Kindergarten
Two
The Kindergarten two program fosters a love for learning by supporting each child to become an independent, engaged learner. We believe that children benefit when learning is progressive and developmental. By tapping their inner creativity, children expand their learning through ongoing interactions with their curricular materials and the physical and social environment around them. Learning is framed around children’s prior knowledge and experiences to make it relevant and meaningful to them.
Teacher Ayuni
Malay Teacher
Teacher Vicky
Main Class Teacher
Teacher Yu Luan
Chinese Teacher
Theme of the week: Our Environment
Topic of the day: Our surroundings
Activity: Creating images using shape tiles from what they had observed during the nature walk
Today’s lesson’s focus was on developing children’s social and critical thinking skills. The K2’s went for a nature walk to Kidzpark at Sengkang. The children had a great time observing and interacting with the environment while collaborating with their peers to express their feelings revolving around what they observed with coloured shape pieces that were provided.
Our Lesson
Guidance
Positive guidance revolves around the philosophy that every child has the potential for learning correct behaviour (within a developmentally appropriate level) and that with guidance and practice, they will (NAECY, 2013).
Positive guidance is based on my strong belief that guidance should focus on building up a child’s self-control rather than solely focusing on a behavioural outcome (Dombro, Jablon, & Stetson, 2011). A shift in thinking that quarrels, sorrows, and irritation must be removed from the lives of the children is required. Rather, emphasis should be placed on teaching children how to appropriately deal with those situations and emotions. It is my position to help children make better choices in the future by helping them build self-control and pro-social behaviours. Positive guidance focuses more on building the child’s control over self than the adult’s control over them.
This is why when I use positive guidance, I check my own emotions then calmly take on the role of encouraging and training a child to build the social skills and self-control necessary for future challenges. In every learning opportunity- from tying their shoes to learning to read, we accept that children will make mistakes and that they are okay. Likewise, I approach behaviour in the same way, I continue
encouraging my children to keep trying and I am certain that one day they will get it right.
Scaffolding
I am a strong believer of scaffolding as it provides for a supportive learning environment. In my scaffolded learning environment, children are free to ask questions and support their peers in learning new materials. When I incorporate scaffolding, I become the facilitator of knowledge rather than the dominant content expert. This provides the incentive for children to take a more active role in their own learning as they share the responsibility of teaching and learning that requires them to move beyond their current skill and knowledge levels.
More specifically, I use plenty of praises when interacting with my children. When rendering praising, the age of the child should be taken into consideration. As children get older, they become more sensitive to how praise is administered and begin to reflect and analyse these evaluations and moralistic statements (Brophy,1981). Therefore, especially with my kindergarten two’s, I focus on specificity. Praises that I render are for their persistent process and sustained efforts, rather than for their intelligence or ability. This is because dedication and persistence can transform the basic capacity to learn and grow (Dweck, 2007).
