Pre-KG 2023 / 24 Blog 30 Ready, steady, go !

Pre-KG 2023 / 24 Blog 30

Ready, steady, go ! 

This week the Pre–Kindergarten children learnt a lot about the body! 

Not only did we talk in class about the body parts, their names and function, but we also moved and practiced in order to get ready for our DSKI Sports Day on Friday,19. April 2024.

We started the week by putting together our giant floor puzzle depicting a girl and a boy .

Good team work was needed to place all the pieces together and then the children eagerly pointed to all the body parts of which they now know the names in English and in German. 

Throughout the week we borrowed some wooden mannequins from Mr. Lubin‘s art class and studied the different movements a body can make.

The Pre–Kindergarten children also showed great interest in the layered body puzzle which depicts all the different layers of the body including skin, organs, muscles and bones. 

Two of our boys were fascinated when learning that the muscles make our body move and they learnt the word „ to flex“. 

We revisited the character of „Dora, the Explorer“ through a worksheet which the children coloured and we could also assess their level of vocabulary.

How wonderful to see how knowledgeable the children have become on the subject of body parts! 

They have also started to identify the different features of the face and enjoy drawing them in sand or tracing my original version of Anpanman.

The German song „Körperteilblues“ which the Pre–Kindegarten children already performed at their assembly with K1 and which we also danced to at the Sports Day features a very wide range of body related vocabulary and it is a good source for learning and for movement.

Körperteilblues

Then on Friday it was finally Sports Day! 

The excitement of the children was already palpable in the morning and it lasted throughout the day ! 

Dancing to the Körperteilblues ( and yes, the second time with parents and grandparents!), trying to be the fastest turtle on the body board, competing at tamaire ( putting lots of balls in the right basket), challenging themselves at the obstacles course and running a relay – the children were thoroughly engaged and had so much fun with their friends from K1 and K2.

Their families, friends and teachers cheered them on and there were smiles all around when at the end all the children were awarded a well–deserved medal. 

In the break time we had a delicious and healthy snack provided by our wonderful PTA ladies ! 

Thank you so much, Kylie‘s mum and Mamoru‘s mum ! We really appreciate and love our PTA! 

We also love when the children’s families get involved in school life and we are so appreciative of all the kindness we can witness.

In connection to our unit related trip to ATOA earlier in the school year, Sophia‘s grandmother got the inspiration to crotchet sea animals for every Pre–Kindergarten child! They were absolutely adorable, also the nice pouches for the teachers. Thank you so much for your lovely thought! 

Last not least we have another joyful family connection with little Emma joining our Pre–Kindergarten class. 

She is the sister of Amaru of K2 who also attended Pre–Kindergarten. We are so happy to have her in class ! Welcome, little Emma! 

Next week we will explore together more of the current subjects.

In the meanwhile I wish you all a relaxing weekend after this very active week ! 

With kind regards, 

Mit herzlichen Grüßen, 

Anita Ursula Mönch

Pre–Kindergarten homeroom teacher

Playgroup / EY German 

German Saturday School homeroom teacher

Pre-KG 2023 / 24 Blog 29 Different families

 Pre-KG 2023 / 24 Blog 29 

Different families 

The Pre–Kindergarten children are brought to class every day by a family member or a caregiver who is close to them. 

For a new child in class it is sometimes difficult to separate from the person(s) they have so far spent all their lives with. 

Once adjusted the children are forming new friendships and they are looking forward to spending time with their classmates and their teachers. 

It is heartwarming to see how happily the children then play together and share toys, smiles and ideas. 

They will miss friends that move on, but cherish the memories and often the families will stay in contact for life. 

Each child has a different family, so this week the children started identifying their family, learnt the names for different family members, created different family settings with Lego and Lego people and used their counting skills. Some families became very big and the children had lots of fun adding people and animals.

The children also used some cards with photos of different family members to set up their own and they needed some good eye – hand coordination to make all the people stand up. 

As the Pre–Kindergarten classroom boasts a good collection of books, we introduced some family themed ones featuring either the „Little Critters“ or „Dora, the Explorer“. Both series show family life in various real life situations like going shopping with mum, doing potty training, dealing with a younger sibling or welcoming additions to the family.

The colorful pictures and charming stories are very appealing to the children and they want to read them again and again.

To bring some more art into the subject, I showed the children how to make a little doll with empty YAKULT bottles ( yes, recycled! ) and with beautiful pieces of cloth which I had collected. I interviewed the children about which family member they would like to create and so far it was either mum or dad or themselves.

The children joyfully selected the kimono for their person, drew a face and then we helped them gluing the pieces together.

Our two new friends in class enjoyed the activity with their mothers and it was lovely to see the warm interaction and their cute dolls they made together. 

Some of the children drew their family members on our magnetic boards and they were very excited to talk about them. 

This week the Pre–Kindergarten children also had the fantastic opportunity to join a basketball workshop with the coaches from the Kobe Storks, a professional basketball team. 

To introduce the children to the idea and give them an opportunity to practice a little, I had put our new little Tykes basketball hoop in the classroom, much to the joy of the children. 

Then we went outside to the big yard with the whole EY team where Mr.Huber introduced the coaches to us.

After that the workshop began with lining up the children in 6 lanes. The coaches had thought up a variety of games to have the children work on their team work, dribbling and shooting skills.

Some children first were shy, but soon the excitement took over and they joined eagerly and even had the chance to experience a dunk shot with the coaches.

Thank you very much to Mr.Huber and the Kobe Storks for this wonderful workshop.

The movement and team work session was well timed as next week the Pre–Kindergarten children will do lots of exercises and practice for the Sports Day on Friday, 19th April 2024.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce Ms. Alexia Covi, who has joined the EY team from this month and has already had the chance to experience many activities with the Pre–Kindergarten children as well. 

Welcome to the EY team and DSKI, Ms.Covi!  

Everyone, please enjoy a good weekend ! 

With kind regards, 

Mit herzlichen Grüßen, 

Anita Ursula Mönch

Pre–Kindergarten homeroom teacher

Playgroup / EY German 

German Saturday School homeroom teacher

PS  Please find herewith below some important announcements regarding school events! 

Monday, 15th April 2024

Pre–Kindergarten School pictures will be taken! 

Please have your child wear the DSKI school Polo shirt ! 

Friday, 19th April 2024 Sports Day

9.00am - 12.30pm

School Yard for Early Years & Green Field for Lower and Upper Primary

We will have a great morning with activities for all our students. Please come and give them your support, all parents are welcome!

Timings

8.30am - Student arrive at school as normal
9.00am - Start of sports day events
12.30pm - End of Sports Day and students return to school for the normal afternoon programme.

You may take your child home after sports day. If you want to take your child home at 12.20pm please click here to let us know.

Please can we ask all students to:
- Wear their school T-Shirt and trainers (shoes to run in)
- Bring their water bottles
- Bring a hat 

Spring Musical 24th and 26th April 2024

Thank you so much to everyone who has signed up to come and see our Spring Musical on the evenings of Wednesday 24th and Friday 26th April. We are very happy to say that all the seats are now fully booked. 

If you were successfully able to sign up using the link in the school blog, then we can confirm that you do have the seats you have requested. Rather than giving out individual tickets, we will be checking a list at the door for each performance to confirm that everyone is attending. In place of charging for tickets, we ask that you make a donation at the door that the children will give to a charity of their choice. 

Should you have any questions at all about the musical, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Azusa, Ms Schelin, Mr Sam or Mrs Harris.