~Happy Thanksgiving Day~

Dear parents,

We had a big feast for Thanksgiving lunch on Tuesday with all the kindergarten students. We had a giant roast turkey, salad, deviled eggs, dinner rolls, mashed potatoes, and delicious corn soup. Thanks again to T. Paul and all the other staff members who prepared such a great lunch for us.

For phonics class, I introduced the letter “R”, and the related words including: R-r-railing, rabbit, ring, roof and rocket.

For math class, we worked on the number sequencing, first, second, third and last. We used a variety of picture cards. For instance, the snowman cards; the first card has one small circle and one big circle. The second card has eyes and a mouth. The third card has the bottom of its body. In the last one, the snowman has arms and a hat on.

For motor skills, we practiced on shoe lacing boards and lacing a pink pig. The kids had to try to get the yarn through the hole by doing up and down motions. This was the second time that we tried this activity, and they improved so much.

For social studies this week, we switched to a new theme/topic: “Thanksgiving”. I told the kids about the origins of the Thanksgiving story between the pilgrims and Indians. We also made a turkey hat for this special holiday for this month.

For story time, we read a book that is related to Thanksgiving. It was called “The Thankful Book”. The kids learned they should be thankful for all the nice things, good food, cozy homes and so many more things. They should always be thankful to their parents, family members and teachers.

Individual comments:

Jae was the first one to finish her Thanksgiving lunch. She seemed to enjoy the roast turkey the most. She even asked for a second helping after she had a big slice of turkey.

Theresa had a few time outs this week along with Christine; they thought it was funny to speak Chinese during class time.


Casper speaks so much English now. He didn’t come to school on Wednesday because he had serious diarrhea. I hope he recovers soon.

August is thankful to his grandma and his aunty for taking care of him while mommy isn’t around. He is also thankful to the MRT conductors as well.

Christine had some difficulties while we were learning our number sequencing. She gets confused between second and third.



Jason didn’t follow the directions while we were making turkey hats. He cut two turkey pictures apart instead of keeping them together. Jason improved so much on the shoes lacing activity we did on Wednesday.

Dear parents,

Again, we would like to remind all of the parents to join our event on Friday, November the 21st, at 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The kids can’t wait for you to see our beautiful art pieces.

Tuesday we went on our 2nd field trip to the “Emergency Evacuation Exhibition Center” in Beitou. There were tones of interactive activities for the kids to experience such as “Young hero”, “Fire Safety education” and “Metro Taipei Virtual Driving”…. And many more. They learned so many tips that they can use when there is an emergency. Some of them even put out a fire and saved some people during the interactive games. It was a very educational trip for us.

For phonics class, I introduced the letter “Q”, and the related words including: Q-q-queen, quilt, question mark and quarter. They love to write the big “Q” but are struggling with the funny small “q”.

For math class, we worked on the same and different objects in a group and what’s missing in the picture. The kids had to closely check up what is missing from the picture, such as a missing wheel on a bus or a missing nose from a clown’s face. Most of them were able to finish this exercise on their own.


For social studies this week, we started with a new unit: “transportation”. Transportation is one of the most important elements in our life. We talked about different transportation methods that travel in the air, on the land or in the water. “Why is transportation important to us? “ They were so surprised to learn about “submarines “, “UFO’s”, and “convertible cars”.

This week the temperature suddenly dropped to 10 degrees! It feels like winter is coming already. Our next big event will be Christmas. Christmas in Treehouse is so joyful and delightful. I bet you can’t wait, just like the kids and me. For song and rhymes this week, we worked on Christmas songs and chants.

Individual comments:

Jae got very excited with Casper the other day. Casper took my red marker from the white board; Jae tried to stop him from getting it. They both got so angry at each other. She wanted to teach him a lesson; he wanted to get what he wanted. I broken them up and asked them what happened. Then, they hugged and made up.

Leetrue is in Singapore for a couple of weeks for vacation. We hope he has a lot of fun.

Jason was impatient while we were doing math exercises. He didn’t care to find out which subject is different. He just circled and colored it. I asked him to go through the exercise alone during play time. I also reminded him that doing something fast or first doesn’t mean you are doing a good job all the time.


Casper was very funny when we went on the field trip on Tuesday. He was in such a good mood. He giggled and sang on the way to Beitou on the bus. When we arrived there, he asked me if we are going on an adventure trip.

August enjoys the new Christmas carols we learned this week especially “Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer.” He also got very involved with the subject of transportations. He gave a speech about his MRT ride with grandma.

Christine told us that her dad’s car runs as fast as an air plane. She is able to write a capital “Q” on her own, but she was struggling a little with the small “q”.

Theresa made a comment about convertible cars. She said if you don’t have money, then buying this car without a top, such as a convertible is better. I thought it was hilarious.

In My Neighborhood~~

Dear parents,

This week was a busy week for the kangaroos. We had to prep for an art exhibition due at the end of this month. We are kindly inviting all of you to join this event on Friday, November the 21st, at 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

For phonics class, I introduced the letter “p”, and the related words including: P-p-pencil, pig, pumpkin, puppy and puzzle.


For math class, we worked on different directions and sizes. In this stage, they are only learning left, right, up and down. Left and right seem more challenging for some of the kids.


For arts and crafts this week, we worked on the pieces for the Tree House Art Exhibition. We made “Crabs on the Beach”. The steps were almost the same as the bird painting we did last week, except that we used crayons to color the backgrounds. We had to limit them not to use certain colors for the sky and the sand. Lastly, they had to tear out the shape of their boats with newspaper.


For social studies this week, we continued with “In My Neighborhood”. We talked about how people help us in our community. “How does a doctor help us?” and “How does a mail carrier help us? … and so on. We also learned more places in town such as hospital, bakery, clothing shop, and pet shop.













For story time, we read a story called “City Storm”. This story is based on the nursery song “The Wheels on the Bus”. The author used the same sentence pattern as the original song: “The rain on the window goes, tap, tap, and tap.” “The wind down the alley goes whoo, whoo, whoo.” “The thunder in the clouds goes boom, boom, and boom.” “The boots in the puddles go splash, splash, and splash all over town.”

For song and rhymes this week, we learned a few songs: “In the Pond”, “Rabbit Ain’t got no Tail”, and “The Little Skunk’s Hole”


Individual comments:

Casper replied, “May I use blue?” when I asked him to color something green. I was so shocked that he spoke in a complete sentence in an eloquent way.

Jae, Christine, and Jason wanted to share their toys with my son: Theo. Jae keeps saying “I can’t see him! When will he come out to play with us?”

Leetrue answered “elephants” when I asked them “What kind of animals go to a pet shop?” Then, I asked again “Can elephants go to pet shops by themselves? “ He was confused for a few seconds.

August recognized the sounds of “pumpkin “and “pencil” first when we were playing a phonic game.

Theresa was a little moody due to her allergic reaction with her nose. She whined about not getting enough sleep, and she was exhausted.

Christine likes to pretend to be a baby. She was eating very slowly the other day; I asked her if she wants me to feed her like a baby. She nodded her head and smiled. She currently works more patiently on the assignments we do in class.

Jason wasn’t sitting properly in his seat while he was drinking water on Wednesday morning. He fell off from his chair and bumped his upper lip. Afterwards, I quickly cleaned up and comforted him. I hugged him and reminded him again to sit properly when he is sitting in his chair.

More Halloween Pix

Dear parents,

First, I would like to thank all the parents who made an effort to come to our PTA meetings this week. I will take your comments or suggestions into account when making future decisions about my class.

For phonics class, I introduced the letter “o”, and the related words including: O-o-octopus, otter, ostrich, orange and ox.

For math class, we learned some sizes: taller, shorter, bigger and smaller. I asked the kids to do their exercises on their own. Then, I rewarded them with stickers, if they completed their exercises on their own.

For arts and crafts this week, we made “handprint birds”. First, they used their palms to make the bodies. Then, they used their index fingers to make the eyes. They used the white paint for the eye balls. We had limited success in this activity, but we still had fun!


For social studies this week, we continued with “In My Neighborhood”. We talked about different occupations in the neighborhood such as a photographer with a camera, a doctor with a stethoscope, a chef with a mixer, an artist with a paintbrush, or a fire fighter with a fire hat. We also had a mini trip to the closest post office and bakery/coffee shop in our neighborhood on Thursday afternoon.

For story time this week, we read “ABC Driver”. In the neighborhood, you can see people doing different things. You can also see different shops and buildings. We also touched up on the different transportations methods such as A-a-ambulance, B-b-bus, C-c-cement truck……F-f-fire engine….so on.

For motor skills class, we worked on comparing lengths. We also compared smooth (toys or an apple) and rough (nylon or a rope) things.

Individual comments:

Rain got so excited when I introduced “photographer”. He told his friend that his dad is a photographer and his dad has a big camera.


August drew an MRT conductor and a chef on his paper. He told us he wants to be a fire fighter when he grows up.

Theresa played with Rain and Christine during nap time a couple times this week. She should try to rest instead.

Christine is capable of doing math exercises on her own. She can easily spot the objects that are the same size and elimite the other one. Christine is very demanding of her friends, especially Theresa.

Jason also drew an MRT conductor on his paper and he told us he wants to be a mail carrier when he grows up.

Leetrue was the last person to finish his drawing the other day. He likes to draw, but he’s also afraid to make mistakes. I always encourage my kids to try it out first.

Jae was curious about the video store in the big book. I told her it’s like a library, but that we check out movies instead of books. However, it’s not free; you have to pay money.


Casper coughed quite a lot the last few days of this week. I hope that he feels better soon. Casper sometimes likes to touch other kids to gain their attention. He usually cooperates with me during class time when we do class work.