Pre-KG 2021/ 22 Blog 7 A Balanced Curriculum

Pre-KG  A Balanced Curriculum 

In Pre-Kindergarten the children are enjoying a stimulating curriculum that is play based and transdisciplinary.

The children increase their vocabulary, enhance their knowledge about math and literacy and improve their fine and gross motor skills all while learning about their unit subjects,  presently "Colours and Shapes".

They use a variety of games, art projects, manipulatives, songs, natural materials on a daily basis, having fun and making many new discoveries inside the classroom and outdoors.

Because a picture says more than thousand words, please enjoy the kaleidoscope of snapshots in our Pre-Kindergarten life !

To balance our curriculum even further the children additionally enjoy weekly music and P.E. lessons.

In the music lessons with Ms. Azusa Nakajima, the children sing songs using their hands to express different animals. They walk in rhythm around a rope representing shapes while the teacher is beating a drum or playing the piano.

During P.E. lessons with Ms. Miho Kawachi the children learn, among many other things, to jump, to crawl through tunnels, to avoid obstacles, to navigate in defined spaces and to balance on various equipment.

They also make connections to their current subjects by using colourful balls and pyramids.

The children really enjoy the multitude of activities offered to them in Pre-Kindergarten and grow through these new experiences every day!

Go, Pre-KG, go and grow !

Yours, 

Anita Ursula Mönch

DSKI Pre-Kindergarten homeroom teacher

Pre-KG 2021/ 22 Blog 6 Catching Dreams

Pre-KG  Catching Dreams 

All people - and many animals - dream in their sleep, though not everyone remembers what they dreamed.

Researchers say that dreams serve important purposes and can help consolidate memories and process emotions and learned information.

The Pre-Kindergarten surely have learnt a lot of new things recently and are always eager to apply their knowledge.

So after gathering sticks on our recent walks, we decided to make some dream catchers, using natural materials and colourful beads.

The triangle shape proved to be the most popular and the children eagerly helped putting the frame together. They chose feathers and beads in their favourite colours and strung them up.

Seeing little children who usually are very energetic and mobile, 

sitting patiently and stringing beads with concentration, is an  amazing and enchanting sight.

The children were very happy with their beautiful, hand made dream catchers.

Even though the children are too young to talk about their dreams, they are able to express their imagination through creativity and playful experiments.

The Pre-Kindergarten children are always very proud of their achievements and discoveries and often they come up with amazing ideas.

It is our mission as adults to support our children’s dreams and help them to reach their potential. 

Dream big, little Pre-Kindergarten children !

Yours, 

Anita Ursula Mönch

DSKI Pre-Kindergarten homeroom teacher

Pre-KG 2021/ 22 Blog 5 Outdoor Learning

Pre-KG  Blog 5 Outdoor Learning 

I am a big fan of outdoor learning and every school year the Pre-Kindergarten class is known for being the one that is out and about the most.

Research has shown that teaching outdoors increases the students’ interest in their subjects and fosters problem solving, risk taking, cooperation and health.

So plenty of reasons for our Pre-Kindergarten class to explore the outdoor areas around our school to improve their self management skills and connect their findings to the subjects of their current unit.

The children took their baskets to find sticks, pebbles and leaves for some learning and a future art project.

They experimented with the sticks, putting them in different configurations, trying to apply their newfound knowledge of shapes. Throughout the session, the children showed great interest and concentration.

On another day this week, the Pre-KG went to the nearby green field, running and then playing on the sand mountains.

They dug, made little trenches, lines and circles and finally had a lot of fun conquering the big sand mountain again and again. Some risk taking and good body coordination was involved as well!

Last not least, we walked to the flower field admiring the beautiful blossoms and naming all these brilliant , wonderful colours.

What a great week for the Pre-Kindergarten children experiencing new learning outdoors in beautiful nature!

Yours, 

Anita Ursula Mönch

DSKI Pre-Kindergarten homeroom teacher

Pre-KG 2021/ 22 Blog 4 Pre-KG - Shaping up to their subjects

Pre-Kindergarten - Shaping up to their subjects 

This week at Pre-Kindergarten started with the long awaited arrival of Tamaki, the 4th friend in class.

Everyone was really happy to finally have her join and the children continued with gusto learning all about their current subjects of “Colours and Shapes”, showing Tamaki some of their favourite tools and toys.

For their play dough session this time the children used the 3 shapes (triangle, circle and square) of their shape fitting basket which are very useful indeed. Not only can the children practice fine motor skills, but also do a variety of art projects with them.

The children then continued their discovery outdoors, printing shapes using water only and learning that sometimes less of a thing is better (in this case water ! ).

Chalk drawings are also very popular with the Pre-Kindergarten children and the teachers are getting more efficient at drawing Anpanman.

An additional exciting art project this week was using finger paint and what fun it proved to be for the children!

The children chose four favourite colours and then, first cautiously, then more daring, the children dipped their fingers into the paint, making circles, squiggles and then finally very hands-on individual art.

The joy and wonder on the children”s faces says it all !

What a fantastic and creative week at Pre-Kindergarten !

Yours, 

Anita Ursula Mönch

DSKI Pre-Kindergarten homeroom teacher