Friday, March 14, 2014

Week of March 10-14, 2014

Mandarin Journal has been coming home in the past two weeks and will continue to be sent home until the end of the school year. Students have been learning so many songs and poems, so it's only appropriate for them to read and sing to the words at home. This should be a fun activity to be enjoyed. Please encourage your child to share a new poem he or she has learned. 

Good pre-reading skill - Point at each word as you read! 


Writing - Like and Dislike of a certain weather

 Class Picture
 Mystery Reader with Rick Beato
 Girls building a nest on this beautiful Friday!
Thanks Mrs. Boyanton for donating your time, energy, talent, and supplies for the project! Thanks Joe Lane for building the tables. Thank you for all the parents who donated the metersticks! Can't wait to see the final product!!


Monday, March 10, 2014

Friday, March 7, 2014

Week of March 3-7, 2014

Flashcards should remain in your child's reading bag. I will be going through them and marking the ones they have mastered throughout the week. 

NOT one, but two mini iPads were delivered this Wednesday! Thanks for the outpouring support from our parents! I was also so excited to purchase apps because of the iTunes credit donated. We immediately put them to use on Thursday. There are so many neat games that reinforce reading, writing, and math skills. 

Dr.Seuss' birthday celebration was a success! We read several of Dr. Seuss' books and discussed what we noticed in his poem. We all made Horton's ears, which they were so proud of wearing. We then compared and contrasted the difference between a story and a poem and an English poem and a Chinese poem written by Li Bai .

From Wikipedia - 
Li Bai (701[1]–762), also known as Li Po, was a Chinese poet acclaimed from his own day to the present as a genius and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du Fu (712–770) were the two most prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry in the mid-Tang Dynasty that is often called the "Golden Age of China".
Around a thousand poems attributed to him are extant, thirty-four in the canonical 18th-century anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems. The poems were models for celebrating the pleasures of friendship, the depth of nature, solitude, and the joys of drinking wine. Among the most famous are "Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day", "The Hard Road to Shu", and "Quiet Night Thought", which appears frequently in school texts in China today. Legend holds that Li drowned when he reached from his boat to grasp the moon’s reflection in the river.
In your child's Mandarin journal, you will find the poem "Jin Ye Si 靜夜思" by Li Bai. It's a beautifully written poem and you can even sing it. Below is the clip.  And for your own entertainment, you may watch the other one that is more suitable for adults. 








Below is a glimpse of what we were working on all week. Story problems were introduced this week...the children read the problems, drew pictures, jot down facts, and got it all done! 
Top left - Math Story Problems
Top right - Cutting out poem for the journal
Bottom left - Writing 
Bottom right - Math Story Problem

Top left - Writing
Top right - Poem on the fan
Bottom left - New carpool practice
Bottom right - Hortons working on writing

Friday, February 28, 2014

Homework + Week of February 24-28, 2014


FLASHCARDS - Please have the flashcards made this weekend and keep them in your child's reading bag. Next week I will go through all the flashcards and separate them by the ones they know or are unsure of. 

MAP testing, field trip, and lots of learning occurred this week. The students and teachers had the best cultural experience at the Synchronicity on Tuesday. The play was very well done and engaging for all. There were even some Mandarin words in the play that our children picked up, added bonus!

NEXT week we will celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday with story telling and crafts. Remember next Friday is a teacher workday!

WRITING - The students compared the differences between a regular Chinese restaurant and a Dim Sum restaurant. They were surprised by what they found. We also wrote and illustrated our favorite Chinese and American dishes. Traditional Chinese characters require lots of rigor and patience, but we are all just having fun!

 MATH- Students played Race to One Hundred utilizing the Mandarin hundreds chart. It is not only an excellent way to practice addition and subtraction but also a way to be familiarized with the characters.



Friday, February 21, 2014

Week of February 17-21, 2014


Congratulations on a successful Chinese New Year program, GLOBE! I will post pictures as parents send them my way. The lion heads turned out to be unique, wild, creative, and amazing! I throughly enjoyed the show backstage, but really wish I was watching from the bottom. Thanks are in order for many,  and I am still in awe at how quickly we pulled it together after mold and two snow storms back to back. Thank you Vicki for leading the grand plan, decorating, buying supplies, and attending to details and cleanups until after the program ends. Thank you Ajay for designing the beautiful invitations and programs and for Mrs. Wilson for printing them. Thank you Suohsien for your beautiful handmade pom poms, they look spectacular! Thanks to all the parents who have donated time, talent, and supplies. And of course our teachers at GLOBE for your outpouring positive energy - it is truly inspiring. And please thank Ms. Mashburn when you see her next time, she had my back and is the reason why the show went flawlessly!!


Upcoming Events

|Field Trip|
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Tuesday, 2/25 8:30-11:00 

|MAP Testing|
Reading - Wednesday, 2/26 8:30-10:00
Math - Friday, 2/28 8:30-10:00

Homework

|Better Chinese Homework|
It is imperative that your child spends at least 15 minutes on Better Chinese nightly. Whether it's a game or a story, it is a way to reinforce what has been taught. 

Thursday, February 6, 2014

::WATCH::周杰倫 | 聽媽媽的話 |Ting Ma Ma De Hua

Practice the main chorus in the next couple of days to get ready for the Chinese New Year program! 

聽媽媽的話   
Ting ma ma de hua
別讓她受傷
bie rang ta shou shang,
想快快長大
xiang kuai kuai zhang da
才能保護她
cai neng bao hu ta

Listen to mother's words, don't let her get hurt.
You want to grow up quickly so you can take care of her

美麗的白髮   
Mei li de bai fa, 
幸福中發芽
xing fu zhong fa ya 
天使的魔法
tian shi de mo fa,
溫暖中慈祥
wen nuan zhong ci xiang

Beautiful white hair, growing inside happiness.
Angel's magic benevolence within (her) gentleness


Wednesday, February 5, 2014

|Project| Due: Monday, February 10, 2014

The students have had much fun celebrating Chinese New Year at the spirit night at STEEL, the Chinese Culture Center, and in the classrooms. Next Friday we will conclude the festivities in the Village Plaza with several classes performing.  Our children carry a huge load of the program and the lion dance will be another exciting addition!

What is LION DANCE

Grocery stores usually have unwanted boxes for recycling. Please find one that fits your child's head with room to spare. Project due Monday, February 10! Extra lion heads appreciated!!