A&D STARS Chinese/English Dual Immersion Preschool Program

We ended our “Garden Critters” study with a focus on spiders this week. We watched video clips that showed us a spider spinning a web and trapping food in its web. We examined a diagram of a spider and learned that spider has two body parts, 8 legs and can have up to 8 eyes (different from an insect).

We wondered, “why don’t spiders stick to their webs?” We discovered that the web comes from its own silk spinning organ called a spinneret, some strands of the web are sticky and other are not and that only the hairs on their legs touch the sticky threads. To demonstrate how the different strands work, a spider web was created using double sided tape (sticky threads) and one-sided tape (non-sticky threads). The children had the opportunity to stuck bugs onto it and test the two different kinds of strands of spider webs.

Over the course of the week, the friends had great fun pretending that they were spiders, moving from place to place, leaving a trail of silk web behind them while singing "The Itsy- Bitsy Spider" at different tempos. They enjoyed acting out the nursery rhyme “Little Miss Muffet” (especially when the spider made its appearance) and creating their own “spider webs” by stretching rubber bands across a Geoboard in interesting ways.

This week we learned that some insects (bees and ants) live together in groups called colonies. During circle time, the friends first shared their real-life experiences with the two featured insects and discussed what they know already about bees and ants. We then read many books and learned about their body characteristics, different types of bees, their movements, and examined the different roles bees play within their colonies from worker to queen.

After discussing how ants work together to carry objects much heavier than their own body, we role played and worked as a team, in ant-like fashion, to pass out and organize toys during clean-up time. We also enjoyed learning songs and rhymes about bees and ants. The children played “Follow the Leader” while pretending to be ants marching in a line. They tapped rhyme sticks and used xylophones and tambourines when practicing keeping the beat and repeating rhythmic patterns.

While many adults may think of worms as slimy and icky, most preschoolers find it very fascinating and are intrigued by these creatures that live in the dirt. This week we explored earthworms and snails in many fun and engaging ways.

Children were encouraged to dig in loose soil and look under rocks to find earthworms and help to create an earthworm habitat with rich dark soil, plant matter and water. Opportunities were then provided for the children to explore real earthworms in the classroom. The children had a great time observing and touching the worms, moving like worms to music and songs, and learning about what and how earthworms eat and how worms help us. Worms dig through the dirt, they keep the soil loose so that plant roots can grow easily. Worms also fertilize the soil and providing food for the plants. At the end of our exploration, we released the earthworms into our outdoor garden, which is a good way to model the attitude of respect for nature.

Some other hands-on activities the children enjoyed throughout the week include:
• “Worm” Painting (Art): Dipping cooked spaghetti into paint, wiggling them across the paper like worms and making “worm tracks”.
• Playdough Worms (Sensory): Rolling playdough into worms and making different shapes by bending/arranging the worms.
• Measuring Yarn Worms (Math): Comparing lengths and creating patterns with yarn pieces.

We started a new unit of study “Garden Critters” after Spring Break. Objectives for this unit include:
• Introduce children to bugs, worms and other crawly critters that they will find in the garden/yard, their characteristics, and how they affect plants.
• Teach children to observe (rather than harm) living things in the garden and natural environment.

After the general introduction, we picked ladybug to learn more about and be incorporated into our play this week. The children had the opportunity to participate in hands-on investigations, various learning games, art and crafts. We also used the book "The Grouchy Ladybug" by Eric Carle as a source to talk about feelings and manners, compare sizes, learn to tell time, learn about the ladybug's body parts, and move and play with ladybugs.

This week we continued our exploration about jungle animals and had a close look at Crocodiles and Snakes. The children had fun learning about many interesting facts about these reptiles. For example, did you know that Crocodiles have the strongest bite of any animal in the world?

The children had the opportunity to explore animals that hatch from eggs after reading the books, “Guji Guji“ by Chih-Yuan Chen, “Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones” by Ruth Heller, and “An Extraordinary Egg” by Leo Lionni, discover the relationship between a Plover bird and crocodile though a science video, practice their math skills to identify and compare shapes and patterns with the Hungry Snake, and create fun crafts that promote their development of fine motor skills.

Throughout the unit, we have also incorporated lots of game playing in our curriculum, the children were encouraged to practice fair play, follow directions, teach others the rules of the game, and deal with the disappointment of losing. They are learning more and more about how to effectively engage in cooperative play with their friends. Skills such as fine motor control, communication, peer interaction, problem solving, and cooperation are fostered over the course of intentional play.

We had another wonderful week of learning about animals in the Jungle, with a focus on Monkeys, Gorillas and Elephants. As with all of our themes, we use story books to guide our teaching. A few of the books we used were “Caps for Sale” by Esphyr Slobodkina, “Good Night, Gorilla” by Peggy Rathmann, and “Elmer” by David Mckee. Through the literature, we learned about wild animals versus pets, what animals need to live, and shared about our favorite creatures!

Monkey see, monkey do ... and the peddler, too! The children delighted in following the peddler’s efforts to outwit the mocking monkeys. It seemed like pure silliness, but we used the story (“Caps for Sale”) as a way to show how to think through problems. Stepping back and observing what's happening can help us without getting frustrated and mad. It's both silly and clever.

Elmer the Elephant teaches us that everyone is unique and has something that sets them apart from everyone else, and that there's no point in trying to hide or disguise this. We should embrace our differences and always be true to who we are.

This week we explored the topic of animal camouflage, which came about when children were shown a picture of the jungle and noticed how some animals used camouflage to hide themselves. We started to look out for more animals that could be hidden in pictures. After viewing many animals in their natural habitats and learning more about camouflage, the children were prompted with questions such as, "Why do you think the animals are similar in color to their surroundings?" and "Why do they need to remain hidden?" to ignite their curiosity further and extend their thinking. Some children guessed that animals needed to stay out of sight from predators.

A series of follow-up activities were conducted to encourage exploration and deepen children’s understanding in the topic. The children had great fun applying their understanding of camouflage by creating a collage of animal camouflage, painting stripes and spotted pattern, and playing hide and seek games with different toy animals and of course among themselves.

Hop on the safari bus and join us on the adventure of exploring the jungle and all the things that grow there. Young children usually love some sort of animals or have their favorite wild animals that they would love to learn about or talk about. Our “In the Jungle” unit has always been a hit as the preschoolers associate jungle with many of their favorite wild animals like lions, tigers, hippos, monkeys & giraffes etc.

We started off introducing the concept of habitat as the place where living things naturally live and grow. We then expanded our exploration by looking at books and engaging in a multitude of activities that promoted the conceptual content therein. Books like “Rumble in the Jungle” by Giles Andreae, “Once Upon a Jungle” by Laura Knowles, “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, said the Sloth” by Eric Carle and “If I Were a Jungle Animal” by Amanda Ellery tapped into and added to our knowledge about the jungle.

The children made their own binoculars; practiced listening skills and sequencing skills with the “Walking in the Jungle” song; played a jungle predators and prey game in which they learn the names of jungle animals and their initial sounds; learned fun animal facts and tested their knowledge by playing the Animal Guessing Game; put together jungle animals puzzles; practiced our gross motor skills by mimicking the movements of jungle animals, and enjoyed the classic Chinese folktale “How the Fox Tricked the Tiger”(狐假虎威).

This week we ended our “Healthy Mind and Body” unit with a focus on “Staying Safe”.
Safety is the form of being protected. It’s our job as parents and caregivers to protect our children and one way we can do this is by empowering them to help themselves through knowledge and education!

We made lots of funny noise learning about “Road Safety”, read books which gave us an opportunity to talk about the safe ways to ride in a car, discussed the importance of using sidewalk, practiced using crosswalk, explored traffic light and other traffic signs of different shapes and colors.

We used the story “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Big Bad Wolf and the Little White Bunnies” to teach the children about strangers -- the importance of “not talking to” and “not opening the door for” people you do not know. These familiar stories helped to introduce the concept in a way that makes them aware and wary of strangers without making them overly fearful of every stranger they see. We also talked about the difference between staying away from strangers who might approach them while a parent or guardian is not around, and simply being cordial and polite to others while in the presence of an adult they know and trust.

Our theme last week was “Be Active”. We started off our topic brainstorming about healthy activities in which we partake, such as running on the playground, riding tricycle, playing soccer, swimming, dancing, and rock climbing. The children were invited to explore moving to a simple rhythm on a drum, practice yoga poses, play marching band, move like different animals and play exercise games using our rainbow parachute. The friends also designed their own obstacle course that included practicing balancing, jumping, stepping and crawling skills.

We talked about how staying active helps to keep us healthy and strong, and learned that we need to drink plenty of water, fill our body with healthy food and get good sleep to recharge our body.

Selected children’s literatures (e.g., “Wiggle Waggle” by Jonathan London and “Jonathan and His Mommy” by Irene Smalls-Hector) were used to foster open-ended movement experiences and rich conversations that promote children’s emerging literacy. The children were invited to use the plot and characters as inspiration for creative movement.

This week we incorporated various rhymes/songs, games and other hands-on activities in our curriculum to help drum in – in a positive way – the benefits of eating healthy food. Our dramatic play center has been changed into a Farmers’ Market equipped with fruits and vegetables that friends pretended to collect in their shopping carts and then purchase.

We played a food sorting game to help friends understand the importance of a balanced diet.
Each friend was given a few felt/plastic pieces of food and when it was their turn, they had to decide if their “food” was a fruit, vegetable, grain, protein, dairy item or a sweet. Friends worked together if they were not certain where a food item should go.

We then introduced MyPlate, the official symbol of the five food groups. Each friend was guided to make their own Healthy Plate by coloring, cutting and gluing pictures of different food items onto their plate.

We started a new unit, “Healthy Body and Mind” this week. The objective of the unit is to build a foundation for lifelong healthy habits. Our major focuses include:
• How our bodies work - learning about parts of our body, and learning to communicate about our body and its needs
• How we care for our bodies - learning about the importance of nutrition, exercise, rest, personal hygiene and general safety habits
• How we care for our minds - learning about the importance of expressing feelings appropriately

We started with brainstorming about things we do to take care our bodies. We discussed how GERMS affect us and talked about hygiene habits, like washing our hands, taking bath, brushing our teeth and using a tissue when we sneeze. In the next couple of weeks, we will explore some of the other healthy habits that contribute to our overall well-being, including nutrition, exercise, and safety practice.