Year 1 Update – Week 21
Where We Are in Place and Time
Central Idea: Exploring evidence helps our understanding of people’s histories.
We have begun to explore the concepts of past and change. Classes have had discussions about what each of these words mean, with some considering how their drawings and writing has changed since the start of term. We are also trying to build a greater understanding of what the past is and how it is different from the present and future.
It will really benefit your child if they can be involved in the planning of daily and weekly schedules, with an emphasis on the days of the week and times that things happen. Please talk through family events and activities naming months and years, trying to order when things happened.
Immunisations
Please can you help us by returning all relevant forms and paperwork to school in a zip lock bag or plastic pocket. This helps us to ensure that documents do not get lost. Thank you.
If you have any queries about which vaccine your child requires please consult your family doctor.
Health awareness
We are no longer required to monitor daily temperatures but please look out for symptoms or changes which may indicate that your child is unwell. It is advised that a child with a temperature of 38 degrees or higher should not be coming to school. We would also suggest that if your child has had a temperature overnight it would not be appropriate to send them to school. As always please talk to your child about the importance of thorough hand washing.
Thank you for your support.
Action in the PYP at BHS
It has been great celebrating the talents and achievements of our students through the ’Student Achievement’ section in the newsletter. We would like to do something similar with Student Action. Action in the PYP is when students are inspired through their learning and their experiences to make a difference to their lives or the community connected to real life issues and opportunities. We would like to celebrate our students taking action outside of school.
Please could you email examples to kannis.tsui@bhs.edu.hk and they will be shared through our newsletter.
There are different types of Action. We would like to start with a focus on Participation. See below for a definition and examples
| Type of Action | Examples |
| Participation
Being actively involved in their learning and contributing as an individual or a group |
Getting involved with community projects
Making appropriate choices and taking responsibility to help people Taking on different roles e.g. being a leader, completing my chores, working in a group, looking after my pet Taking part in any decision making process Joining a new club |
Mathletics: – There are now some more activities open. Please enjoy supporting your child with these tasks. If your child is not yet logging onto Mathletics independently please support them to do so.
Please help the children to complete the Mathletics tasks that have been assigned to your child. The children can also enjoy Maths Live and play other children live across the world.
Our focus will be switching to asking and thinking about questions. We will be looking at how we can gain information and opinions from others by asking relevant and purposeful questions.
When reading with your children at home you can help them by using the question words : Who What Where When and How.
Unit 4 Phonics:
1P Vian Chan
1L No award this week
1W Veston Chan
How to Teach Your Child the Days of the Week
In this Article:Introducing the Days of the WeekUsing Schedules and CalendarsLearning through FunCommunity Q&A9 References
Time is a very complex and abstract concept, especially for children in the 3 to 4 age group. However, there are many ways to make the days of the week easier for your child to understand and to make the lessons fun for both of you.
Introducing the Days of the Week
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Explain to your child that every day is a new day. The first step is to teach your child that every time he wakes up, it’s the start of a new day. -
Name the days of the week. Teach your child the names of the days of the week — Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tell him what day today is.- Write the days of the week on flash cards and teach your child to rank them in the correct order. Arrange them on a table or on the wall and practice together.
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Explain that there are only seven days in a week. Try to explain to your child that seven days make one week. When one week is over, another one begins. -
Teach your child to distinguish between today, yesterday and tomorrow.Although it can be confusing for them, try to explain to your child the difference between yesterday, today and tomorrow.- Explain yesterday: Tell your child that yesterday was the day before today. Name it and connect it with what you were actually doing yesterday.
- Explain today. Tell your child that this is the current day and try to connect it with the activities that are planned for today.
- Explain tomorrow. Explain that tomorrow will come after today. Name that day and emphasize the activities that will mark it.
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Explain the difference between working days and weekends. Tell your child that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are the days when kids go to school and parents go to work. That is why these days are called working days.- Then explain that Saturday and Sunday are the weekend, a time for relaxation and fun, when there is no school or work.
Using Schedules and Calendars
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Show your child the days of the week on a calendar. On a calendar, show your child that one row makes one week. Point out each of the days and color code them to make them easier to distinguish, e.g. red for Monday, yellow for Tuesday, etc. -
Introduce the days of the week through their schedule. Children may notice that some days are different from others due to the events they do on each day. Making an association between an event and a particularly day can help them to remember what day it is.- For example, Monday could be soccer day, Wednesday could be mac ‘n’ cheese for dinner, Sunday could be visiting grandma, etc.
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Countdown to important events. Counting down to an important event in the child’s life can help them to keep track of the days.
- For example, if they are excited about going to a birthday party on Saturday, in the week leading up to it you could ask them “How many days left until the party?”.
- Alternatively, if your child is excited about their own birthday coming up in several weeks, you could ask them “how many more Mondays until your birthday?”
Learning through Fun
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Use fun, familiar songs to teach your child the days of the week. There are a number of very good song parodies that use familiar rhythms to teach the days of the week. School Sparks is just one blog example that will show you some of these songs including one of the most popular “Days of the Week” which is sung to the tune of the old Addams Family Theme.- Singing songs works well for memorization because the familiar pattern is easy for the brain to absorb. In addition, each song can be sung virtually anywhere giving the child even more time to practice and to learn the concept that is being taught.
- According to experts, singing not only releases endorphins (feel good hormones) but also strengthens memory skills and brain development by making the brain work at several tasks at the same time.
- In short, singing makes you happy and makes you smarter – so it is a perfect way to teach your child about the days of the week. You can even practice your new songs and skills in the car on the way to school or to run errands.
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Let your child make her own calendar. Another great way to help your child learn the days of the week is to show her a calendar and have her say the days’ names with you. Then, with a blank calendar page have your child help you create a new calendar.- Have your child tell you what happens on each day of the week. For example, if she goes to preschool only three days of the week she could say “On Monday I go to school” and so on. Let your child use pictures cut from magazines or appropriate stickers to “tag” each day of the week so that it is easier for her to remember.
- Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays could get a school bus or a school building picture or sticker and then Tuesdays and Thursdays could get something that she associates with those days. Saturdays could have a picture of the supermarket or family event and then Sundays could have pictures of your house of worship if you so choose.
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Make an art project involving the days of the week. Another fun craft idea is to make Wally the Weekday Worm. At the beginning, your child will make eight circles.- The first circle is Wally’s head so your child can give him eyes, a mouth and a nose and whatever other facial features they would like to add.
- Each of the other circles will be labeled with the day of the week’s name and again, the child can add whatever symbols best represents that day- school days, family fun days, etc.
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Use picture books. Try to find picture books that deal with the topic of the days of the week and read them to your child. If your child is able, have her read the book to you, or even try to explain the pictures and events. -
Use jump rope and hopscotch to teach the days. Jumping rope or playing hopscotch while singing can be a good way to teach kids days of the week. While your child is jumping or skipping, they can sing:- “M for Monday, turn around, T for Tuesday, touch the ground, W for Wednesday, jump so high, T for Thursday, touch the sky, F for Friday, say hooray! S for Saturday, time to play, S for Sunday, clap your hands, It’s time to start all over again!”
- In the same way, you can let your child play hopscotch. Draw 7 squares, one for each day a week. As your child jumps from square to square they can sing the song.
https://www.wikihow.com/Teach-Your-Child-the-Days-of-the-Week 15/02/2019
