11th October 2019
Growing Together
Growing Together
In the week of 7th to 11th October, the Pre– KG children demonstrated that they are really growing together as a group and are capable of sharing space and ideas.
They were very relaxed in each other's company whether reading books together or making chalk paintings.
On the last day of the week, the Pre– KG children measured each other's height, showing confidence and trust into their friends' help.
The week ended with playtime on the nearby Green Field where the children joined hands for a joyful run !
Great sharing, caring and fostering friendships, Pre–KG !
4th October 2019
Shaping Up to Their Subjects
In the first trimester of the school year, the Pre– Kindergarten children inquire into the subjects of colours and shapes. This week, from 30th September to 4th October, they were facing various tasks in regard to these subjects. The children started by looking at a wide range of shapes and created different kinds of robots and fantasy patterns.
On the 3rd of October we celebrated the German Unification Day with a role play about being separated and becoming friends again. Afterwards the children were asked to create something with the colours of the German flag: black, red and yellow (gold). They really used their imagination and came up with bracelets, fans, mosaics and actual flags with a twist.
On Friday, we had all 8 children in class, including our two girls who had joined Pre– KG newly and come back from an extended holiday respectively.
The children sang the Rainbow song, using colour sticks and balls and then had lots of fun at a rhythmic session with their colourful instruments.
What a great week for expanding knowledge and looking at the subjects from different angles!
27th Sept. 2019
Geijutsu no Aki - Autumn Inspires Art
The week of 23rd to 27th September started with a typhoon ! The wind and big raindrops did not invite the Pre-Kindergarten children to play outside, but inspired them to create some pieces of art !
After listening to the song "rain, rain go away", the children made long paper stripes out of recycled catalogs, representing the rain flow. They then used shaving brushes and different shades of blue to colour their individual clouds. With the paper strips glued on the clouds gave a good impression of a rainy day.
Luckily the weather was sunny and bright for the rest of the week, so the Pre-KG and EY children could have lots of fun on Wednesday at the park.
As the local and wonderful Fashion Museum offered a fantastic exhibition of immense paintings by the artist Senju Hiroshi depicting waterfalls, we decided to give it a visit, especially after weather, rain and water had been a topic throughout most of the week. We extended an invitation to Mr. Rich and his grade 3 class who were considerate companions for the second year in a row. The mix of ages turned out to be a big bonus and all children felt inspired by the great pieces of art and the cool atmosphere it created.
An inspiring ending to a week of art ! Thank you Mr.Rich and Grade 3 for joining us !
20th Sept. 2019
Teamwork
From the 16th to the 20th of September, the Pre-KG children had plenty of opportunities to improve their cooperation skills.
The week started with our exciting Sports Day under blue skies, where the children showed great motor skills and had lots of fun with their friends and families.
Looking at books is quite popular with the children, but now they have started to look at them together and share them nicely.
On Thursday this week, we had visitors from another Kindergarten and new friends were made, along with a lot of pasta necklaces!
Finally, on Friday, the class went to a nearby park which offered various play facilities and a very useful water fountain. The children took turns opening the spout and receiving cool water in cups!
Great cooperation during the week, Pre-Kindergarten children!
13th Sept. 2019
Healthy, Safe, and Cool
This week, from 9th to 13th September 2019, the Pre-KG children focused a lot on strengthening their physical abilities, coordination and listening skills.
The week started with hot weather again, so the children enjoyed our animal themed splashing pools (the turtle and the crab) to cool down and do some fishing and counting games.
They had a lot of fun in the cool water !
The school had two emergency drills this week, one for fire and a combined earthquake/tsunami drill. The children showed great cooperation and discipline walking calmly with partners and teachers. The evacuations went smooth and fast! Great job, Pre-KG!
Lastly, this week the children had many opportunities to practice for Sports Day. They danced, ran, climbed, balanced and did a fantastic job in the group games. They were taking on new challenges and are ready to show off their skills at our DSKI Sports Day, next Monday, 16.September 2019!
Please come and cheer them on.
The Joy of Making New Friends
The Pre-Kindergarten children had another busy week from 2nd to 6th September! They practiced for sports day, learnt lots of new songs and continued their exploration of colours and shapes through a fun pin game and printing with shapes and water.
They also deepened their newly-formed bonds of friendship through these various activities, and ended the week by enjoying some ice cream treats together.
30 Aug. 2019
Fun With Colours and Shapes
In the first weeks of school, the Pre-Kindergarten children were happy to meet old friends again and make new ones.
They got to know each other through play and a multitude of activities.
The children also started their inquiry into colours and shapes through enjoying different games and making individual pieces of art.
13.May 2019
Bathing the baby dolls
The baby dolls in our classroom are very popular.
The Pre-KG children like to carry them around, hug them, cloth them and feed them. They enjoy their roles as mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters and often show amazing insight and very caring attitudes.
As the Pre-KG have recently acquired quite a bit of vocabulary regarding body parts, the dolls are also involved in our “head, shoulders, knees and toes” song routine.
After all this daily play, it was about time to give the babies a good bath.
Taking the opportunity of a sunny day, we filled the common bath a.k.a. the big crab shape pool outside where the children joyfully and carefully washed, shampooed and dried the dolls
All this practice and knowledge on how to take care of a little one will surely come in handy with so many younger siblings around in Pre-KG !
Little brothers and sisters,
Pre-KG is ready to lend a helping hand !
19.April 2019
"Un, Deux, Trois....Plier, Sauter, Tourner !"
The Pre-KG children have been enjoying their unit topics “Body and Family” and were talking a lot about their families. We were happy to hear that we have so many wonderful and talented family members ! Luckily we also have one mother who is a prima ballerina on the world’s stages and she kindly invited us to visit her studio in the AIS Ballet School.
For this excursion we took along the parents and the excitement was already palpable on the school bus.
Arriving at AIS Ballet School, everyone was welcomed warmly and the children ate their snack to gain some strength.
All of them had won prestigious prizes in Japan and abroad. Bravo !
After that it was our turn to try some ballet moves and show our flexibility. Enthusiastically everyone joined and tried their very best !
The time passed much too fast and finally we had to say goodbye thanking the kind family. Our children even received some lovely present and we all had an enriching experience indeed. Merci beaucoup !
12.April 2019
"Kami Fusen Body Control"
If you think the title sounds fantastic, you will see here how fantastic the Pre-Kindergarten children’s body control became during this activity!
Being used to catching and handling heavier balls during P.E., the children took on a new challenge by learning how to handle a Japanese “Kami Fusen" aka paper ball.
These paper balls are eco friendly, easy to transport, light weight, an absolute joy to play with and …just a bit fragile. So after some squishing, squeezing and lots of blowing, the Pre-
Kindergarten children finally got it right !
With a lot of perserverance, the right hand position and a light grip they were able to throw the balls with care and catch them gently. The movements looked very graceful in the end and created quite some magic moments!
02.April 2019
A stroll with the babies ...and a discovery
"Role play is an important part of child development, as it builds confidence, creativity, communication, physical development and problem solving. Along with being a fun activity, it also allows children to get into character and act out real life roles or fictional performances."
The Pre-Kindergarten children are role playing on a daily basis, but with "family" being one of our unit topics and lots of families and babies around us recently, the girls in the class have decided that it was time to take the baby dolls for a stroll in the back garden.
After proudly showing the teacher their dolls and their various vehicles, they started to take the dolls around the garden, sitting on the benches with them and looking at the flowers and the herbs. Then suddenly something else caught the girls' attention.....
They discovered the pin wheels displayed around the garden, but there was no wind to move them. Feeling some wind coming from the back of the MPR wall, the teacher pointed out the direction and to their joy the girls found a breeze blowing out of the aircon unit. Fascinated they held the pinwheels up and got them spinning.....and spinning...and spinning......
Glued to the fence for quite a while, the girls forgot about their baby dolls, which were basking in the warm sun.
They became dutiful mums again, when the school bell and the need for some lunch drove them back inside and the babies were put to bed very nicely and carefully.
Note: This lovely spot for the children to play at was created by our wonderful DSKI families. Many thanks to the PTA and the gardening team !
15. Mar.2019
Book and Culture Week
On Tuesday, they relaxed, listened to lullabies, and read books during the whole-school Pyjama Party.
On Friday, the children showed each other their favourite books which they had brought from home.
"Book and Culture Week" was a great time for the Pre-Kindergarten children to learn more about themselves and each other. They also loved that their families attended and showed aspects of their different family cultures.
Thank you, parents and grandparents !
"Book and Culture Week" was a great time for the Pre-Kindergarten children to learn more about themselves and each other. They also loved that their families attended and showed aspects of their different family cultures.
Thank you, parents and grandparents !
22.Feb.2019
Excursion to Kobe Animal Kingdom
As part of our inquiry into the unit "Animals and Food", the children read the "My Very First Book of Food" which features a variety of food and animals. The children then became curious about what different species eat, so we made an exciting trip to the "Kobe Animal Kingdom".
Not only did we have a wonderful day with our very caring Pre-KG group, the children also gained a lot of new knowledge on the subject.
14.Feb.2019
From Pre-Kindergarten with Love
Every day is a good day to show people gratitude and love, but this year the Pre-Kindergarten children wanted to show their family in a very special way that they loved them !
The children celebrated St. Valentine's Day by baking heart and star shaped cookies for their families. In fact, they made so many cookies that there were enough to share with all the Kindergarten students, teachers, and interns too.
This activity was a delight for the Pre-KG children and engaged all their senses: they loved kneading and shaping the dough, watching the cookies bake in the oven, smelling the delicious smells, and of course eating!
And, they also learned that they can make other people happy with a simple handmade gift !
08.Feb.2019
A healthy mind in a healthy body
Already the old Romans used to say "Mens sana in corpore sana" (see heading), so we make sure that the Pre-Kindergarten children get a lot of exercise.
The students especially enjoy maneuvering through an obstacle course created by Mr. Waite, our P.E. teacher. They have been practicing this course for a while now, and have become quite skilled at climbing, balancing, jumping, and crawling through various sections of it.
This week there was a new twist to the course as the children needed to pay special attention to some foam balls swinging from the ceiling.
Great focussing, Pre-Kindergarten class !
A closer look at our favourite food
For the past weeks, the Pre-KG students have been busy making their bodies, minds, and hearts happy and healthy. They continued to take their inquiry into food further by drawing their own lunch boxes, and using scissors and glue to make collages of their favourite things to eat. The children not only showcased their expanding knowledge of food through these activities; they gave their fine motor skills workout as well!
25.Jan.2019
Enjoying healthy foods
Tuning into our second unit "Animals and Food" was smooth, because the Pre-Kindergarten children love to talk about their bentos ! We started our exploration of food by looking closely at their snack boxes, which feature a lot of healthy fruits. (Good job, mums and grandmas!) The children were excited to recreate their bentos over and over again in our play kitchen.
After a while the children wanted to make the real thing, so as part of our learning we went to the supermarket with our shopping list to source some fruits and buy them.
On a different day, the Pre-KG children then created their own fruit salad and the peeling, slicing and assembling gave the children a real sense of accomplishment. Enjoying the yummy treat, we realized that you are never too young to appreciate healthy food !
Skillful through Play
The expression "Play is a child's work" has become common knowledge. Children come to understand the world by playing and using all their senses. The Pre-KG children do this daily and hone their skills along the way whether it's through building a tower with blocks, learning to pedal a tricycle, cutting favourite food items out of a catalog, balancing a ball on a tiny shovel, putting a car on the right track, making a delicious bento with a friend or letting go off one's hands and feeling the breeze on a slide ! The children learn and grow together !
11.Jan.2019
Happy New Year and Welcome Back!
The first week back at school the Pre-KG welcomed two new friends into their class ! The children got used to each other fast and there was lots of playing, discovering, sharing and showing new routines ! A
great start into the year of the pig !
30.Nov.2018
The Great Outdoors
On Wednesdays the children usually spend their mornings in the park. Recently the weather has been especially beautiful with lots of autumn colours to enjoy. The children have not only been engaged in collecting leaves and acorns, they have also been practicing their gross motor skills by climbing jungle gyms, balance beams and playing soccer.
23. Nov. 2018:
Colours and Shapes Can Make Great Art !
The children in the Pre-Kindergarten are starting to distinguish the shapes and colours in the world around them. They are able to recognize many of them, express their favourites and explain why. Using their fine motor skills, they also can make beautiful pieces of art.
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