Merry Christmas

Dear children,

Happy times fly. It is almost the end of December and Christmas is here.

How many of you enjoyed the book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"?
If you have not read or watched the movie adaptation, you may want to check out the website for interesting activities.

http://www.seussville.com/grinch/

Have a merry christmas! Treasure the good times with your family.

See you in 2009. Good news! I will be teaching P4 and we will see one another real soon.

Love,
Mdm Chan

Snorkelling trip 3rd November 2008

Thank you!

Dear parents,

Thanks a million for the wonderful food that you have prepared for our party. The children were fantastic in helping to clear up. I hope that they had an enjoyable time.

Happy Teacher's Day to you too! As parents, you also have a role to play guiding them and teaching them the right values in life. To me, you are also a teacher to them.

Thanks for playing a part and working together to mould their character.

Enjoy the September holidays with your child.
Note: I assigned a holiday homework for them to find out more about their favourite role model. You may enjoy the activity too.

Cheers,
Mdm Chan

Role Models for Children

Dear parents,

Here's the link to the article on role models for children.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3614/is_200204/ai_n9044749/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1

A short history of Singapore

Maria Hertogh Riot

Dear children,

Singapore is a multicultural society where we live, work and play with fellow Singaporeans with different races, religions and cultures. It is therefore of great importance that we respect our differences and celebrate the diversity.

We should treasure racial harmony that did not come by easily.

Find out more about the Maria Hertogh riot which was one of the many racial disputes that happened in early Singapore history.

Maria Hertogh Riot part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q51daa9HZ-M



Maria Hertogh Riot part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWlnUBIvHH0&feature=related

The Mozart Effect

Dear children,

Find out more about the fascinating life of one of the greatest musicians, Mozart.

http://www.stringsinthemountains.org/m2m/1once.htm

An excerpt about the Mozart effect:

The Mozart effect
Music may tune up your thinking, but you can't just crank up the volume and expect to become a genius
A DECADE ago Frances Rauscher, a psychologist now at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, and her colleagues made waves with the discovery that listening to Mozart improved people's mathematical and spatial reasoning. Even rats ran mazes faster and more accurately after hearing Mozart than after white noise or music by the minimalist composer Philip Glass. Last year, Rauscher reported that, for rats at least, a Mozart piano sonata seems to stimulate activity in three genes involved in nerve-cell signalling in the brain.
This sounds like the most harmonious way to tune up your mental faculties. But before you grab the CDs, hear this note of caution. Not everyone who has looked for the Mozart effect has found it. What's more, even its proponents tend to think that music boosts brain power simply because it makes listeners feel better - relaxed and stimulated at the same time - and that a comparable stimulus might do just as well. In fact, one study found that listening to a story gave a similar performance boost.
There is, however, one way in which music really does make you smarter, though unfortunately it requires a bit more effort than just selecting something mellow on your iPod. Music lessons are the key. Six-year-old children who were given music lessons, as opposed to drama lessons or no extra instruction, got a 2 to 3-point boost in IQ scores compared with the others. Similarly, Rauscher found that after two years of music lessons, pre-school children scored better on spatial reasoning tests than those who took computer lessons.
Maybe music lessons exercise a range of mental skills, with their requirement for delicate and precise finger movements, and listening for pitch and rhythm, all combined with an emotional dimension. Nobody knows for sure. Neither do they know whether adults can get the same mental boost as young children. But, surely, it can't hurt to try.

From: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg18625011.900-11-steps-to-a-better-brain.html

Listening to Mozart music may not make you smarter but it definitely will help to calm your mind down so you can concentrate on your work.

Idioms

Idioms are a fast way to make your writing interesting.

The phrases usually have meanings different from the usual definitions of the words in the dictionary.

Check out the many idioms on this website.
http://www.idiomconnection.com

Game to help you master your idioms
http://www.funbrain.com/idioms/index.html

HI!

Dear children,

The school holiday is coming to an end very soon. I hope it has been fabulous for you. I am looking forward to be back in school to see all of you.

Love,
Mdm Chan

MOE Excel Fest 2008

Dear children,

A range of exciting events has been planned for this year's Excel fest. The event is open to the public on 5 July (Sat). Please encourage your parents to look at the seminars and sharing sessions and sign up for them.

Click here for the link to the website and to sign up.

Love,
Mdm Chan

Your Amazing Body

Dear children,

It is an amazing world inside our bodies. Each of the organ system will work together interdependently for your body to work well. Our body is such a fascinating 'machine' that it is much more superior than the most powerful computer!

When any one part of your body fails to work properly, the other body systems will also be affected.

Take a trip inside your body by visiting the following websites.

1) Discovery Kids - A website with information on the various body systems and the yucky things your body do, like poop and farts.

http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/body/index.html

2) Kids Konnect - Excellent resource with many other websites for your to learn about the five main organ systems and the other major systems in the body.

http://www.kidskonnect.com/content/view/337/27/

3) National Geographic Kids - Your amazing brain

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/SpaceScience/Brain

Love,
Mdm Chan

Study skills - A good strategy for taking tests

The DETER Strategy for Taking Tests

To do well on a test, you must have good knowledge of the information that is being tested. But you must also have a strategy for taking the test that allows you to show what you know. The DETER strategy can help you do your best on any test. Each letter in DETER reminds you what to do.

D = Directions
Read the test directions very carefully.
Ask your teacher to explain anything about the test directions you do not understand
Only by following the directions can you achieve a good score on the test.
If you do not follow the directions, you will not be able to demonstrate what you know.

E = Examine
Examine the entire test to see how much you have to do.
Only by knowing the entire task can you breakit down into parts that become manageable for you.

T = Time
Once you have examined the entire test, decide how much time you will spend on each item.
If there are different points for items, plan to spend the most time on the itemsthat count for the most points.
Planning yourtime is especially important for essaytests where you must avoid spending so much time onone item that you have little time left for other test items.

E = Easiest
The second E in DETER reminds you to answer the items you find easiest first.
If you get stuck on a difficult item that comes up early in the test, you may not get to answer items that test things you know.

R = Review
If you have planned your time correctly, you will have time to review your answers and make them as complete and accurate as possible.
Also make sure to review the test directions to be certain you have answered all items required.

Using the DETER strategy will help you do better on tests and get better grades.

Source: http://www.how-to-study.com/a-strategy-for-taking-tests.htm

Materials

Dear children,

There are so many different types of materials around us. They are fascinating to learn about.

Visit the following websites to help you learn more.

BBC revision
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/activities/materials.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/6_7/grouping_materials.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/characteristics_materials.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/sorting_using_mate.shtml

Do remember to constantly revise your work everyday. Make notes for your Science topics and make use of your mental science book.

Fun with division

Dear children,

Practise makes perfect!

Here are some interesting games to help you practise division while having fun at the same time.

1) Simple speed test on division
http://www.aplusmath.com/games/matho/DivMatho.html

2) Fun with animals while dividing
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/demos/en/ma03/ma03z014/ma03z014_index.html

3) Divider machine
http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/dividermachine.html

4) Practising division from 1 to 12
http://www.aaamath.com/div39j-divall.html

5) Jumbled cards
http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/SumSense/sumdiv.html

6) Challenging game on the divisibility of numbers
http://www.vectorkids.com/vkdivisible.htm

Have loads of fun with the games.

Love,
Mdm Chan

Microbes

Micro-organisms or microbes are amazing to learn. They can be harmful or useful towards humans. Visit the following links to find out more.

1) Interactive site on micro-organisms

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/10_11/micro_organisms.shtml

2) Enriching information on micro-organisms or microbes

http://www.biology4kids.com/files/micro_main.html

3) Informative with plenty of pictures
http://www.microbeworld.org/microbes/

Have fun!
Mdm Chan

Have you ever wondered how stuff works?

Dear children,

We all have many questions about the things going around us. It is wonderful to have the curiosity to ask 'why?', 'what?' and 'how?' about the world.

How the world works is an amazing entity of knowledge. Have you ever wondered how M&Ms are made? Did they put the chocolate onto the sugar shells before stamping 'm'? What is going on inside your computer as you are reading this blog?

Curious?

I would like to share one of my favourite website.

http://www.howstuffworks.com

This website has plenty of information and even videos.

Have fun learning from this website. You could be teaching me or your family and friends something they did not know!

If you learn something that you would like to share with me, i welcome you to write about it in your journal.

Love,
Mdm Chan

The Enormous Nose

Once a king made the unfortunate mistake of joking about the large nose of an enchantress who lived in the forest. Instantly the enchantress appeared before the King. Fixing her angry eyes on him and wagging her finger before his face, she said, "There will come a time when you shall have a son. This child shall be born with an enormous nose, a nose even bigger than your big mouth, a nose that will remain stuck upon your son's face until the moment he realizes what an ridiculous nose he indeed has."

"If my son's nose is going to be as long as all that," the king thought to himself, "he would always see it or feel it; at least, if he is not blind or without hands. Certainly by the time he walks and talks he'll realize he has an unusually large nose. At that moment it will be gone. This is not a matter for much concern."

Soon the Queen had a little son, who was named Andre. Little Prince Andre had large blue eyes, the prettiest eyes in the world, and a sweet little mouth, but, alas! his nose was so huge that it covered half his face. The Queen was inconsolable when she saw this great nose, but her ladies assured her that it was not really as large as it looked; that it was a Roman nose, and you had only to open any history to see that every hero has a large nose. The Queen, who was devoted to her baby, was pleased with what they told her, and when she looked at baby Andre again, his nose did not seem to her quite so large.

The Prince was brought up with great care. As soon as he could speak, they told him all sorts of dreadful stories about people who had short noses. No one was allowed to come near him whose nose did not more or less resemble his own. The courtiers, to get into favor with the Queen, took to pulling their noses several times every day to make them grow longer. But, do what they would, their noses were nothing in comparison with the Prince's.

When he grew older he learned history. Whenever any great prince or princess was spoken of, his teachers took care to tell him that they had very long noses. His room was hung with pictures, all of people with large noses. The Prince grew up convinced that a long nose was a feature of great beauty.

When his twentieth birthday was past, the Queen thought it was time that he married. She commanded that the portraits of several princesses should be brought for him to see, and among the others was a picture of the Princess Rosebud.

Now Princess Rosebud was the daughter of a great king, and would some day possess several kingdoms herself, but Prince Andre had not a thought to spare for anything of that sort, he was so much struck with her presence in the portrait. The Princess, whom he thought quite charming, had however, a saucy little nose, which in her face, was the prettiest thing possible, but it was a cause of great embarrassment to the courtiers, who had got into a habit of laughing at little noses. Sometimes they found themselves laughing at her nose before they had time to think. This did not do at all before the Prince, who quite failed to see the joke, and actually banished two of his courtiers who had dared to mention disrespectfully Princess Rosebud's tiny nose!

The others, taking warning from this, learned to think twice before they spoke, much less laughed. One courtier even went so far as to tell the Prince that, though it was quite true that no man could be worth anything unless he had a long nose, still, on a woman's face a smaller nose could be most attractive.

The Prince made that courtier a splendid present as a reward for this good news, and at once sent ambassadors to ask Princess Rosebud's hand in marriage. The King, her father, gave his consent. Prince Andre, in his anxiety to see the Princess, traveled many miles to meet her. At last, when the moment had arrived for him to kiss her hand, to the horror of all who stood by, the enchantress appeared as suddenly as a flash of lightning! Carrying up Princess Rosebud, she whirled the princess out of sight!

The Prince declared that he would not return to his kingdom until he had found her again. Refusing to allow any of his courtiers to follow him, he mounted his horse and rode away.

As the Prince journeyed from town to town, he thought all the people he passed must be mad, for all they talked about was the size of his nose. He couldn't understand why they thought his nose so big, and assumed they were jealous because they suffered with such terribly small noses. Thus passed several years.

The enchantress had shut Princess Rosebud up in a palace of crystal, and had hidden this palace in a remote corner of the woods. Still, the Prince eventually stumbled upon that remote corner. One day, in the reflection of the crystal walls he caught the image of his bride, and felt joy extreme. The Prince set to work with all his might to try to break her prison; but in spite of all his efforts he failed utterly. In despair, he thought at least that he would try to get near enough to speak to Princess Rosebud. On her part, the Princess stretched out her hand through a crack in the crystal walls that he might kiss it. But turn which way he might, he never could raise her hand to his lips, for his long nose always prevented it. For the first time he realized how long his nose really was, and exclaimed:

"Well, it must be admitted that my nose really is quite big!"

That instant the crystal prison flew into a thousand splinters.

"Foolish prince!" cried the angry enchantress. "It took all these years for you to realize what a ridiculous nose sits on your face! You've been so anxious to believe yourself perfect, you've refused to believe anything at all to the contrary, no matter how many people tried to tell you the truth! Not till the moment your nose stood in the way of your own interests did you reckon with it at all!" She laughed long and loud. "You foolish humans never cease to amaze me!" Then she vanished.

The Prince's nose had now returned to a normal size, the size it would have been if not for the enchantress' spell before he was born. He and Princess Rosebud were married as quickly as a grand wedding could be arranged. And in the years that followed, the Prince listened with but one ear to the flatteries of court attendants and kept his other ear open for honest remark. The Prince became known as a wise, thoughtful and admired King, and he ruled happily alongside his beloved wife, the Queen Rosebud.

Source:
http://www.storiestogrowby.com/values.html by Elaine Lindy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You may want to share with me how you felt after reading this story in your journal.

Love,
Mdm Chan

Animals

Dear children,

We will be learning about the wonderful world of animals. Here are some interesting websites that are both informative and easy to read.

1) National Geographic - packed with information and videos
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/

2) BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/

3) Games on animals of the world
http://www.kidscom.com/games/animal/animal.html

4) Animal Corner
http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/index.html

5) The Animal Kingdom
http://www.kidport.com/RefLib/Science/Animals/Animals.htm

Happy Lunar New Year

Dear children,

Happy Lunar New Year

Wishing you a wonderful year of the Rat ahead blessed with good health and endless joy. May your studies improve by leaps and bounds and may happiness surround you and your family.

Love,
Mdm Chan

Have fun with multiplication.

Dear children,
There are many exciting games online to help you master your times table. Try them out and you will find multiplication a breeze in no time. Remember, practice makes perfect!

Instructions:
1) Click on the underlined text which is the URL or link to the website.
2) When you have completed one game and you would like to try the next game in the list below, close the internet browser.

3) Come back to this blog and click on the next game.

Multiplication games:
1) Game of Matching
http://www.quia.com/mc/66145.html

2) How fast are you?
http://www.aplusmath.com/games/matho/MultMatho.html

3) Play tic-tac-toe with the computer
http://www.funbrain.com/tictactoe/index.html

4) What is the hidden picture?
http://www.aplusmath.com/games/picture/MultPicture.html

5) A game of memory
http://www.aplusmath.com/Games/Concentration/Multiplication_Concentration.html

6) Flight of the Knight
http://www.multiplication.com/flashgames/KnightFlight.htm

7) Try out the games on this website too.
http://www.multiplication.com/interactive_games.htm