Tsukuba International Preschool

This week at TIP we will be working with the letter Uu and talk about things that go up. P2 and P3 will continue to practice their independent reading skills and look at more ways activities they can use to develop writing skills. We will also share our “Today is Monday” book that we have just made and sing along to the CD.

We also hope that the weather is favorable this week so we can learn some new movement games.

We have finished our main projects for our “Let’s Do Art” unit of study and will spend this week reviewing what we have done and set up an art gallery upstairs at TIP. Please keep your eyes open for an invita-tion to this event!

Take care and stay warm.

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Monday
Today we will meet Uppy Umbrella and talk about things that go up. We will also make homemade clay and make a model with it.

Tuesday
This morning we will review sounds that letters make and draw and write in our journals.

Wednesday
This morning we will do teacher-led and independent reading and writing activities. In the afternoon we will paint our clay creations.

Thursday
Today we will make a unicorn craft, meet Mr. U and in the afternoon we will set up our Art Gallery upstairs.

Friday
This morning we will play some up and under games and also finish setting up our gallery for visitors.

We have another busy week planned for TIP this week. In Language arts we will be concentrating on the letter Ee and continue to practice reading, letter writing and stretching (sounding out) our words. During maths time we will do some maths stories for the first time to practice our listening as well as number skills.

In art this week we will look at some of Andy Warhol’s Pop Art and learn how to sketch things around us. We will also try and get out-side a little more on the jogging track in the for-est and to play lots of outdoor games involving running, throwing, catching and kicking balls.

We hope you all have a great week, and please stay warm.

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Monday
This morning we will meet Eddy Elephant, and make a mini Andy Warhol book. In the afternoon we will learn “The elephant” rhyme with actions.

Tuesday
We will practice our letter writing this morning and continue building number skills through maths stories. In the afternoon we do some balancing activities and throwing and catching outdoors.

Wednesday
This morning we will meet Mr. E. We will also go outside to do some sketching.

Thursday
Today we will draw & write in our journals and do a paint print activity.

Friday
P2 & P3 will review “Read to a Friend” techniques today. We will all review the work we have done in our unit “Let’s Do Art!” today and choose our favourite pieces.

What a wonderful first week back we’ve had from winter break. Everyone is back smiling and working hard. In language arts this week we will focus on the letter Ff and will review three different ways of reading a book. P2 and P3 will also continue to work on stretching their words as well as spaces between words they write.

Last week we started to introduce simple addition using clapping, our fingers and some manipulatives. P2 and P3 will continue to build on it this week.

We have just a couple of weeks left of our “Let’s Do Art” unit, and this week we will look at Vincent Van Gogh’s work. We will use thick paint and wide utensils to paint with, as well as try painting and drawing sunflowers.

Have a great week!

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Monday
No School today– National holiday

Tuesday
This morning we will meet Firefighter Fred and practice our writing skills. We will also review and practice 3 Ways to Read. In the afternoon we will learn about Van Gogh’s paintings.

Wednesday
This morning we write in our story books (journals). We will also begin experimenting with new painting techniques.

Thursday
Today we will review “read to self” and learn how to “read to someone“. We will also do a fireworks art activity. P1 will talk about Fire Trucks and the role of a fireman, while P2 & P3 will work with numbers.

Friday
Today we will work in small groups for independent and teacher-led language activities. Then we will do some sunflower art activities.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We hope you all had a wonderful and safe Christmas and New Year‟s celebrations with your family and friends, and wish you lots of happiness and good health for 2010.

Before winter break, TIP students learned what it means to be independent. We talked about and modeled good independent learning skills and behavior. Students are also learning to self-monitor and reflect on their behaviours, recognizing when they have done a good job, and when they could try a little harder. We believe these to be important qualities of learners of any age, and will con-tinue to build and reflect on these skills daily.

In language arts this week we will be working with the letter Kk. We will also begin to explicitly look at three different ways of reading a book:
> read and talk about the pictures
> read the letters and words
> retell a previously read book

You may have noticed your children bringing home some unusually creative pieces of work in recent weeks. We have been encouraging children to use their imaginations to „make‟ something during our afternoon quiet time. A collection of resources are given to the children and they are free to create whatever they like. It has been a great exercise in children using their own creativity and for them to explain what they made and why, so please ask your children about the things they have made.

Have a great week!

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Monday
No School today- Winter holidays

Tuesday
No School today- Winter holidays

Wednesday
This morning we will share stories about our winter vacation and write about it in our journals.

Thursday
In language arts this morning we will take it in turns to work in small teacher-led groups to practice our writing. Other students will work independently on a language activity of their choice. Students will also paint on a “ceiling” today, just as Michelangelo did in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, Italy.

Friday
Today students will create a collage of things they find in a kitchen. We will also look at some Australian animals and sing an Australian children’s song, Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.