Class Activities
Morning Meeting
Students and teachers gather on the carpet at the beinning of the day for morning greetings , calender activities, a weather report and an introduction to the day’s routines. These activities promotote a collaborative environment and incorporate singing and movement activities.
Morning Movement
We will start our day with some form of physical activity, such as dancing, children’s yoga, or a walk in the forest.
Language Arts
This is a time for us to focus on developing our vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills. We use a multisensory approach to learning phonics and establishing foundations for independent reading and writing. We will participate in literacy games, shared and independent writing activities and storytelling. We understand each child is at a different stage of learning and has different ways of learning, and will differentiate our activities in line with this.
Recess
This is a time for children to practice their developing social skills and play freely with their peers.
Unit of Inquiry (UOI)
Children will be encouraged to ask lots of questions and help guide their own learning as we explore our units through multiple subject areas.
Quiet Time
This is a chance for our younger students to take a rest from the day’s busy activities. Children can choose between taking a nap or working independently on activities such as reading, drawing, colouring, puzzles, blocks, stamping or card games.
Math
This will include developing children’s numeracy and problem-solving skills in small learning groups/centres using hands-on materials.
Information Technology (IT)
We aim to teach children basic computer skills as well as using computers as a tool in learning maths, hand-eye coordination, language arts and so on.
Japanese Culture and Language
This is a time for children to develop their Japanese language skills and explore Japanese culture and events through stories, songs, arts and crafts, movement and
communication activities. As children progress, they will also learn how to read and write hiragana and katakana.
Music
We will sing, make and play music with our bodies and instruments and build an awareness and appreciation of rhythm and music from around the world.
Art and Craft
This is like another language for the preschoolers. We will use art as a way of expressing ourselves, responding to and reflecting on our experiences and environment. We will experiment with different types of materials and colours. Some examples of art projects include mixing different coloured paints to make new colours, molding clay to make things we learned about in our topic study, making crafts from around the world, collages, making puppets, self portraits, and sketches of our environment.
Learning Centres
This is a chance for children to choose a learning centre to work at independently or in small groups. Learning centres will vary from week to week and include sensory experiences, opportunities for creative and dramatic expression, imaginary play, exploring the world around them and problem-solving activities.
Personal, Emotional, Social Education (PSPE)
During this time we will explore ways to express our emotions and build on our social skills. We will also spend time learning about PYP attitudes and skills and put what we have learned into practice.
Physical Education (PE)
Children participate in various games from around the world, aimed at developing positive self-‐esteem and confidence, awareness of their bodies and others, balance, gross motor skills, as well as practicing important social skills such as taking turns, sharing, and caring for others.
Show and Tell
Each week on our class blog, we will post our “Show and Tell” topics for the following week. We encourage all students to bring something in on their designated “Show and Tell” day to share with the class. We believe this is a valuable activity in building confidence in oral language and presentation skills.