Welcome to the GLOBE Academy!

Ni Hao Mandarin Kindergarten Families!

Welcome to Kindergarten at The GLOBE Academy! My name is Vivian Liu, and I will be your child’s Lead Mandarin Speaking Kindergarten teacher.  I know starting a brand new school can be nerve wrecking, but hopefully this letter answers many of your questions.

A little about me

I was raised in Taiwan and came to Atlanta for college when I was eighteen. My passion for teaching started young, as both of my parents and sister are educators. After receiving my degree from Georgia State University, I taught first and second grades in Gwinnet County Public Schools. Being able to teach has been great, but being able to feel rewarded, inspired, and valued at GLOBE is something else. The freedom to be creative and immediately watch the children sprout has made my career more purposeful.  Watching five and six year olds pick up a foreign language and converse with it is not something you see at a traditional school everyday.  When I am not at work, I enjoy spending time with family, cooking vegan dishes, and traveling. 

What does a Mandarin Immersion Classroom look like?

Your child will be immersed in Mandarin across all content area as well as art, music, culture, and many more. Beginning the first day of school, students will learn routines and “survival” words in Mandarin.  There will be lots of opportunities for your child to learn the skills by acting out, drawing, pointing, and sharing.  The first few weeks could be interesting for your child and he might show anxiety towards a new language. Please know that it is totally normal.  Most language learners go through the silent stages and it can vary how long it will take for them to start imitating or responding. 

My Teaching Philosophy

I have taught in a variety of classroom settings throughout my nine years of teaching.  It is my belief that all students are capable of achieving at different rates. While some may be extremely verbal, she may require extra support in another area.  Identifying the strengths and weakness in students is most helpful for students’ overall success.

Homework Assignment and Communication

To learn and master a new skill, repetition is essential. Although we will not be sending home busy work, you will assist your child in creating some of the homework assignments. These assignments will be announced on the newsletter as well as the blog.  Many of the assignments involve speaking in front of a camera or teaching a family member new words or phrases learned in class.  If you have any questions regarding assignments or events, please check the newsletter or blog (globemandarin.blogspot.com) on a weekly basis. I can also be reached via email at vliu@theglobeacademy.net .

Sincerely,

Vivian Liu

|WATCH| How do you learn Mandarin? Speak it! Speak it! And Speak it!!

Our mornings are usually filled with lots of speaking practices. The students have been memorizing greetings, their birthdays, weathers, favorite foods and activities. There are SO MANY vocabulary words and phrases they know, but the only way to become fluent is to SPEAK THEM. It might be silly to plug words into formulas, but after awhile, the students will shift to tweak phrases...and that is really exciting! Anyhow, since we don't live in a Mandarin speaking country, we make the best use out of each other. Students are partnered up randomly and they are required to ask a set of questions and answers they are familiar with.

In this video clip, Rami and Ava ask each other what they like and do not like to do. First they interviewed each other, then they had to do an introduction. I thought the three step process was not the easiest task. Think about this, first, they have to ask the question. Second, they have to memorize it. Third, they have to ask the next question. Fourth, they have to memorize it. Fifth, they have to present it all. Oh wait, that WAS really complicated, wasn't it? And just sixty Mandarin days ago, each of them was learning how to say "ni hao!" and counting numbers to 10.

The seeds are sprouting, so keep watering.

Enjoy the clip!

Week of March 31-April 4, 2014

WARM WEATHER REMINDER...
* WATER BOTTLE FOR YOUR CHILD DAILY
* SUNSCREEN PRIOR TO COMING TO SCHOOL

Being the week before Spring Break, you can only imagine the excitement among students. Nonetheless, we spent the majority of our mornings practicing speaking, focusing on the tones, and reading pinyin. In the afternoons we touched and sorted some rocks. One day we even traveled to Asia via Google Map.

Traveling to the Mandarin Speaking Countries - Thanks to Google Map

Talent Show in Music - What a talented group of kids. Karate, Break Dance, Guitar, Drumming (lots), and Singing (Frozen, 3 times!) 

Happy April Fools! Thanks to the Jacobs family for your infectious spirit! 

We made our own "I like to do..." book in class this week, they are coming home on Friday. I encourage you to have your child read to you over the break!

Reed leading Calendar Math while Liu Laoshi takes a water break. 

Week of January 13-17, 2014

BETTER CHINESE ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION
Make sure you are checking your email for this important log-in information. Spend as little as 10 minutes on this wonderful program nightly. I have already received lots of positive responses from parents and students! 

Animals made out of recycled materials helped us learn about solid shapes. 
See what the kids have created!

Martin Luther King Jr. has inspired our children to think more about treating others based on their characters, creating peace with our words, and loving one another. We made hearts to exemplify his love. 

Happy Long Weekend Everyone!

Seat Work / Centers/ Indoor Recess (Just Dance Kids) 

|Home Project| Vocabulary Cards Due Monday, 11/11/2013

Vocabulary words and index cards will go home today and tomorrow. Please watch the videos below to help your child complete the homework. We will be adding these words to the reading bags. See you at the conference in a few days!

How to make the Vocabulary Cards

How to pronounce the words

Week of October 28-November 1, 2013

What a busy, fun, exciting, and spooky week it has been! Thanks parents for volunteering, waking up early to dress your kids, coming up with creative ideas to participate on all the fun themes. Mandarin parents are the BEST! Special thanks to Amy W., Laura Beck, Laura Bales, Jen M., Alison M., Renee S., Krista A., and Christina L. You made the week so much more doable, meaningful, and memorable. 謝謝！

I was amazed by how well behaved the children were on the field trip. The puppet show lasted for an hour, but our kids had their full attention on the stage. They laughed and clapped at the right moment like they were much older. All the background knowledge you have been stimulating before this really shows. Lauren and I were just proud by how much our kids absorb and deliver during the puppet workshop.

Next week we will be learning new poems and be soon adding Mandarin Sight Words into your child's Reading Bag. We will also be starting a Mandarin Literacy Journal in the next week or two...
please send in a journal notebook with your child on Monday (11/4). Thanks!! 


Friendly Reminder - 

Don't forget Parent Teacher Conferences start next Thursday (11/7). You should be getting a reminder via Signup Genius. 
Water Bottle DAILY!! This is very important, we want to make sure the kids stay hydrated throughout the day. 
Please take some time to label all of your child's clothing. 

Trick-a-Treating with Family

Bringing up Baby Bilingual

A must read...
http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2013/10/multilingualism-0?fsrc=scn/fb/wl/bl/bringingupbaby

Week of October 21- 25, 2013

Fall Conference Sign-up and Report Cards
Please look for an email for Fall Conference Sign-up sheet later this afternoon. Ms. Salzillo and I will be placing a hard copy of the report card in the folder on Wednesday, October 30.  Each student is scored based on his or her performance at this time. There are four categories: Meets, Approaches, Not Meeting, and Not Observed. Please be reassured that all the standards will be taught by end of the year.

The Shape Book
Please continue to practice reading the Shape Book at home. The video is located HERE!

Reminder for Next Week

Monday - Crazy Hair Day

Tuesday - Crazy Hat and Socks Day (Please label the hat)
                 Picture Day!

Wednesday - Spirit Wear Day!

                    Field Trip @ Center for the Puppetry Arts - Please pack a brown paper bag lunch that is      
                    easy transported (ie: sandwich, crackers, apple). Make sure each bag is labeled. No Nuts! 

Thursday - Book Character Dress Up - Dress in your favorite book character and bring a book with the character in it.

Friday - Pajama Day! 

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 Painting Fall Colors

Credit - The Flynns

Making characters with popsicle sticks 

 Credit: The Lanes

Students reinforce their body parts vocabulary through center games

 iPad Game - Gus Mandarin

Writing Center - Amazing penmanship! 

Writing/Copying Character Center is one of the hottest centers right now (behind iPad)

Ian's grandmother visited the class on Tuesday. 

She sang and played games with the class, so fun!

Mrs. Lin is a retired Elementary school teacher in Singapore.  

Week of October 7-11, 2013

Friendly Reminder ...
* Water Bottle in Book Bag Daily
* Restaurant Project Due

This week we continued to observe the fall weather and the students were able to describe the colors, texture, and shapes of the leaves. We sat around in a circle and shared different findings. The students were encouraged to start their sentences with, "My leaf (我的葉子) is the color of__________, my leaf feels______, my leaf is shaped like a __________." Students were able to incorporate their color words without prompting, very impressive!

On Friday, we were so lucky to have Amy to pop in and throw a dance party. It was really amazing to see the varies dance moves among kids.

Here are two videos I'd promise to post -

Shape Book

http://youtu.be/2EhODY1UwRQ

Routine Book
http://youtu.be/T1dEiIQIzFE

Week of September 30 - October 4, 2013

Friendly Reminder

* Water Bottle in your Child's Book bag daily

* Limit sweets in your Child's Lunch Box

* Chinese Restaurant Project due 10/7 and 10/8 

This week has gone by so fast especially with me being out Tuesday with a sick child!

We had a productive week as we have completed our second book - The Shape Book (What Shape is it?). The students colored, cut, and glued the pictures / sentences onto each page. We will be sending them home in the reading bag. I will also try to upload two videos over the weekend. One featuring the Routine Book(sent home 3 weeks ago) and the other the Shape Book. These should serve as a good guide as you practice with your child.

During oral proficiency practices, we are now practicing, "What is your Mom's name?" and answering in the complete sentence, "My mom's name is______." Students may substitute 'mom' with any family member's title (Dad, Uncle, Aunt, Dog, Cat, Fish, Older/Younger Siblings) At lunch this week, I was surprised by two students from two different classes (Liu and Salzillo) sitting across from each other having a real conversation in Mandarin. I couldn't tell you how proud it made me! 

In Math, we continued to count forward and backward in Mandarin. The students also had fun come up to the board to write the number being said. Some students preferred to write the numbers in Mandarin..wow! If your child is writing symbols backwards, they certainly are doing much better in Mandarin. :) (And it it totally okay to write numbers backwards at this stage.)

At one of our listening activities, I had the children close their eyes and listen to songs and conversations among native speakers. They then shared the words they heard and understood. It was quite fantastic with the amount of words they pick up.

Have a fall-bulous weekend with your family!

Week of September 23-27, 2013

We've had a very busy week! This week we continued to review names of body parts along side with color names. The students had fun drawing "a red nose", "a green head", "two purple ears", and so on. It was a fun activity but also an excellent way to assess how far their listening proficiency has gone since August 14. It is stunning! In Math we have also created number lines using sentence strips and yarn. For shapes we built pictures using Popsicle sticks and learned to say triangle and square in Mandarin. As long as you are able to count from one to eight in Mandarin, you are able to pick up most shapes names quickly. For literacy/math integrated center this week, the children counted cotton balls in Mandarin by picking them up with chopsticks. It was both exciting and confusing. I would suggest getting your family a few sets of chopsticks to practice at home. It can be a lot of fun! For beginners cottons balls are challenging enough, but for high achievers, try beans.

 

Chopsticks Center 

 

L Picking up Cotton Ball Twins! 

 

D Drawing a Pentagon and Writing the first character of Pentagon in Mandarin

 

W Constructing a Picture with a Triangle and a Square 

Friendly Reminder - 
- Water bottle in your child's bag daily
- A light sweater for the unpredictable fall weather

I also want to personally thank each and every one of you for being AWESOME and continue to be patient with me and GLOBE. Starting up a school is no easy task, but with your kind words it does get easier and so worthwhile.  


Below is a quick refresher on shapes. Don't worry if your child seem a bit lost on some of it, we will be spiraling the skills through Calendar Math and all. :) We will also be creating an individual shape/color book and will be adding it to the reading bag within the next two weeks.

Project - Chinese Restaurant

Project Due - October 7 & October 8

In the next two weeks, I'd like for you and your child to visit one of the many Chinese restaurants in town. Take a picture of your child with his or her favorite dish(es) and create an art piece with it. You could make a collage with a poster board, do something cool out of a shoe box, or just anything under the sky. Be creative! Please if possible include a menu or a picture of the menu from the restaurant. We will have your child present and discuss all the different dishes in Mandarin.

Few of my favorite Chinese restaurants! Feel free to share yours in the comments below!

Green Sprout 

1529 Piedmont Ave NE  Atlanta, Georgia 30324 (404) 874-7373

P.F. Chang's Yes, for real! :)

1624 Cumberland Mall
Atlanta
(770) 803-5800

500 Ashwood Pkwy

Atlanta
(770) 352-0500

7925 North Point Pkwy

Alpharetta

(770) 992-3070

Harmony
4897 Buford Hwy #109  Chamblee, GA 30341
(770) 457-7288

Week of September 16-20, 2013

Happy Friday! Thank you all for coming out to GLOBE's first Curriculum Night. It was warm and fuzzy for me to see each and everyone of you. Hope you got a good glimpse of what goes on in the Reading/ Writing Workshop/ Mandarin Literacy block. As Ms. Kenner mentioned, there will be future curriculum nights focusing on other curricular components. Stay tuned!

This week the students continued to count objects in Mandarin. They were also encouraged to ask "how many" in Mandarin. To reinforce color words, students made an ocean out of a paper plate and cute out fish and colored them in blue, red, green, and white. We connected the colors with Dr. Seuss' book "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish."The kids love playing the "Color Game" where you pass around a certain color while naming the color words. I encourage you to complete the number flash cards if you have not done so and have your child read forward and backwards. Incorporate counting into your lives; count crackers, flowers, cars...etc.

Thanks to J's parents the students had a blast conducting puppet shows using the puppets! The children were encouraged to apply greeting words, perform a song, and say good-bye and thank you at the end of the show. The entire class was engaged and we cannot wait to do it again next week. We might have our own puppet show party mid-year!

Don't forget! Welcome to the GLOBE is coming this Saturday. Specific schedule will be released this week, but K will most likely perform between 11 and noon.

Friendly Reminder
* Prop(decorated water bottle with beads/rice/beans) due this week for the performance on Sat, 9/28 per Christina's email.
* Make sure your child brings a water bottle daily. 
* Only send in fresh fruit snacks for our AM snack. 
* Please limit sweets when packing your child's lunch

Week of September 9-13, 2013

This week we continued to review numbers and made a few flash cards. Please review the flash cards at home and help your child complete numbers one to twenty on index cards by Friday, 9/20. Make sure to keep the flash cards in your child's book bag at all time. They may come in handy during the Atlanta traffic! Several ideas on what to do with the flash cards: Putting the numbers in order, Read the numbers backwards, Start counting from numbers other than 1, Be familiar with the words "before", "after", and "between".

Months in Mandarin - Months and Day of the week has been an on going skill during Calendar Math. They are fairy easy and go hand in hand with the numbers your child has mastered.

Here they are -

Days of the Week

Days of the Week Flip Book 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Months of the Year

Ms. Salzillo's Homeroom class learned the song "Twelve Months" using the tune of Ten Little Indians today. You may review or preview it with your child if you'd like. 

Welcome to Globe | Saturday, September 28, 2013

Both Mandarin classes will be performing at the Welcome to GLOBE event on 9/28. Ms. Salzillo's homeroom class will be singing "August 15th". Ms. Liu's homeroom class will be singing the "Finger Exercise" song. Below you will find the Youtube clip of "August 15th". We can't wait to share everything we have learned on September 28th! 

I am happy. 

I am angry.

Routine Book that we have been practicing.