Book Reading Club

Today I will write about one great thing I have at my school, the "Book Reading Club". Each day I read a book and note it on a sheet of paper (photo attached) given from my school. I have to submit the sheet to school at the end of the month. Club readers who read lots of books get many awards from school, like photo with principal, pizza coupons etc. Fortunately my township public library and school library have thousands of books to choose from and I get opportunity to read variety of books. Book reading has helped a lot in my reading, comprehension, vocabulary and knowledge of lots of interesting things about this wonderful world.

This showsthe importance of books and public libraries. We can help libraries in many ways, by going there and issuing books to read, volunteering, donating books/money or subscribing magazines for it, create awareness so that library has enough budget/infrastructure to become a Great Library.

Pictures pictures

Ganesh Ji.
Milo, a character from a book I read.
Jasmin.
Story "Cool Boy".

Papa got a certificate

When my went to my school and attended one class and observed the school session, he got a certificate. cool.

I drew some more pictures

I like to draw loads of things... :-)

Observing The School Session Day

Observing The School Session Day--

Today we had observing school session day in my school. On this day, parent(s) can sit in the classroom for ~30 minutes and witness the school session first hand.
Hence, my father visited my classroom today. When he first came, our teacher was reading a 'Thanks Giving' story for us. After reading a chapter from the book, we did a drawing activity where we had to draw a picture and write a sentence about it. My father talked to me and my other class-mates who sit on my table.

The arrangements of the class:
--There are 4 tables and 6 students sit on each table and do activities, like drawing, story-board, etc.
--There is rug where we all students sit together and listen to the story teacher tells us or do any other group activity.
--There are other sections in the class like story board (where we tell a story in pictures and stick there), dramatic place (where we have some costumes to play drama), science, etc.
--We have some racks where we some items which we use for playing and learning. These items are like buttons, plastic backyard bugs, small-big pebbles, crayons, magnets, magnetic letters, books to read, globe, papers, etc. We also put our back-packs, lunch bags and jackets in racks and hangers.
--Computer and TV are also there for learning. We also have other items for developing speaking and reading skills by making sounds.

Few points:
--The emphasis during this phase of KG is to socialize the students and be expressive.
--After each story, we play “share the fact” game where each student has to discuss a fact about the story with his nearby students.
--We also play a “lips and ear” game which is played by pair of students. Each student has either lips or ear card. The one with lips can only talk and (s)he tells a story and the one with ear has to listen (CAN NOT TALK). Then students switch lips and ear cards.

My father liked a pamphlet stuck in class. The pamphlet was “How To Control Anger”: When angry:
--Don’t hurt others, yourself or any property.
--Stop and freeze.
--Count to 10 (you should know how to count :-) ).
--Talk to the person you are angry with.
--Write down or draw how you feel.
--Burn out your anger by doing some exercise like running, cycling, etc. or do any activity you like.

Another good pamphlet: “Good Manners”:
--Wait for your turn.
--Use polite words.
--Listen carefully.
--Cooperate with others.
--Show your appreciation.
--Give compliments.

I drew a princess

I drew this princess today. I like to draw princesses with nice frock, face and hair.

Devotional Songs Evening

Yesterday we went to Ananda Mandir.
There were goddess 'Kaali Maa', Ganesh ji, Radha-Krishna. I went there with some one. My mom made a new friend.

There were two musical programs. In the first program, one person was playing 'Sitar' and another person was playing tabla. They were playing very beautifully.

In another program, one woman was singing devotional songs and one person was playing tabla and another person was playing harmonium.

There were many people enjoying the program. There were lots of bhajans (devotional songs). Everybody was listening. Some people were wearing Kurta and some were wearning suits.

I liked the program but it was very long.

About School

Everybody has to go to school to learn new things, become intelligent and be wise. This is what my parents told me. I think it is a good idea to go to school.

Around April this year, my mother went to the public school education board office to enquire about my admission. I have always stayed home and never went to any pre-school or play school so I had mixed feelings about school. Few days later, education board office invited all kids with parents to explain about the admission procedure. They gave us a few forms to fill in. Told about many things and answered lot of questions from parents. I had nothing to ask. They said, they will allocate a school depending on my address. I can use School bus service if my house is at least 2 miles from school. They also gave a few forms to be filled by my pediatrician and dentist.

I had to go to my pediatrician for physical examination, to get few shots (I don’t like shots) and blood test. Doctor took my weight, height and examined my mouth, ear etc. My pediatrician is a nice lady, except that I don’t like shots and the blood test.

Dentist examination was easier than expected, since I was scared that there might be more shots waiting for me. He only cleaned my teeth, took few (I think 5) small x-rays of my teeth and explained to my dad about them. He gave me a tooth brush, a paste and few stickers, which I accepted smilingly. He said I need to brush my teeth everyday. He liked it when my dad said that we brush every night before we go to bed.

Then one day, all kids and parents were called to one of the school for screening. They decided that I will need to go to summer classes for 3 hours, 4 days a week in the month of July. Summer classes are medium to make new students feel comfortable about school and train some students in subjects they lack. Summer classes were the first introduction of schooling to me and helped me in socializing with other kids. We all used to sing poems, draw pictures, play in the play area. My mom used to drop me in the morning and pick up in the afternoon. I made good friends and learnt lots of things.

Schools in my area open in the month of September. The back-to-school fever starts in August. As it was my first year in school, my parents had to figure out nitty-gritty of schooling. In August, we got a letter from my primary school inviting us for an open-house. All parents and kids went to school and we met Principal, teachers, nurse, etc. and saw the classrooms, library, gym, cafeteria, restrooms. Teachers explained the curriculum and the daily routine at school. I liked my classroom as it was colorful and had lots of activities within itself, like story-board, science, math, dramatic, board, tools to learning reading, etc. Other classrooms where I would go are Arts for drawing activities, Library to get books and Gym.

In short, we got the following information in the back-to-school fever:

1. School schedule. Each student is assigned to a class number, for example #115 and each class has one teacher and one assistant assigned to it. Many activities like story reading, math, science, dramatic, etc. take place in my class itself. For some activities like outside play area, gym, arts, library, we have to go to other classrooms.
2. Home-work: I have a folder which has two sections. One section is used to put papers to be kept at home and other to put papers to be returned to school. Teacher can also put a note in this folder to communicate with my parents. My parents can also call or email my teacher anytime for better communication.
3. Food: I need to take one snack and one lunch to my school. I also take water-bottle. We are not allowed to bring food which contains peanuts for distribution into school (on birthdays etc.) as some students might be allergic to peanuts.
4. Other things I need for school: like glue, paper-towel, wipes, one pair of sneakers. Our teacher requests paper-towels and wipes supply from parents by sending notes. Otherwise she can also get it from school.
5. Details from transportation department about my bus schedule.
6. Emergency: In case of emergency (like heavy snow, rain, others.) my school broadcasts info on a local radio for people to listen to. Parents can also call a number to listen to a recorded message which tells if there is any emergency or change in school or bus schedule.

Enough for now. I will write more on school activities later.