Tsukuba International Preschool

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.