Hello Everyone,
What a meaningful and exciting week it has been in Milky Way! From discovering new sounds and vocabulary to creating heartfelt gifts, harvesting Shine Muscat grapes, enjoying imaginative mud play, and preparing for and successfully completing our Sports Festival, our learners experienced many opportunities to explore, create, communicate, collaborate, and reflect. It was a wonderful week filled with joyful experiences, meaningful learning, and memories that our young learners will treasure.
Phonics: Discovering the “th” Digraph
This week, our young inquirers explored the “th” consonant digraph and practiced producing its sound together with their friends. After becoming familiar with the sound, they put their learning into action through an exciting fishing game!
Taking turns, students “fished” for picture cards and carefully said the word represented by each picture. If the word contained the “th” sound, they placed the picture in the pond. If it did not, they placed it in the bin.
This playful experience encouraged students to use their ATL Thinking Skills as they listened carefully, identified the target sound, made connections between sounds and words, and classified the pictures according to what they discovered. They were not only learning the “th” consonant digraph but also expanding their vocabulary and strengthening their ability to think, listen, and make thoughtful choices.
“Does this word have the ‘th’ sound?” became a meaningful question as our learners investigated through play!
Grandparents’ Craft: Creating with Care
Our Grandparents’ Craft activity was a beautiful opportunity for students to express their love and appreciation. Working carefully, students connected popsicle sticks together to create a square picture frame and decorated it with colorful pom-poms.
The teacher then added their lovely photo, capturing a precious moment of each child making a heart shape with their hands in front of their chest, a sweet symbol of love.
To complete their special gift, students wrote heartfelt messages such as “Thank you” and “I love you” on red heart-shaped construction paper.
Through this experience, our young learners demonstrated the Learner Profile attribute of Caring. They reflected on the important people in their lives and found a creative way to express gratitude, love, and appreciation. It was wonderful to see how a simple craft became a meaningful expression of their feelings.
The Highlight of the Week: Shine Muscat Harvesting!
The highlight of our week was definitely our visit to the vineyard! After visiting previously to bag our Shine Muscat grapes, the exciting moment had finally arrived, it was time to harvest!
When we arrived at the vineyard, the parents of our students who own the vineyard warmly welcomed us. After our greetings, we excitedly explored the vineyard, searching for the Shine Muscat grapes that we had carefully bagged during our previous visit.
And yes, they were ready!
Each student had the wonderful opportunity to experience harvesting fresh Shine Muscat grapes. With excitement and curiosity, they carefully picked the grapes!
The children’s faces were filled with happiness and excitement as they held the fresh grapes they had harvested themselves. This experience provided a meaningful connection to the natural world and helped students understand that learning can happen beyond the classroom.
We left the vineyard with grateful hearts, happy “thank yous,” and a wonderful memory that will stay with us for a long time. This special experience was not only enjoyed by Milky Way but also by our friends from Rainforest at the Shimauchi Campus.
What a beautiful reminder that some of the most meaningful learning happens when children can experience it with their own hands!
Mud Play: Creating with Imagination
After all the excitement, we also found time to slow down, relax, and simply enjoy the joy of playing in the mud at our garden.
Mud play provided an open-ended opportunity for students to explore, create, and use their imagination. With no single “right answer,” they could decide what to make, how to make it, and how to transform the mud into something from their imagination.
As they scooped, mixed, shaped, and experimented, students naturally engaged in sensory exploration while developing creativity, problem-solving skills, and fine-motor coordination. They also communicated their ideas with friends and shared their creations with one another.
Sometimes, learning looks like getting a little messy! Through mud play, our children discovered that nature itself can become a wonderful learning resource and that imagination can turn simple materials into endless possibilities.
Sports Festival: Congratulations, Milky Way!
What an incredible Sports Festival it was! After weeks of practice, teamwork, and preparation, our Milky Way learners finally had the opportunity to put everything they had learned into action.
Congratulations, Milky Way, on your wonderful performances! You showed great enthusiasm and confidence during the races, relay, and gauze performance. We were also very proud of our Red and White teams for giving their best during the bean bag toss!
Our learners took on many important roles throughout the event. They confidently led the exercise dance, recited the Players’ Oath, made the program announcements, cheered enthusiastically for their parents, and helped with the visitors’ game. Each child contributed to making the Sports Festival a joyful and memorable experience.
Throughout the day, our learners demonstrated not only confidence and teamwork but also responsibility, cooperation, and determination. Most importantly, they showed us that achieving a goal is not only about doing our best—it is also about enjoying the journey, supporting our friends, and celebrating together.
With our “Space” theme, our Milky Way learners truly shone brightly! They did not simply achieve their goals; they embraced the entire experience with excitement, joy, and a wonderful spirit of togetherness.
A heartfelt thank you to all our parents for your wonderful support, encouragement, and enthusiastic participation. Your presence and involvement made the day even more special for our children.
Congratulations once again, Milky Way! You truly made us proud!
A Well-Deserved Long Holiday
As we come to the end of this busy and memorable week, we hope our Milky Way learners enjoy a wonderful long holiday with their families.
Take time to rest, laugh, talk, play, and make special memories together. Most importantly, please continue to take good care of your health, get plenty of rest, and enjoy meaningful family time.
Every experience becomes part of a child’s story—and this week, our Milky Way learners certainly created many wonderful stories to remember.
Have a happy, healthy, and relaxing long holiday, Milky Way Families.
