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.