Sunday, 19th April 2020

We have moved platforms.  

Please check your email on Sunday morning!

Thursday 16th April

Good Morning KG1A! 

Morning Message:

• See you at our meeting today.  Don't forget to bring your 'pet' 
• Please check the Performing Arts tab for an update
• Please expect an email from us over the weekend explaining our move to a new platform

Let's start the day with our favourite song! I Wish you well

Activity One

Literacy (20 minutes)

Wiggly Worms! 
Materials needed: computer, colored paper, stick/ straw, wiggly eyes/ marker, scissor.

Beginning: Remind your child of the letter for this week “Ww”. Ask them, “I wonder what activity we are doing to do now?”

Middle:

· Accept different answers

· Play the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oes1PE58WQE

· Discuss the author and the illustrator’s work.

· Ask “What other ways can we use to keep our story books neat and clean?”

· Acknowledge their answers.

· Ask the child to give some rhyming words (from the story or made up words)

Extension: The child can create a wiggly worm. Check the link below to have an idea but don’t copy it.. BE CREATIVE :)

Wiggly Worms

End: Give your child a 5 minutes warning. Ask if s/he would like to send a picture of the wiggly worm to their teacher.

Activity Two

Math (10 minutes)

Fruit count 
Materials needed: apples, bananas (or any fruits available at home) (not more than 10 each), pencil and paper






Beginning: Tell your child, “Today we are going to use apples and bananas in our activity, what do you think the activity will be about?

Middle:

· Be open to all answers

· Create/ print the graph paper

· Ask your child to count how many apples and bananas are there

· You may ask which fruit is more and which is less?

· Color each square in accordance, for example there are 5 apples, the child colors 5 squares.

· Read the graph, for example, bananas are more than apples by 2 pieces.

	Banana	Apple
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

Extension: You can ask your child to write the numbers they got using tally marks.

End: Give 5 minutes warning. Ask your child to help in tidying up.

Activity Three

Fine motor skills (5 minutes)

Materials: a jacket/ shirt with buttons, or create your own felt material and buttons.

Ask your child to create a chain by doing the buttons and then s/he can unbutton

Tips for parents by Ms. Zarmeena

Materials needed for next week

• Baking soda, vinegar, brown paint
• Art materials and materials from the kitchen
• Please start collecting cartons, toilet rolls, tissue boxes etc.  Anything which can be recycled as we get ready for Earth Day!
• Number cards and yarn 

Final thought of the day

• We will be starting some exciting new things next week.  Keep checking your email for more details! 
• Don't forget to check the Our Class and Special tabs for updates
• Look forward to meeting you and your 'pet' at 3:45 today
• Let's end with some movement to stretch those muscles!   ( Here)

Wednesday 15th April

Good Morning KG1 A!

Morning Message

• It has been amazing talking to all the children in KG1A!  
• Check out the Mandarin tab for a new update
• See you tomorrow with your (toy) pet.  
• Let's start the day with a song, let's see if you can do these hand movements! (here)  

Activity one 

Math (20 minutes)

Geometry - 3D shapes. 

For this activity your child will learn more about what 3D shapes look like and what their names are. I have added a song of me singing what I thought may be useful for your child. 

Materials: Any objects around the house that look like a cylinder (food can), a sphere (ball), a cube (small box or ice cube), and a pyramid (ice cream cone or party hat). If you have 3D shapes blocks even better :). 

Vocabulary: Cylinder, sphere, cube or cone. 

Beginning: 

Have the items in front of your child and say, “I wonder what shape this is?” and start describing the objects, the sides, and how it looks. Listen to their responses and pause when they are observing the materials or objects.

Middle: 

Name the objects and say, “I call this a sphere” Pause and listen to their responses. Work with the objects with your child and start building a structure. Remember to use the vocabulary words as you are building the structure and state what they are doing. For example, “I see you placed the cone on top of the cube.”

Extension: After finishing the structure have your child represent the structure by drawing it on a white piece of paper. 

End: Give your child 5 minutes warning and encourage them to put the objects back where they belong.

Activity two

 Literacy (10 minutes)

Rhyming words game

For this activity your child will be to identify words that rhyme and words that don’t rhyme. Remember a rhyming word is a word ending with the same sound. Such as cat and hat / or man and fan. 

Materials: You may choose to print the picture attached, cut them out and flip them on the other side. Or you may get creative and have items on the table covered with a box and they may open the box to see what is under (or inside?). 

Vocabulary: Rhymes, same ending sound.

Beginning: You and your child may start by cutting out the paper attached. Turn the picture upside down. Say we have to match the rhymes together. Have your child pick the first card and say what is in the picture. Say, “I wonder what rhymes with hat?”

Middle: Encourage your child to come up with their rhyming words and acknowledge it. The more rhyming words they come up with the better even if it’s not the same rhyming word as in the picture.

Continue playing the game until you have found a match for each picture. You may choose to mix the cards again and play it a few times. 

Extension: Using the pictures or items, tell your child if they would like to make a story out of the items. Start with saying a name, for example, “Wiggly” and say, “I wonder what Wiggly was wearing in your story. Listen to their story and ask them open ended questions to add details to their story :)

End: Give your child 5 minutes warning, clean up together. 

Activity three

Fine motor skills (5-7minutes)

Q tips and straws. 

Give your child Q tips, you may want to color the Qtips on each side together. Have them work with the colored Qtips and straws.

Ask them what you think they can do with these materials. As you are working with your child you may stick the Qtip in the straw holes and let your child take them out to focus on their grips. 

Give them a few minutes to work with the materials and listen to their observations and statements. You would be surprised what they come up with. :)

Materials for tomorrow:

• Straws and other art materials
• A jacket with buttons

Final thoughts for the day:

• I look forward to your pictures! Send them across...
• I end with a song to get you moving (here)

Tuesday 14th April

Good Morning KG1 A!

Morning message:

• What is the weather like at your side of Riyadh today?
• Please check on the tabs for new updates 
• Let's start with a calming activity (here) .  Do these clouds look like the clouds you see in Riyadh today?

Activity 1

Science (20 minutes)

Creating Colors!

Materials: Paint recipe or use regular paints.  Primary colors are needed, paper and paintbrushes

Vocabulary: Experiment, observe and predict, primary colors (red, yellow and blue), secondary colors.

Beginning:

Today, we will be conducting an experiment. We will see what happens when we mix colors together. I wonder if you have any ideas (prediction)?

Middle:

Ask your child to dab blobs of each paint color onto their paper. Ask them to think about what these primary colors remind them of (e.g. red for fire, yellow for the sun, blue for the ocean).

Ask them- I wonder what would happen if we mixed some of these colors? Wait for their predictions.

On another piece of paper, ask your child to mix the colors- two at a time. Ask them to observe what is happening.

You may:


Acknowledge their choice of colors they are mixing


Support them by using the vocabulary words above


Mention that the primary colors are getting mixed to form secondary colors.

Extension: You may ask your child to paint out a scene where they use both primary colors and secondary colors

End:

Give your child a 5 minute notice. Ask them to clean up and return their materials to their storage areas. Show them the video below to understand secondary colors better!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XlGFJXMYnA

Activity 2 

Math (10 minutes)

Spinners!

Materials- White cardstock paper or any strong paper. A CD (or other similar sized circle object), scissors, a coin (for each spinner made) and markers.

Vocabulary: Longer, shorter, faster, slower, time, primary and secondary colors

Beginning:

Today, we will be making spinners! We will make at least two so we can compare how long we can spin them.

Middle:

Trace two circles with the CD onto the cardstock paper.

Ask your child to color/decorate it as they wish. As they have just learnt about primary colors, it may be a good idea to ask them to only use primary colors for one of the spinners.

An adult should cut a slit in the middle of the circle, just long enough for a coin to be tucked in (it should be a snug fit). The coin will be perpendicular to the paper.

Fit a coin into the middle slit.

Ask your child to spin their spinner. You may spin yours.

You may:


Acknowledge their choice of colors (primary or secondary) used


Ask your child to observe the speed at which the spinners are moving, which is faster, which is slower?


Ask your child to observe the length of time they spin. Which spins longer, which spins for a shorter time?

Extension: You may ask your child to count how long their spinner moves. They may count 1,2,3 etc. They can compare it with your count.

End:

Give them a 5 minute notice. Ask them to clear their areas and let the teacher know who had the fastest spinner!

Draw around the CD and color to your liking

                                     

Activity 3

Fine Motor skills (5 minutes)

Today, we will write the letter W (our letter for the week) using watermelon seeds (any seeds are fine)!

We will first fish the watermelon/lemon seeds out of their fruit. We will then use markers to color each of them. Careful- they will be slippery!

We will then glue each onto a paper in the shape of letters we know. Let’s start with the letter ‘W’!

Materials needed for tomorrow:

• 3D shaped items from the house for a sphere, cylinder, cone and cube
• Q-tips and straws

Final thoughts of the day:

• Keep on sending the pictures!
• Pencil in our Thursday meeting at 3:45.  Don't forget to bring your pet (toy) animal!
• Here is a song for a bit of movement as we end the day!  (Here)

Monday 13th April

Good Morning KG1A!

Morning message:

• What do you do to stay healthy and strong?  Send me a picture of you doing some breathing or exercises! 
• Check the French tab for updates 
• Let's start the day with some breathing  (here)

Activity one

Math (20 minutes)


Decomposing numbers

For this activity your child will be able to represent the number 5 in different ways.

Materials: 2 White pieces of paper with three circles on as shown in the picture (one for you one for your child). Use any small materials such as pom poms, small lego pieces, small play dough balls, cheerios or whatever small items you can think of at home.


Vocabulary: numbers, counting, how many, together, add, total.


Beginning: Tell your child that today they will show you the number 5 using the materials provided. First thing they will do is count 5 items. Then ask them what other ways can we do number 5?


Middle: Give your child the paper you drew together and ask them if they can write number 5 in one of the circles. Then say, “I wonder how can we use these items to put in both circles? How many would you like to put in each circle?


It's ok if your child puts all 5 items in the circle at first. Have extra items for them to put in the other circle. Ask your child to count now how many they have in both circles.


Ask your child how many more they have and how many they need to take away? Have a piece of paper for yourself and show your child other ways, for example put 3 items in one circle and 2 items in the other circle. Ask your child to help you count them all together and say, “I did it and I made 5.” Now what other ways can we make 5?”


Extension: Use the terms add, subtract and equal if you feel your child is ready for it. Have your child write down the numbers using + - = on a separate piece of paper. You may also want to do 10 items.


End: Give your child 5 minutes to end the activity. Encourage them to clean up with you.   

Activity two

Literacy (10 minutes)

I spy letters


For this activity you will reinforce the letter sounds and names with your child.


Materials: Choose a spot in the house where there are the most letters around, maybe the kitchen, the play room or their own room. If there isn’t then please write letters on a sticky note and hang them around the room. You will also need paper and pencil.


Vocabulary: Letter names, spy, find, letter sound.


Beginning: Tell your child for this activity they will be looking around the room and spying all the letters you see. Tell them they have 5 minutes and you will do the same. After 5 minutes gather at a place to see what letters you found, and if there are any similar letters between you two. They can play it with their siblings and nannies as well.


Middle: Once you start looking for the letters, say out loud what you are finding and write it on the paper. Model to your child what you want them to be looking for. For example say, “I found letter S on the sequence game.”


Once you are done tell your child 5 minutes are up and come back to the table to see what letters you both found. If your child is having a hard time saying the letters they found say, “I see you found W .. etc.”


Note: If your child is not able to write the letters down, they may draw a circle or line for that letter and they can show you what letter they found.


Extension: Have your child come up with words for each letter they found.


End: Acknowledge your child’s work even if it was a few letters. Give them a few minutes warning before ending the activity.

Activity three

Fine motor skills (5 minutes)


Closing and opening lids of different sizes and shapes.


Have containers and lids of different sizes on the table. Ask your child to help you find lids for the containers. Encourage them to twist and turn as they are trying.


Fine motor skills involve the use of first, the whole body, then the arms, and then the fingers. In this activity, some children will be able to open/close the lids using only their fingers, while others will need to pivot their bodies and use their wrist/hand strength to open the jars. Each of these will strengthen the muscles we use to draw, color and write every day.

Materials for tomorrow

• Flour, salt, food coloring
• Cardstock paper (strong white paper of any type), coin, a CD and art materials
• Watermelon or any other seeds

Final Notes


I look forward to meeting you all this week at our individual meetings this week.


Keep the work/pictures coming through email, I love receiving them!


Let's finish the day with a special feeling! (Here)

Sunday, 12th April

Good Morning KG1A

Morning Message

• Please see email on individual parent/teacher meeting and sign on for a time slot, if you have not done so already
• Do check the PE tab for an update today 
• Let's get started with an 'I love you ritual!' 

Activity 1 

Literacy (20 minutes)

Words their way- Beginning Sounds- L, K, J, W

Beginning:

Today, we will be sounding out the letters L, K, J and W.   (Please print)

Middle:

-Let us think of some words which begin with the letter L, K, J and W.  (Give your child some time to come up with words.)

You may:

• Suggest some words e.g. 
• /L/ for lion, lamb, light, leg and lettuce!
• /K/ for kangaroo, koala, king, kite (Please note, if they say any words which start with the letter C instead of K, it is ok at this stage in their development)
• /J/ for jump, jam, juice and jacket
• /W/ for water, well, watermelon, whale, white, wiggle, walrus 

-Ask them to look at the pictures and identify their beginning letters, is it /L/, /K/, /J/ or /W/?   They can cut the words/pictures using scissors.  

-There are four columns on the second page.  Ask your child to paste the picture corresponding to the letter in the column.
For example, the picture of the boy’s knee should go under the letter /K/.  

-Extension-  write down other words that have the same beginning letter.  

End:

Give your child a 5 minute notice.  Ask them to clean up the paper scraps and put back the materials in their places. 
Send the picture of their finished work to the teacher via email

Activity two

Math (10 minutes)

Growing monsters!

Materials needed: Paint (water colors from a palette will work), straw, paintbrush, white paper and markers

Vocabulary:  Spread, increasing, decreasing, pattern 

Beginning:

You may say- “Today, we will be observing what happens when we use our breath and paint to make a pattern!”

Ask your child to add some water to the paints to get them into a liquid consistency.

Middle:

Ask your child to dab a color of paint onto the paper using a paintbrush.  

Ask them to use their straw and blow onto the paint.  Let them spread the paint in different directions using their breaths.  

You may:

• Ask them to brainstorm what they think is happening
• Discuss how the amount of breath they are blowing affects the paint’s movement.
• Is there a pattern between their breath and the movement of the paint?  For instance- breath, paint, breath, paint, breath, paint.
• The paint spreads further each time!  It is an increasing pattern.  
• What shapes is the paint making?  What do they look like?  
• Ask your child to add features onto the ‘Growing monsters’.  They may choose to add eyes, hair etc. 

Extension: You may ask your child to create names for the monsters and write them down.  They can describe these characters to you.  

End: 

Give your child a 5 minute notice before the end of the activity.  Send in their picture for the blog! 

Growing in all directions, depending on how hard you blow! 

Activity three

Fine motor (10 minutes)

Water paint

A few hours before the activity-  Take four cups of water. In each, add a different color of food color. 
Freeze each colored water using an ice cube tray.  

Once frozen, remove the ice cubes and place it on a paper.  Ask your child to write some letters before the ice cubes melt! 
It will be a race to make sure the ice does not melt and turn into water! 
Ask your child to count how many letters they were able to write before the ice melted.   

You may ask them to write the letter W, our letter of the week! Below is a video on what terminology to use when modelling how to write the letter.  

A note from Ms. Modie

Hello KG1! I hope you are all doing well. Here are two videos of how to practice proper handwashing and how soap can help to fight off germs. Please share the song you like to sing while washing your hands! 

You may share with me at admin.support@mls.com.sa

I have also attached an activity packet you can do with your parents at home.

You can check all these materials (here)

Stay safe
Ms. Modie ❤️

Materials for tomorrow:

• Containers of different sizes
• Regular art materials.

Final notes:

• Let's end the day with some movement (here)
• Continue sending in pictures of the children's activities