Sunday, August 22, 2010

Excursion to Malay Cultural Village (31 July 2010)

This trip was planned to link to the Cultural theme that we are working on this year -- Malaysia Project.

The weather on the day before the excursion was real bad - stormy rain and greyish sky. I prayed on that night before going to bed for a nice weather, wishing hard for a good head start for the children at least in the next morning. I think my prayer was heard, thank you.

Our children looked smart wearing the Clover T-shirts. This design has been on my mind for a long time, wanting to make it simple without any advertisement (like the phone numbers or address) printed on the T. The children looked smart, and easy to be spotted on. Should have done this a long time ago.

Each child was also assigned a "buddy" to take care of, so that they were given a responsibility and would not run wild. They are all obedient kids, who were sensible to take care of themselves and at the same time keeping an eye on their "buddy".

One of the highlights was Batik Painting. The children were given a presentation of the materials used to make Batik, and how it was done. The interesting part was it was not difficult to paint Batik at all. We only needed to follow 3 simple steps -- Paint with water first, then the colour, then water again. That was it!

The children went off painting their Batik after the demonstration. It was quite an experience for them!






After the Batik painting, we visited the plantation. Lots of fruits were "missing". Some due to not harvesting, some due to the storm on the day before. What a disappointment. Nevertheless, it was fun to see the pewter-making demonstration. The manual peeling of the coconut husk was also very interesting. Strength and technique were the key-words. We were also shown the rubber-tapping procedure. Our tour guide (the lady in the orange T-shirt) asked the children to answer her quiz -- "Name three products made of rubber." Some of our older children gave the answers quickly, we were very proud of them.


We also made small tiny rubber balls using the latex from the rubber tree. However, most of our children's rubber balls were grey in colour, rather than the usual white. Guess their habit of touching things around them collected the dust on their little hands. If I could remember, only Tristan's rubber ball was white and bouncy.

The Malay Cultural dance was also very entertaining. The children were shown the ang klongs before the performance started.


They were also asked to sing Rasa Sayang. Luckily we had trained them to sing this song in school for the upcoming Parents Morning. We were very proud (really proud) of our children when they could sing this traditional Malay song loud and clear.

It was a very fulfilling trip. We, as teachers, enjoyed it as much as the children.




Sunday, August 15, 2010

Kindermusik Class for 0 to 18 months old!

ENROLL NOW for 18 Sep Intake
to avoid any disappointment!



The musical poems of Woody Gurthrie, bird songs and the naturally occurring sounds in nature help babies develop an early appreciation -- and accelerated aptitude -- for language, movement, and music in the class.


Your Home Materials (Imported from U.S.A.)

1. CD featuring songs from class.


2. Kindermusik Chime Ball






3. A picture board book (non-toxic) featuring the birds and their vocal sounds for vocal play.


4. A set of Art banners for the nursery wall that strengthens vision and promotes early literacy.




Lesson Start Date: 18 Sep 2010 (Saturday)

Lesson End Date: 20 Nov 2010 (Saturday)

Lesson Days: Once a week on Saturday (8 lessons)

Lesson Time: 10.15 a.m. to 11.00 a.m. (45 minutes lesson)



LAST ENROLLMENT DATE: 4 Sep 2010 (Saturday)

For further enquiries and details, please email us at cloverlearningcentre@gmail.com.

HURRY!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Annual Kindermusician Workshop- Orff Shulwerk

I have always looked forward to the Annual Kindermusik workshop. Although this means we have to put aside our work and family for 3 whole days, and going back to the reality right after the training, it is always refreshing despite the tiredness.
Trying to remember it as long as I can what we have been taught in the 3 days is something that is very hard for me too. Especially when I am expecting now. However, this year is the best year that I think the workshop has suited me. Very, very well-written notes by Ginette really helps me to concentrate more on the practical of the workshop than requires me to jot down the notes by myself. Thank you Ginette, you are the best!

This workshop has opened my eyes to the work of Orff Shulwerk, and how PROCESS always matters more than results. The pedagogy is so step-by-step that I feel it is easy for the young children to perform a complicated work in a simple way!





Shirin, our other Kindermusik@Clover educator, has also enjoyed it very much!




Our group project -- coming up with a performance on instruments and entertainment within 2 hours, is never a tough task for great Kindermusician!
This is our dear Ginette. Being a friend, colleague and trainer, she has shown her patience and competencies to help us reach to another level. Love you Ginette!