News / Halaman York / 2016 / December 2016

Christmas, the time of giving and sharing, is soon approaching. While most people prepare by shopping for presents and gifts, our preparations take a slightly different vibe. In preparation for the festival, the children are busy practising songs and poems which are of caring and loving thoughts for people less fortunate in the world. The spirit of sharing and caring also extends to action as the children help to make Christmas cookies and also wipe all the chairs as part of the preparation. They enjoyed themselves and found it fun to be doing something with their friends and teachers. On the craft side, our little creative hands are adding their individual touches to the Paper Christmas Socks with crayon drawings.  They are making coloured crepe paper decorations to stuff into the Christmas Socks which will carry their beautiful artworks home, Christmas style!

During this time, the “Star attraction” for this festival in the form of a countdown calendar. The “Star Window calendar” is used to count the days to our Christmas festival with the children. It is an eagerly anticipated activity of each day as we gather for this little tradition before lunch. We start by singing Silent Night and then each day, a child opens a star window while another places animals on the display table with loving thoughts until every child has had their turn and all

the windows opened by the time it is finally Christmas Festival day.

As the year ends, the mood in the class has changed for the big children as they get themselves ready for the transition from preschool to primary school. Visits and open day previews to their new schools prepare them for this transition. As for the younger ones, they will miss their big ‘’ko ko’’ and ‘’che che’’ whom they look up to, who help them and care for them. Our own fantastic four will surely be missed by everyone!

As the 5 year olds start to take on some of the activities that they will assume next year, we notice their excitement and anticipation. This puts them on the right footing for the more challenging activities to come next year. We are equally looking forward to guiding and teaching our next batch of big children next year.

This year, the children have grown so much. Through everyday interaction and experiences with each other, the children’s bonds with each other have been strengthened and their relationships have become like that of brothers and sisters. Even parents were not left out in this bonding process.  We see more families bonding as they interact and gather through many activities. The children’s communication and emotional skills have improved. Amidst laughter and tears, they are now able to express their needs, wants, happiness and complaints more openly and calmly. Tantrums and crying for

attention have lessened. But looking back in hindsight, these challenges with their emotions are a blessing in disguise. It is in this place and time that they learn to face their inner conflicts. It is in this environment that the children found ways to overcome them and we the teachers were glad to assist them in this life long journey of learning and discovery. They never cease to amaze us with their individual abilities and it is such a delight to watch them grow from milestone to milestone this year.

We look forward to seeing all of you at the Christmas festival and also to a brand new year with more wonderful moments with the children. As this is the final newsletter of the year, we would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

                                                                                                                 Teacher Yen & Teacher Kerry