: “N-n-noodles, nest, nose, and net”. The kids were a little confused with the words net and nest.

For math class, we continue a review of all four shapes, and we started visual matching exercises. The kids had to find out the matching subjects on their own.

For arts and crafts this week, we made “Creepy Spiders”. First, we painted Styrofoam balls black as their bodies. Then, each one of them chose 8 colorful pipe cleaners as their legs.

For social studies this week, we started a new unit with “In My Neighborhood”. We talked about different shops and stores in the neighborhood such as the post office, the grocery store, the pet shop, the hair salon, the park, and the library.

For story time this week, we read “On My Street”. In the neighborhood, you can see people doing different things. Rose is jogging; Mr. K. is washing his car; Mrs. Louis is shopping in the grocery store; Hope is playing with his jumping rope…and so on.

For motor skills class, we did something different this week. I asked them to trace coins and shapes with paper. It was difficult for them for a while, till I reminded them that they have to hold it with two hands. If you secure the object underneath, you will have a better outcome. They were happy to see heart shapes, cars, trees, and houses on their paper.

This week, we learned a song, “In My Neighborhood”, and reviewed our Halloween rhymes and songs.

Individual comments:

Rain had a very interesting theory the other day. He said “It’s O.K. to eat chocolate, but you have to drink water afterwards. Your teeth will stay white and shiny.”

Theresa is very silly sometimes. She sometimes follows bad examples, such as speaking Chinese when she hears other kids speaking Chinese. Jason didn’t come to school on Wednesday; Theresa asked, “Why Jason no come on Tree House?” I smiled and corrected her with the right sentence.

Christine told us that she had a fun trip in Japan. She saw Mini Mouse and Mickey Mouse. She burst out and cried while we traced our coins with paper. In the beginning, she didn’t pay attention. Then, she started to scribble circles across the paper. I stopped her by taking away her paper; then I reminded her two times to relax. I calmed her down after few minutes and explained the procedures to her again. She made up another piece after school.

Casper has learned to tattle tail on others lately. He likes to start his sentences with “Name before: no share cars!” Casper is playful for his age. Therefore, he doesn’t think too much about his behaviors. When he gets upset, he is more defensive.

Jason seems tired these couple of days due to his tongue affliction. Jason is a sweet boy; he always hugs me while he’s playing. He asked me if my baby was sleeping.

Jae was the first kid to put on her socks on Wednesday after nap time. I asked her “How come you are so fast to put on your socks, today?” She replied “I didn’t take off my sock today!” I laughed and said “Jae, you tricked me.”

August understood positive encouragement over negative criticism. August, Jason and Caper are in the same age bracket (3 to 3.5 years old). Sometimes they spit on each other, so I’m working on stopping that.

Leetrue drew a colorful picture during phonic class. The kids learned a lot amongst their peers. I’m guessing he was looking at Christine’s picture, and then decided to try something new. Leetrue is so proud to be a racing car driver for Halloween.

Joyce was so happy to play a mime (people dressed in black; they do not talk through the performance) game with Teresa. They imitated other’s actions; they marched in the front yard. When we were reviewing the letter “n”, Joyce couldn’t remember the word “nest”. She kept saying “red bird” instead of “nest”. Maybe there is a story behind “red bird”.

7 More Days.............

Dear parents,

For phonics class, I introduced the letter “M”, and the related words including: “M-m-monkey, map, mouse, mittens, moon, and McDonald’s”. This letter was more challenging for the kids to write the first few times. Most of them drew pictures of an arch or a door. I couldn’t help myself, so I took some pictures to share with you.

For math class, we reviewed all four shapes. I asked them to color certain shapes on the page, and then cross out the others. We also practiced shape patterns such as square-circle-square-circle or triangle-circle-retangle-triangel……and so on.

For arts and crafts this week, we made “Stuffed Pumpkins”. We spent some extra time on this craft. First, we had to paint brown paper bags into orange paper bags. Then, the kids decorated its eyes, nose, and mouth. Finally, we had the funniest part: “tearing new papers” into any shapes they wanted to. After ten minutes of “war time”, they stuffed new ripped papers into their orange bags.

For motor skill class, we worked on the scissors skills. They had to cut the bears’ body parts and then glue them onto the colored construction paper as a background.


For story time this week, we read “Greedy Spiders” and “A Cake All for Me”. These two stories both have the same moral lesson. They teach us that we should be generous and not greedy toward others.


Individual comments:


Christine has been on vacation in Japan with her parents since Tuesday. I’m sure she has been having a good time there.


August repeatedly screamed or ignored the teachers when he was misbehaving. I reminded him that he is not an animal; he didn’t have to scream. On a better note, I would like to thank Augusts’ parents for bringing him to school early these couples of weeks.

Theresa sneezed a lot yesterday. It makes me think that she has an allergic reaction due to the weather. Maybe it’s hay fever.

Leetrue has sharp logic with shapes and compositions. He can easily place a bear’s body parts on his own.

Casper asked me “No Christine!” “Christine?” many times this week. He must have noticed her absence quite a lot. I realized that he’s used to our routine at school. He never asks me, “What time is it? “. Or “When will grandma come to pick me up?” anymore.

Jason improved so much with his scissor skills; he cut the bear’s body parts all by himself. It wasn’t perfectly done but he tried his best. He doesn’t any concrete ideas about how to do compositions yet. He glued its body next to the face.



Jae recognizes the sound of “map” from the cartoon “Dora”. She also told me that Dora has a map in her backpack. She had a “big bowl” of food; (larger portion) twice this week.


Joyce is still a little shy, so I purposely force her to repeat things out loud until I can hear her. I try my best to make her feel more secure and comfortable in our classroom environment.


Rain was playing with Teresa on Monday during nap time for a while. They both had a time out for ten minutes in the office. Rain is bright and very talkative. He always gives me input regardless of the subject.

Dear parents,


For phonics class, I introduced the letter “L”, and the related words including: “L-l-lamb, lamp, lemon, leaf, and lion”. For adults, a capital L and a lower case l are as simple as eating a piece of cake. For the kids it’s so different. The kids are learning the alphabet as images or symbols, rather than as letters.


For math class, I introduced them to the shape of triangle. The triangle is an easy shape for the kids. I asked them to trace triangles on the whiteboard, and then I turned them into party hats and ice cream cones.

For arts and crafts this week, we made “Footprint Ghosts”. This craft got them really excited because this time they printed with their foot instead of their hand.

For social studies this week, we continued the same unit “Food”. We made soup for everyone on Tuesday for lunch. The kids helped cut all the vegetables. We put one carrot, two red tomatoes, three onions, four peppers, and five big potatoes in the big soup. It was hot and we cooked it for over 40 minutes. I also attached a few pictures from that day.


For motor skill class, we worked on the concepts between longer and shorter. They have to distinguish between two objects. They had to circle the shorter objects and color them. Most of the kids got the concept right away.

This week, we learned a few Halloween rhymes and songs. They are “Five Little Pumpkins”, “Four Little Pumpkins”, “Spooky-E-Do” and “If You’re Monster”


Individual comments:

Casper was very naughty this week. He purposely spat water on the table and turned Leetrue’s water bottle upside down on the floor.


Jason likes to provoke August into getting angry or to cry. I reminded him to treat his friends nicely. No one likes to be mistreated amongst their friends.


Christine had an easier time getting up from nap this week. She tries to put on her socks on her own. I’m so proud of her.






Rain had so much fun cutting vegetables the other day. While he was cutting onions, the effects of the onions got into his eyes. He was tearing for a while.

Jae likes to color with multiple colors such as two colored lions or three colored lambs. It shows a similarity with her personality; happy and bright.


Joyce has a tendency to rush through her work. I encouraged her to take her time while she is doing any assignments.

August cares too much about how other people think about him instead of his feelings. He loves to play with Jason or other kids. August sometimes cries if Jason pretends to shoot him with his finger. August and I repeatedly told him “I don’t like this! “ “Cut it out, Jason!” at least once or twice a day. I want August to understand that it is fine to voice out his grievances in a liberal way.


Theresa is a kind young girl. She got tissues for the others when they were crying. She also likes to share family stories during class discussions.


Leetrue often puts his finger or fingers in his mouth lately. I sometimes skip him, purposely during class activities or games. Which prompts him to ask “Teacher, why don’t I have a turn? “ I then reply “I only give big boys or girls a chance; not babies.” He usually nods his head and say “Oh, ok.”

Halloween is coming soon!!!!

Dear parents,

The most important holiday of this month is Halloween. The teachers are as excited as the kids. We can’t wait to do pumpkin carving, go through a spooky maze and other fun activities that are coming up soon.


For phonics class, I introduced the letter “K”, and the related words including: “K-k-key, kitten, king, kite, and ketchup”.


For math class, I introduced them to the shape of rectangle. Sometimes they get confused between squares and rectangles. They don’t comprehend the concept of length and width. Their logical understanding is improving daily, because of the things that we learn every day.

For arts and crafts this week, we made “Froggy Door Hangers”. The instructions were very simple. Basically, we cut an outline of the frogs. This time we had to use cardboard paper instead of construction paper. While they were cutting, they whined that the scissors were not sharp enough. We all know that that wasn’t true. They have to try to use more force to cut well. Next, we did painting. I have many free-style painting artists in class as you can see from their pictures.


The kids love to eat, and they are always curious about what we have to offer. For social studies this week, we talked about the food that we eat. “What kind of food do we eat every day?” “Who cooks at home?” We also played a board game with lots of yummy foods such as hamburgers, hotdogs, rice, cheese, ice cream, cereal, milk…and many more. We made blackberry jam sandwiches and strawberry jelly sandwiches.

For motor skill class, we worked on things that belong together; a baseball with a mitt, milk with a glass, a nest with an egg…and so on.

This week, we learned a few Halloween rhymes and songs. They are “The Haunted House”, “Pumpkin, Pumpkin”, “Three Black Cats”, and “Jack-O-Lantern”



Individual comments:

Rain seems excited about the upcoming holiday: Halloween! He told us that he is going to be a “Jack-O-Lantern” for Halloween.


Theresa didn’t have a very good appetite this week. She ate very slowly on Monday and Wednesday.

Leetrue was spacing out Wednesday afternoon. He wasn’t listening to my instructions on how to work on the worksheet. When everyone was about to finish, he rushed through his work. I asked him to redo his work the next day.

Joyce loves to hang out with the teachers lately, especially with the male teachers. I think this is another area where she’s slowly developing her social status.

Jae is as enthusiastic as Rain about Halloween. She enjoys the songs and rhymes that we learned, especially the Halloween stories. Sometimes she even adds sound effects for us.

August thought that “doughnuts” and “bagels” were the same. I guess they both have a hole in the middle.

Casper is so cute. He usually tells me “T. Angel, I’m done”, after each meal. He’s naughty sometimes; he randomly can pick on other kids.


Jason wasn’t paying attention when I was giving him directions on how to make Froggy Door Hangers. He almost cut out the frog’s eye and leg.



Christine sat on the floor for almost 40 minutes without putting on her socks after nap time. I told her that as long as she tries, I would help her out. We finally compromised. As long as she makes a first move, she is capable of doing many things on her own.

Dear parents,

We had a 4 day weekend due to a typhoon. I hope that you all enjoyed the extra days off with your children.

For phonics class, I introduced the letter “J”, and the related words including: “J –j- jam, jungle gym, jacks, and jeep”.

For math class, I introduced them to the shape of square, and the cardinals (first, second, third, and last). Hopscotch mats, windows, and cabinets are squares. Stories have different parts…We start with first, then second, and so on. If you want to get dressed, which piece of clothing do you wear first? Should we wear a shirt, or shorts, or socks, or a cap, or shoes first?

For arts and crafts this week, we made paper tambourines. First, I asked them to design two plates. In one of them, they had to draw their family; in the other they had to draw their friends. After these steps, I helped them to put some green beans and rice in between the plates. And lastly, we stapled the plates with a stapler.

For social studies this week, we talked about our families and homes. “What kind of occupation do your parents have?” We talked about fire fighters, mailmen, doctors, housewives, vets, teachers…and so on. Rain told us that his mom is a housewife; Jason’s dad and Christine’s dad work in an office.

For motor skill class, we worked on wiggly and curly lines. I used Jason as my example as a fisherman going fishing for us. Fishermen have to prepare at least four poles with hooks. After we finished the exercise on the board, each of them got their own worksheet to work on.

This week, we also learned a few new nursery rhymes and songs. They are “I wrote a Letter”, “Two little black birds”, “Baby Bumblebee”, and “Here is the Beehive”



Individual comments:

Casper came to school early this week. He greets me every morning with a big smile on his face.

Jason seems very curious with my baby. He kept coming back to me and wanted to hear the baby’s heart beats. Jason was attentive when we were working on the line tracing worksheet.

Leetrue is so excited that his birthday is coming up this Saturday. He invited us to go to his house for cakes.


Theresa told us that her grandma is a doctor and her dad is a vet. I have no idea weather she was joking or being serious. I have to confirm with her parents.

Christine was fussy this week. She whined about small things that are so unimportant, like her friend accidently touching her, or not getting enough space.

Rain was my little helper this week. I assigned him to do tasks such as collecting pencils and fixing up crayons.


Jae asked for a second bowl of rice for lunch on Wednesday. She loves chicken nuggets.

August ignored me when I told him not to draw circles anymore during arts and crafts class. He looked at me and grinned. I had to show him that I was serious and not joking. He finally nodded his head and rectified his mistake.

Joyce was playing with Christine and Theresa during play time; they picked up leaves after the typhoon day. They pretended the leaves were ice creams that were for sale.