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Palm River Academy · Hội An

Early Years Weekly Newsletter

Quarter 2 · Week 46 min read

A Nursery child holding up her tree sheet on a walk along the road
A Nursery child holding up her tree sheet on a walk along the road

This week Nursery learned about trees and Kindergarten found out how ducks stay dry.

Nursery walked around the center to look at trees, made bark rubbings and leaf prints, and reviewed the letters D, O and G. Kindergarten learned the sound Bb, the ai digraph and the heart words he and she, explored six animal habitats, and tested waterproof feathers. Both classes made smashed potatoes with their own dipping sauce in Cooking. On Friday, both classes joined our Halloween Carnival.

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Nursery

Parts of a Tree

Weekly Learning Focus

Nursery started the topic Trees. Children learned the parts of a tree, from the roots and trunk to the branches, leaves, flowers and fruit, and found out how trees grow by looking outdoors and exploring with their hands.

Looking at Trees

Children walked around the center to look at different trees, noticing their size and shape and which ones had flowers or fruit. They held thin paper against the trunks and rubbed over it with crayons to show the patterns in the bark. While they explored, they used the words tree, trunk, branch, root, leaf, flower and fruit, and described what they saw as tall, short, big and small.

English in Action

Children talked about trees and their parts and shared what they noticed outdoors. At Show & Tell they spoke with more confidence to their teachers and friends. They also went back over the whole alphabet, reviewing the letters Dd, Oo and Gg, listening for the first sound in words, and matching letters to familiar words and pictures with alphabet songs, stories and games. Their letter tracing is getting neater as they follow the dots with more control. They name colors with more confidence, follow simple instructions, and take turns and listen to each other in group activities.

Numbers & Reasoning

Children counted and recognized numbers up to 10, explored basic shapes, named colors, and compared shapes in simple activities.

Make & Create

Children made tree pictures in three ways: bark rubbings, big tree trunks painted with their arms, and leaf prints made with vegetables and paint. While they worked, they named the materials, talked about colors and textures, followed instructions, and described each step in English.

Moving & Playing

Children played ball games, throwing and catching with their friends, which built coordination and body control.

Growing Together

Children were more confident at Show & Tell, sharing their thoughts and ideas. They enjoyed singing and dancing together, and practiced sharing toys, helping friends and joining in group activities.

Looking Ahead

Next week Nursery starts the theme Farm Animals: their names, sounds and features and where they live, through games, songs, stories and crafts.

  • PhonicsThe letters Uu, Ll and Ff, through phonics games, songs and new words.
  • Numbers & ReasoningCounting forwards to 10 and back from 10, and counting everyday objects.
  • Doodle TownMoving on from Unit 3 to Unit 4.
A Nursery child holding up her tree sheet on a walk along the road
A Nursery child holding up her tree sheet on a walk along the road
Nursery children holding up felt triangles they found in the shape basket
Nursery children holding up felt triangles they found in the shape basket
A Nursery child looking up from her rainbow letter cards on the alphabet mat
A Nursery child looking up from her rainbow letter cards on the alphabet mat
Two Nursery children playing a shush game, one with a finger to her lips
Two Nursery children playing a shush game, one with a finger to her lips

Kindergarten

Animal Habitats

Weekly Learning Focus

Kindergarten learned the letter sound Bb, the digraph ai and the heart words he and she, and began learning about animal habitats. In science they found out how ducks stay dry.

Phonics & Early Reading

Children learned the sound B through a song, practiced forming uppercase and lowercase Bb, and used flashcards to hear /b/ and find ai in words. They read and wrote sentences with he and she on the whiteboard: “He can sit,” “He is sad,” “She can sit” and “She is sad.” They read Gold Is Not Fun, blending the sounds they know into words, and practiced writing the letter Dd. At Show & Tell, children brought a favorite book and a giraffe toy, said who bought them and where, and answered their friends’ questions.

English in Action

Children learned which animals live where, and words for places such as desert, pond, backyard and ocean. They can now match each animal to its habitat. They are also practicing a short role play and a song for an upcoming performance.

Numbers & Reasoning

Children reviewed the numbers 21 to 50 and found the numbers before, after and between in two games: the Brain Flakes Number Challenge and Mystery Number Reveal.

Understanding the World

Children reviewed photosynthesis, how plants make their own food, and began learning about six animal habitats: polar, desert, ocean, forest, grassland and freshwater.

Investigate & Describe

In the Waterproof Feather Experiment, children dropped water onto two pieces of paper, one coated with oil and one without, and compared what happened. They learned that ducks make a natural oil near their tails and spread it over their feathers with their beaks, so water rolls off and they stay dry. New words: feather, beak and absorb.

Musical Instruments

Children made their own instruments from cardboard, bottle caps and rice and listened to the different sounds they make.

Moving & Playing

In Morning Movement, children tried four games: Foot Transfer Challenge, Hoop Jump & Ball Pass, Balloon Volleyball and Beat the Rope. At Water Play they cleaned toy animals with toothbrushes.

Growing Together

In Morning Movement, children kept trying until they got through each challenge.

Looking Ahead

Next week Kindergarten keeps exploring animal habitats.

  • PhonicsThe sound Jj and the digraph oa, and a review of the heart words I, the, he and she.
  • Numbers & ReasoningAddition within 10.
Kindergarten children squeezing droppers of water onto a row of paper feathers
Kindergarten children squeezing droppers of water onto a row of paper feathers
Two Kindergarten children passing a ball from hoop to hoop in PE
Two Kindergarten children passing a ball from hoop to hoop in PE
Kindergarten children throwing scarves into the air during a music and movement dance
Kindergarten children throwing scarves into the air during a music and movement dance
Two Kindergarten children digging and scooping sand in the sandpit
Two Kindergarten children digging and scooping sand in the sandpit

Cooking

Nursery & Kindergarten

Both classes made smashed potatoes this week, with their own dipping sauce: pink sauce or honey mustard. Children learned the cooking words smash, mash, roast and sauce, compared different ways of cooking, practiced spelling simple food words such as potato, and learned how to read an ingredient list.

Halloween Carnival

Friday, November 6

After moving it from last week, we held our Halloween Carnival on Friday. All through October, children earned tickets by going above and beyond, and on Friday they spent them on carnival games and prizes: a fishing game, a monster box, face painting and more, before choosing a prize at the prize table.

Children with fishing rods taking turns at the carnival fishing game
Children with fishing rods taking turns at the carnival fishing game
Children waiting their turn at the monster box game, wristbands on
Children waiting their turn at the monster box game, wristbands on
A child holding still for face painting at the carnival face-paint table
A child holding still for face painting at the carnival face-paint table
A blindfolded child scooping floating balls out of a pool with a net
A blindfolded child scooping floating balls out of a pool with a net

Family Reminders

  • Tuesday: Please bring one favorite item for your child to talk about at Show & Tell.
  • Friday: Please pack a change of clothes for Water Play.
  • Thursday, November 19, 3:30–4:15 PM: Stay & Play has moved from November 12 to November 19 and will celebrate Vietnamese Teachers’ Day. Families are invited to join us. More details to come.
  • Tuesday, November 24: No classes. PRA is closed for Vietnamese Culture Day.

Thank you for being part of our learning community. We look forward to another week of discovery, creativity, and growing confidence in English! 🌈

Warm regards,
Palm River Academy English Center

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