Pre-KG 2022/ 23 Blog 3 Specialist lessons

Pre-KG 2022/ 23 Blog 3

Specialist lessons 

Every day the Pre-Kindergarten children enjoy a variety of activities, but they also get the added bonus of some specialist lessons which enrich their learning experiences even further and make for a well-rounded curriculum.

Monday Library Time

Reading books, looking at picture books and doing storytelling with your child not only develops language and emotion, promotes brain development, increases imagination, relaxes, improves concentration and memory, enhances knowledge, but last not least strengthens relationships. What a wonderful way to spend time together - by cuddling up closely with a nice book! 

So every Monday the Pre-Kindergarten children have a dedicated library time, where they look at books together, listen to stories read by the teacher and then get to borrow a book to take home to share with their families.

The Pre-Kindergarten classroom boasts a big variety of books, but library time is a special way to raise awareness about the importance of books, increase concentration and then make individual choices ! 

Wednesday Music Lesson 

The love for music is universal and enjoyed by all cultures and ages! Music makes one happy, excited or sad, it stirs emotions and memories and it gets body and mind to work together. Music exposes the child to multi-sensory experiences which help with all areas of child development, enhance learning abilities and encourage cognitive development.

Ms.Azusa provides stimulating and fun activities in her music lessons through a combination of play and music which lets the children discover their joy of singing, movement and a variety of instruments individually or in a group. 

Wednesday Afternoon German lesson

The many cognitive benefits of learning languages are undeniable. Studies say that people who speak more than one language have improved memory, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Your brain gets familiar with new vocabulary and grammar rules and you then use them in contextual situations.

But learning a new language is also about a positive attitude towards other cultures and different people - and the joy of being able to communicate with them.

So every Wednesday afternoon the children of K1 and the Pre-KG children in afternoon care joyfully learn new German vocabulary through games, songs and hands-on activities with Ms.Anita who is happy to pass on her love for languages and awaken enthusiasm in the children to acquire the language of her home country and the formerly main language of Deutsche Schule Kobe International.

Please enjoy some of the songs and a game the children are currently learning, connected to their current units of colours and shapes (Pre-KG) and transportation (K1) respectively. 

Grün, grün, grün sind alle meine Kleider

Papas rotes Auto

Friday Physical Education (P.E.) lesson

Small children are very active and they move a lot!

Movement is the key to a healthy development as all the large and small muscle movements needed for physical exploration help improve gross and fine motor skills. 

There are children who have a longer attention span than others and are attentive during morning circle, while reading a book or playing with toys, but toddlers and young children should always have active play and that’s why we include it daily in our curriculum. 

On Fridays Ms.Miho guides the Pre-Kindergarten children through activities where they jump, run, climb and throw balls all while learning about their body and gaining strength and confidence in their movement skills. The children very much enjoy this special P.E. time with a variety of equipment where they can challenge themselves individually or improve their team work. 

Luckily DSKI also boasts some nice outside facilities where the children can be risk-takers and discover the joy of achievement once a new task is mastered. They also love to be active with their friends and teachers from K1 and K2 and have the opportunity play together and form friendships.

At DSKI the Pre-Kindergarten children learn, have fun and grow in a truly balanced curriculum !

Yours sincerely, 

Anita Ursula Mönch

DSKI Pre-Kindergarten homeroom teacher 

Playgroup / EY German 

Pre-KG 2022/ 23 Blog 2 New experiences shape our lives !

Pre-KG 2022/ 23 Blog 2

New experiences shape our lives ! 

Colours and shapes are all around us!

Children use the words for colours as one of the first ways to make distinctions for the things they see in their surroundings. They feel a great sense of accomplishment when they can name the colours, point to certain colours around them or in books, match colours and later even sort items into groups of same colours.

Also, already at a very early age, children begin to make connections between familiar objects and their shapes like round wheels or square boxes.

When exploring different shapes, they learn the concept of same and different which will enable them to observe and compare. 

All the more reason to start the Pre-Kindergarten curriculum with activities that help the children learn about colours and shapes.

Easy art projects are a good way for the the Pre-Kindergarten children to try out chalk, crayons, finger paint, paper scraps or origami art while having fun and using their fine motor skills.

The children discover shapes very actively - by holding cubes in their hands, catching fish shapes, touching little wooden animals, cars and trees before putting them together as original pictures….or even by climbing shapes !

It is wonderful to see that the Pre-Kindergarten show great curiosity, risk-taking and also patience, all while learning and making new using experiences which they can build on in their future.

Let your child show you some of their newfound knowledge and have fun exploring colours and shapes together !

Yours sincerely, 

Anita Ursula Mönch

DSKI Pre-Kindergarten homeroom teacher 

Playgroup / EY German 

Welcome back to the Pre-Kindergarten - School Year 22/23 !

Welcome back to the Pre-Kindergarten - School Year 22/23 ! 

After a long and relaxing summer break, the Pre-Kindergarten welcomed back three little friends who had grown quite a bit over the holidays !

The children were very excited to rediscover their classroom and its many toys and to catch up with their friends, some of them who have moved to K1.

They showed that they still can remember their classroom routines, the schedule board and even the fact that they need to wear their hats outside due to the heat !

What a great start into the new school year with shared activities and shared teachers.

At this stage I would like to thank everyone for their support and heartwarming messages during the healing period of my injury.

I am very happy to be your children's Pre-Kindergarten classroom teacher again in the school year 2022/23 and for the time being I will continue to support your children remotely with attractive lesson plans which are then implemented by my wonderful team of colleagues during my absence..

The children are very well cared for and enjoy the variety of activities that are provided daily.

Thank you again for your continuous support and I am looking forward to being back in the classroom soon! 

Yours sincerely, 

Anita Ursula Mönch

DSKI Pre-Kindergarten homeroom teacher 

Playgroup / EY German