We had such a wonderful and busy week in class! 💪
In phonics, we worked hard learning the sounds j and e. The children practiced blending CVC words (like jam, pen, and bed) and even tried some spelling activities. One of our spelling games had a Halloween theme 🎃—it was lots of fun seeing the children so excited to spell spooky words!
We started our week with a fun bus trip to Shinonoi Park! 🚌🌳
The highlight of the day was definitely the big white bouncy dome — it looked (and felt!) just like a giant marshmallow! 🍡 The children couldn’t stop laughing and jumping, and although we tried out some of the other playground equipment too, the “bouncy marshmallow” was the clear favorite.
After all that jumping, we enjoyed a lovely picnic among the flowers 🌼 before heading back to school. We were very lucky — even though there were rain clouds in the distance, the weather stayed nice for us! ☀️
This week was also the Moon Festival 🌕 (also called the Mid-Autumn Festival). To celebrate, we began making our own rabbit lanterns 🐇! During the Moon Festival, people gather with family, eat delicious food, decorate with lanterns, and sometimes enjoy fireworks.
We talked about how this is a little bit like Obon, when families also come together—but in Obon, we welcome back our ancestors, while in the Moon Festival people give thanks for the harvest moon and the autumn harvest. Next week, we’ll continue exploring more festivals from around the world! 🌍✨
Here are some pictures from dance, music and swimming lessons!
This week, we also focused a lot on kindness 💕—how to be kind friends, and how to respond when someone isn’t being kind. You can talk about this at home too, and encourage your child to make kind choices.
We’ve been learning five steps to solve problems with friends:
1️⃣ Don’t listen to unkind words. Pretend you didn’t hear them — but remember, ignoring unkind words is good, not ignoring our classmates just to make them sad!
2️⃣ Talk friendly. Try saying: “Please be kind,” “Let’s share,” or “Let’s make up and play together.” Kind words can turn a bad situation into a good one!
3️⃣ Walk away. If it’s not working, go and play with someone else.
4️⃣ Talk firmly. Make eye contact and use your best teacher voice (not shouting!): “I said no,” “Stop now,” or “Stop or I’ll tell the teacher.”
5️⃣ Tell the teacher if nothing else works.
We also practiced saying “It’s OK if you don’t want to play” and then finding someone else who does. There are many reasons a classmate might not want to play at that moment, and reacting calmly helps everyone feel respected. 🌈
💻 Helpful Phonics and Learning Links
Here are some great websites to explore at home!
🎬 Alphablocks (YouTube) – Level 1 (one-syllable words):
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSW2D61TnopSNQv-dmUVbXkkyDyVtPSci
🎬 Phonics Monsters (YouTube) – Level 2:
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR0WhOGd0aUDNQESuLsFyXx8xTeYTlMWf
🎮 ABCya – Phonics and games (free account option):
🔗 https://www.abcya.com/
🎯 TopMarks – Fun phonics games (no account needed):
🔗 https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/5-7-years/letters-and-sounds
🎯 Wordwall – CVC word games:
🔗 https://wordwall.net/en-us/community/cvc-word-game💡 Many of these sites also have maths and other learning activities, so have fun exploring together!
