Pre-KG 2023 / 24 Blog 17
Happy New Year of the Dragon!
Happy New Year to all of you, may you and your families be blessed with lots of good luck, happiness, prosperity and especially health in 2024, the year of the dragon ! 🐉
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Thank you again for your support and kindness during last year !
It was lovely to see everybody back at school , safe and sound, especially in wake of the earthquake.
As you know I take the safety of the children very seriously and we always do our best to have our little Pre–Kindergarten children prepared for an earthquake including regular walks along the escape route with that high flight of stairs at the Fashion Museum where we need to assemble at the top after an earthquake and tsunami alert as this is identified as the highest point for our school.
I also hold an initial emergency walk with new families whether Pre–Kindergarten or Playgroup.
When the children came back into class after the holidays, it was heartwarming to see how happy they were to be reunited with their classmates and teachers !
We had many exciting conversations and also talked about the fact that this year is the year of the dragon in Japan. The children thought we might find some on the island, so we went on a quest, combining our walk with the emergency drill.
It was good to see that the children had not forgotten the routine and walked up the stairs orderly and calmly. Good job, Pre– KG !
So, where were the dragons ? Nowhere to find, but we spotted a big group of dog figurines in a shop window which really attracted the attention of our Pre–Kindergarten children. All the interest will come handy for our current unit on animals.
Back at school, the children were happy to discover that we indeed do have some dragons or maybe the closest thing we can find: toy dinosaurs in our own backyard.
The children wanted to have some panorama, so the happy dinosaurs got some grass , lakes and mountains drawn with chalk onto the table.
During the week, we decided that we should decorate the entrance of the Early Years area with some dragons, so the children drew a dragon or a friend for him and we hung the paintings up to greet everyone and welcome the New Year !
As all the children have gotten very interested in puzzles , we chose some animal themed ones together. After completing them , the Pre–
Kindergarten children took their animal figurines and started to match them to the pictures on the puzzles. They showed some good preliminary knowledge and vocabulary skills!
The Pre–KG class also joined K1 in a fun dance, imitating a variety of animals along the way !
What a great start into the year of the dragon with lots of smiles, friendly play and tuning into the new unit with fun activities !
Btw, regarding the dragon, did you know that the dragon represents the only mythical creature of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals.
The year of the dragon is considered special and the dragon symbolizes strength, good fortune, dignity and honor.
May this be a good year for all of us !
Ein gutes, neues Jahr 2024! Möge das Jahr des Drachen uns allen viel Glück, Zufriedenheit und vor allem Gesundheit bringen !
With kind regards,
Mit herzlichen Grüßen,
Anita Ursula Mönch
Pre–Kindergarten homeroom teacher
Playgroup / EY German
German Saturday School homeroom teacher
