the little clovers: 2013

Friday, August 30, 2013

How's your day, my darling?

"Did you learn anything today?"
"How much did you get for your test today?"

These are the common questions that parents ask their child when they finally have time at night to reunite as a family after a full day work. This very short reunion time during weekday nights seems to make parents feel stressed and need to go straight to the point.

SLOW DOWN, DADDY & MUMMY....

Perhaps it will be better to start conversations by asking the child questions relating to his/her emotions/feelings. This will help the child FEEL the LOVE from Daddy & Mummy.

"How's your day, darling?"
"Are you happy/ sad today?"
"Tell me one thing that made you happy today."
"Tell me one thing that made you sad today."
"Why so? Is it because you didn't do well in your test?"
"Tell me one thing that made you proud of yourself today."

From here, it is likely that your child would pour out all the stories about him/herself, his/her friends, teachers and things that happened. If he/she says he/she felt sad, maybe she wasn't learning well or maybe she was misbehaving and got a sounding from the teachers. In contrary, if she says she is happy, maybe because she learned well at school.

Children will know their parents are concerned about them, not just what they have achieved.

PARENT-CHILD BONDING will be achieved, and beware of turning this into a PARENT-CHILD PRESSURE reunion time.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Onion Planting 2013

Planting onion is so fun. Auntie Chaz Yee bought bags of black soil and contributed all the containers she had collected over the time of eating her favourite soya bean curd and MacDonald sundae ice-cream for the Clover children to plant their onions. Auntie Latifah bought the onion bulbs and the children happily started planting.

Do you know saying nice things and singing a song to your plant will help it grow healthily? We used to plant garlic with the children in school many years ago, all the children said nice words and sang twinkle little stars to their garlic, except for a boy, who was shouting at his garlic. In the end, only his garlic didn't grow.

When we told our little clover kids about this "history", all of them listened attentively. We could see them singing and speaking softly to their plants, and took care of their little onion by watering it everyday for a week at school. Most of the onions started sprouting after a day or two, good signs!

Auntie Soraya explained to the children how to plant an onion and what they could do to take care of the plant.

This is the day when the children needed to bring home their little "baby". Auntie Margaret was giving them a briefing, telling them to take good care of their little onions at home during the school holiday.

To see more photos, please CLICK HERE.

Selamat Hari Raya 2013!

Auntie Latifah did a talk-about of the costumes and items used and activities carried out during the Hari Raya festival.

Two children were selected to wear the costumes. Teachers also taught them how to greet Salam.

Another two children were selected...so cute!

Once a year we celebrate this festival, and we always look forward to it as we get to taste Auntie Latifah's superb cooking of a special Malay dish during the food-tasting day. This year, Auntie Latifah cooked soto. The clover children enjoyed this dish during the snack time. It was so delicious that all the Teachers vonluteered to take home the left-overs :) .

The children were also introduced to bahulu, biskut kacang, kuih tat, etc. So yummy!

The raya food for food-tasting.

Children would sit on the line and hear the Teacher explained when each type of food was eaten. Auntie Latifah explained in some Muslim families, soto is the breakfast on the first day of raya.

The children enjoyed the raya tarts and cookies.

The children enjoyed soto during snack time.

It's craft time!

The nursery children made a moon and a star to symbolize the festival.

The kindergarten children made pelita this year. All the nursery and kindergarten children produced very impressive work. The nursery children could paste very well, and the kindergarten children could cut with scissors very well. All the practical life skills of cutting and pasting helped in the eye-hand coordination. The making of craft also develop an aesthetic sense in the children.

The kindergarten group of children making the pelita.

Ta-da!

To see more photos, please CLICK HERE!

Sunday, July 28, 2013

快报名！《我绘作书》八月课程（for 3 to 12 yrs old)

《我绘作书》

I Make My Own Book

Learning the Chinese language through story-telling, games, crafts, songs, videos & making a book.

Develop your child's self-confidence & life-skills (e.g., dealing with anger, learning to be responsible for his/her own actions, having self-confidence, create art) through stories & activities.

At the end of each semester, each child will make a PICTURE BOOK with parents.

(Although parents are encouraged to join the class for bonding purpose with child, parents may or may not accompany the child in the class. Lessons are conducted in the Chinese Language.)

August 2013 Semester Lessons
Fridays	Saturdays
Lesson Time 上课时间: 2 – 3 p.m.	Lesson Time上课时间: 3.30 to 5 p.m.
Age年龄: 3 to 6 years old	Age年龄: 5 to 12 years old
Semester Start date 开课日: 23/8/2013 (See all lesson dates in the attached poster 所有上课日期如下)	Semester Start date 开课日: 24/8/2013 (See all lesson dates in the attached poster所有上课日期如下)

To see a video of this program being featured in the Tzu Chi channel, please CLICK HERE.

概括的主题 Themes are inclusive of developing：

自我认同、情绪情感、关爱成长、生活创意及生命教育！
Self-recognition, emotional, growing up with love and care for the others and environment, creativity and an education of Life!

*透过绘本的阅读，交流与分享，让同学参与活动，发现与体验生活感受提升观察力，思考力及创造力，为自己的人生创作第一本手绘书。

Activity-based Chinese Picture Book reading, sharing, exchange of ideas. This helps children discover own and others’ feelings in life experiences, improves their observation, cognitive level and creativity. From here, they create the first hand-made picture books.
*透过绘图、故事表达自己真实的想法～更能了解自己内在！
制作手绘书的过程，孩子自己内在不停的内化强大！

Express own thoughts into words, and eventually converting them to writing, through illustrations and stories in books.

同时，家长更可以透过孩子的创作，更了解孩子的内心世界！
爱，是多一点了解～！

Parents will understand their child more via their child’s work.

To Love is to understand more…

主要活动 Main activities are：
绘本导读、绘画手工、戏剧游戏、短片分享、共同创作以及手绘书制作。

Guided story-telling of picture books, crafts, drama, games, watching videos, team-work and book-making session.
一学期=10堂课 + 1堂 4小时亲子手绘书 (周末）

1 semester = 10 lessons + 1 book-making session with parents (4 hrs on a weekend)

学费：RM 360

（Clover L.C. Montessori students and Funpoint member will enjoy a rate of RM 320 per semester）

Clover L.C. Montessori ex-students, Kindermusik, Ballet & Enrichment will enjoy a rate of RM 340 per semester.）

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Nature Walk @ Tmn Merdeka (July 2013)

We are very glad that we are able to bring our school children to the nearest park at Taman Merdeka this year. This is a very pleasant park with a variety of trees and plants that our children have learned before in school.

Auntie Chaz Yee explaining to the K1 and K2 children how to make the printing on the pebble-washed ground using crayon at the start of the walk.

Auntie Margaret explaining to the N1 and N2 children how to make the printing on the pebble-washed ground using crayon at the beginning of the walk.

We are all set to WALK! YEAH!

The children could recognize the bamboo trees, which we had explained the diet of a panda at the early part of this year cultural lessons. Then, the teachers also pointed out the coniferous trees, which they had learned about it as the habitat of some European animals. Many beautiful water-lilies, lily pads, dragonflies and butterflies were also in sight.

Teachers were explaining the pine trees as the coniferous trees, which are ever-green. The K1 and K2 students could say the fruit of the tree being the "pine cone". This shows they were attentive in Auntie Latifah's cultural class :)

Although some children have been to this park with their parents several times before, they seemed to have discovered something new at the park when we asked them to observe the texture of the ground and bark of trees by doing crayon-scrapping activity. They also discovered that the leaves come in various shapes and sizes and flowers come in different colours when we asked them to collect the fallen ones on the ground. They all seemed excited when they saw different types of fallen leaves and flowers on the ground, and could not wait to pick them up and put them in their little brown bags which they had brought from school.

Look at our collections of twigs, leaves, flowers, dried fruit and tree barks!

Ee Tong was chasing two little brown butterflies. In the end, she was chased by the butterflies.

The children taking every opportunity to do crayon-scrapping activity to find out the effect of texture on paper. Some were crayon-scapping on the tree roots, some on the tree trunk.

Some did crayon-scrapping on the stone wall.

Some did crayon-scrapping on the tree trunk.

We also found something interesting...which insects or animals used the dried leaves to make a bundle like this? When we went back to the park in the afternoon with another group of children, this bundle shrunk to a smaller bundle.

The K1 and K2 discovered a millipede. They were in awe.

The K1 and K2 children saw this cotton-like fruit with its shell and seeds still attached. So amazing!

We also sang the "My Pigeon House" song while keeping our voices soft and gentle, peeping at the pigeon holes...

The heat and the long walk in the park (about 1.5 hours of walk) did not dampen any mood. The Nursery children, although with their short little legs, had spent the most effort in walking, none of them complained. In fact, they looked so happy and contented when they were departing the park. All children from as young as 3 years old to 6 years old asked when we are to bring them for a nature walk again. They are all good children who appreciate the nature.

The teachers also did a good job in extending their students’ classroom learning in the park. Auntie Chaz Yee and Auntie Latifah brought two different groups of children for the nature walk within a day at two different times, exhausting! Guess age is catching up. But the teachers felt as happy and contented as the children :) .

Auntie Chaz Yee, Auntie Latifah, Auntie Shirin and the K1 and K2 children (on 22 July 2013 morning).

Auntie Latifah, Auntie Neva and the N1 and N2 second session children (on 22 July 2013).

Auntie Chaz Yee, Auntie Margaret, Auntie Liew, Auntie Neva, Auntie Mary and N1 and N2 first session children (on 17 July 2013).

On the way back to the car, we passed by a mango tree. Lots of mangoes were on the ground, Auntie Latifah and the children picked up the mangoes and...