The Weather Is Getting Cooler But Activities Are Still Hot

by Simon Shikongo

Cooler weather has finally arrived in Guangzhou, and when you lookaround at Huamei Kindergarten this month, you see the children in winteruniforms on some days (as well as the staff!).

The highlight of November was undoubtedly the parent student sports day.Held on a sunny and warm November 15, Huamei Kindergarten and sports field was hostto hundreds of parents and guardians for a full morning of healthy fun.

After the opening ceremony which featured students, parents and staff,everyone participated in warm up exercises, so that everyone was prepared forthe physical activity ahead.

As is tradition in this annual event, there was a four-way tug of warbetween parents of junior, medium and senior students and Kindergarten staff.This year’s winners were the parents of medium students wearing yellow.

Activities were divided between the sports field (for senior students)and the kindergarten itself (for medium and juniors). Each student had a listof the activities available to them, and together with their family members,they visited each station to join in each fun game. Some of exercises werewheelbarrow races, obstacle course relays, and throwing and catchingchallenges. Once a game was finished, the students got a stamp to show they hadsuccessfully participated.

The morning activities ended with lunch and a medal for each student. Wehope that the students will keep happy memories of this day, and will continueto cherish physical exercises for the rest of their lives.

In this month, we started new linesof inquiry for the IB lessons. Before, Juniors were focused on communicatingthrough play. Now, the topic is “What senses are”, and they are discovering thefive senses (see, hear, smell, touch and taste). So far, they have learnedabout the different parts of the body we use to sense the world around us. Ifyou look around the classrooms, you will see different displays of faces andbodies – some of our students are very creative!

The medium students have finishedlooking at stories (although many of them still call out “caterpillar!” duringlessons!) and are now looking at discoveries and inventions that have changedhuman history. This is a large topic, and in the coming weeks we are excitedfor students to be introduced to topics such as gravity. In the meantime, theclassrooms have reorganized the science areas to have more equipment that thestudents can use to understand technology that has helped mankind.

The senior class have moved on fromsigns and symbols and are now focusing on the life cycle of living things.There was a lot of discussion amongst teachers about which life cycles tofollow. In the end, it was decided that our Senior students will look at thelife cycles of frogs, chickens and humans. We hope that the students willbecome even more keenly aware of how life is shaped and develops around them inall living things.

Next month will see even coolerweather and shorter days. We wish everyone continued health as we move into thewinter season. December is also the end of the calendar year, and thekindergarten has some special activities planned to that month. We will let youknow all about them!