July 2011

Busy, busy, busy.

It’s been this way since January and there are no signs of it letting up, even for just a short bit. Seems like having a class size increased by 50%, also means 50% more paperwork to be marked, checked and filed. I would not have any child being transferred into another class or my class being split up though, for I could never choose between all of them.

Teacher's during the Chinese New Year celebration in school.

The first 3 months was a period of adjustments in many areas, the children needed to get to know me, get comfortable with me and me with them too. I also had to assess their level of reading, counting and general knowledge. What I have with me, is a bunch of really good, motivated and intelligent 6 year olds.

Children being children they need to know that what they do is important, it matters to me when they are not in school, it matters to me when they can’t spell or read well. It makes me happy when they have put in the effort to try and read a long word.

The first time I was assessing their reading level, I wasn’t happy with the level for some of the children. So I had to make sure that the children know what is required of them. They would need to reach level 6 by the end of the year, so there is a long road ahead for some of them who are only in level 2. Motivation is the key to it!

It’s been about 7 months of school year now. Guess how they are doing? The lowest level now is 4. Those few who struggled in the beginning had made the most improvements. No! No! No! It’s not because of me. It’s the children’s motivation. You wouldn’t believe me, but the children motivated themselves and each other.

One of the many birthday parties that I had attended this year!

We have been on two field trips this year, the first was to watch a play “The Ugly Duckling”. The children enjoyed it because it was a first for all of them to watch a play. They know cinemas very well but a stage play now that is something new. The trip was in May it’s now August and they still talk about the play and sometimes when they are playing they pretend to be the characters in the story.

The 'Ugly Duckling' play which the children enjoyed!

The second field trip was most recent. We visited Aquaria KLCC. Some of the children had been there, but going on a trip with friends always seem more exciting. They enjoyed themselves, but poor things had to walk for about 2 hours non-stop. It was tiring, even for me.

Now, we are concentrating on concert performance. They are excited and looking forward to the costumes. Also, it’s their graduation ceremony. It hasn’t sunk in yet that they will be moving on to different schools, meeting new friends and teachers and going into a very different environment. But I’m sure they will adapt with ease.

This year’s concert will be their last kindergarten performance. So, we are all busy, busy, busy with the practices. I’m just hoping they don’t forget their steps or music notes or get a stage fright. So far, practices has been going well. So, I’ll be keeping my finger cross they continue this way.