A Wrap Up on the Second Week of Summer School and Thank you, J!
Driving through Different Mazes and Sensory Materials
A variety of road mazes (“circular”, “squared”, and “rectangular”) were available for us to “drive” around with. The foam cut outs that made the mazes provided us a fun sensory experience as we pushed and pinched it with our fingers. The activity also allowed for problem solving as we had to figure out the right path that the cars could easily fit into to avoid having “scratches”. En, El, and N had a fun time bonding as they observed how each one had a go on driving through the mazes. It was wonderful to hear them encourage each other by offering alternatives and suggestions.
The other table was filled with trays of different “natural” materials that our vehicles could drive on. Since summer usually means going on trips out of the city to be with nature, mini wooden logs, dried gumballs and acorns were spread out to provide us with a “nature” feel of driving through the rural areas. It is interesting how several of us came up with different ideas on how to go about with this activity.
N said that the gumballs felt “bumpy” and “rough” when her elbow pressed against it.
En thought of loading on as much wooden logs she could unto a truck.
N thought of pushing gumballs around using toy cars to see how “strong” these vehicles are when out in nature.
A Walk Around the Neighborhood and Circle Time with J
At around 9:30, a special guest came in and greeted us, “Good morning!”. We were all wondering why our friend El was particularly excited upon seeing our guest… turns out that she happens to be her older sister, J!
To welcome J, we included her in our morning roll call wherein we would say our names out loud when called. After saying our respective name, Erika would roll to us a ball of playdough for us to catch. After everyone had their ball of playdough, Furns’ “Jangala” was played for us to listen along with the instructions given on what to do with our playdough. Through this activity, we are able to strengthen both our auditory and visual skills by either listening to the instructions or looking at the demonstration. We rolled, threw & caught, and flattened our balls of playdough in sync with the beat of the song. When the song ended, we had J guess what we made. Here are her guesses:
Na, N, and En formed snakes and worms
El and Jo formed scrambled/ sunny side up eggs
Na formed a bow
J was a great help in guiding us in preparing for the park. She helped us put on our outdoor shoes, in wearing our sashes, and in applying sunscreen & mosquito repellant. While walking around the neighborhood, strong gusts of wind blew our hats away! J took the initiative in tying the lace under our chins to prevent our hats from being blown away.
Upon reaching the benches across Green Brothers, we sat and counted the vehicles that went by. J remembered seeing 34 vehicles passing by during our entire walk around the neighborhood. After half an hour, we headed back to school and had our snacks. Jo became fond of J and allowed her to assist her in doing the proper disposal of her snacks.
Before playing the game that J prepared for us, we moved around like vehicles to the tune of ‘More Than A Woman” (SG Paradise Edit) by the Bee Gees. We pretended to ride bicycles, cars, trucks, and even pretend to crash into each other!
J hid several toy vehicles around the room for us to search. After searching, we were each given a sheet of paper and a few crayons to draw it. It was fun drawing the vehicles we searched for while listening to Poolside’s “California Sunset” (Instrumental). N enjoyed scribbling on papers that were on the floor.
When the time was up, we all had a cushion to sit on and a turn to do show and tell of the drawings we made. J asked us questions about our drawings which allowed us to think about what we drew and also increased our spoken vocabulary.
Before J left, she read us the books “I Don’t Care!” Said the Bear” by Colin West, “Little Spider: A Finger Puppet Book”, and “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Wash Your Hair” by Steve Smallman. The last story was so much fun to listen to as it is applicable for us too as we often get sweaty in this hot & humid weather. We learned that it is always refreshing to have a nice shower to wash our hair.
It has been a lovely second week of summer school learning about the different modes of transportation in the city.
We look forward to week three wherein we look into the city lights that lit up Tokyo at night.
We wish everyone a lovely weekend.
Love,
Buds Class Children