Newsletter| April, 2019
Theme: Spring/bird/China
"Spring is here, Spring is here, what do you think I know? I look around to see the sign of Spring, that is how I know."
This month, all the seeds we planted are sprouting and growing. Birds and squirrels come to the bird's feeders for food. Flowers are blossoming everywhere. April is a month fulled of life.
English Activities
Do you know what is oviparous? What is viviparous?
Is bird oviparous or viviparous? How about snake?
Do you know the bird is oviparous? It comes from an egg. Are we from an egg? Let's read some books of bird and learn its life cycle, parts, and name.
There are so many different types of birds in the world!
Do you know who lays this blue egg? Blue jay? Crow? or Robin?
Why mama bird is sitting in the nest?
To plant a seed, we need to have some soil.
Plant needs some water to grow! I have to water my plants everyday so they can grow very health.
It is time to move my plants to a bigger home.
My plants must be thirsty. Let me give you some fresh water!
I can't wait for my plants to grow big in summer!
Sound of week! Can you give me a word begins with the sound "g"? Do you know what is the beginning sound in "jar"? Does "van" begin with the sound "v" or "f"?
Can you find the match alphabetic?
Can we blend these sounds together? Do you know what is this word?
"C" is for cake!
Singing time! "One, two, three, four, five Once I caught a fish alive, Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Then I let it go again...."
Chinese Activities
Let's learned about clock.
"9点钟我上学校/9 o'clock i go to school."
Do you want to be the Wolf and tell me the time?
"老狼老狼几点钟?/Wolf wolf what time is it?
"那是什么?/ What is that?"
"那是火车/That is train."
Do you know the sound of train/火车？ How about motorcycle/摩托车?
“我坐火车上学校，喀嚓喀嚓喀嚓/I take train to school, choo-chug-chuff.”
“我坐巴士上学校，哔哔哔/I take bus to school, beep beep beep.”
We start to learn compound vowels/复韵母 from this month.
“比比高矮，ai ai ai.” Let's see what do we have in the sound bucket for "ai".
"This is 黑色(hēi sè)/black, which compound vowels/复韵母 do you hear? ei or ai"
"Do you remember all of these sounds? what's the initial sound for 笔bǐ/pen?"
I can spell the words all by myself now.
I know all the consonants.
I' m learning Chinese strokes.
Do you know that Chinese character base on stroke segment and order? There're a lot of fun to learn.
We learned a new poem—— THE WILLOW from He Zhizhang.
"Do you want some juice?"
"Yes, please."
"Thank you for coming to my Tea Party."
"Thank you for inviting me."
Special Event
Do you know what is Easter Sunday? The meaning of Easter is Jesus Christ's victory over death. Later people used egg as an Easter symbol of the resurrection of Jesus, so began the egg hunt activity.
Let's go on a Bus Trip! How to read the bus schedule? Where is our bus stop? Were is our Destination? What is bus fare? How can I pay for the bus fare? What are the signs in the bus? Are these seats for elders? What is this wire on the window? Why people stand in the bus when it is moving? Mom! What is the name of the landmark?
We arrived at University of Washington.
How wide is this tree trunk? Let's open our arms and measure it together. Do you know each tree has a number tag?
Picnic time!
"What do you bring for lunch?"
"Do you want to try my food?"
Culture
What shape is China on the map puzzle? Do you know what countries are next to China? Does China have any ocean?
How many provinces in China? Where do you come from?
My mom is from Sichuan Province in the southwest part of China, where is the home of pandas.
I'm making a map of China.
China, the oldest civilization on earth has so much for us to explore. Do you know about the Chinese festivals? What's their traditional costume? What is the Chinese Currency?
Nature Table
The senses, being the explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge. ~ Maria Montessori
The first thing for students to do when they just arrived to school was visiting the nature table and checked the caterpillars with magnifier glasses. They were very excited observing them and shared what they saw with each other all the time.
Finally, we set the butterflies free and wish they have a safe journey.
Character Development of Month
"Perseverance"
“Values are the things you believe in. They guide the way you think, you speak, you behave. They also help you to live your life in a meaningful way.”
磨杵成针
Here is a legend about Li Bai, a great poet in Tang Dynasty.
Li Bai was naughty and disliked study when he was a child. One day he saw an old woman grinding an iron rod on a big stone when he was playing by a river.
The old Woman told him:" I'm grinding an iron rod to make a sewing needle. As long as I persevere in doing so, there is nothing you cannot achieve in the world. "
Since that, Li Bai studied hard and finally became one of the Greatest poets in China.
Child and Faith
Creation
In the beginning, there were no blue skies, no cuddly babies or barking dogs, there was nothing at all. But then God began to create. God spoke and out of nothing came the sun, the moon, the earth, the mountains, the valleys, the plants and the animals.
God's loving hands created everything around us.
"16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
——John 3:16