Drawing development in children

Children love to draw. As teachers and parents, we encourage our children to express their feelings through aesthetic engagement like drawing. While children are enjoying themselves, adults may feel a bit lost. We may ask ourselves, "Should I draw with them and show them how they should draw a star properly?" "My daughter is 3 years old already, should she be able to draw a portrait?" "At 6

Summer Song #5 - Yellow Bird

What does the bird in this song look like?
Yellow Bird
Yellow Bird, up high in banana treeYellow Bird, you sit all alone like meDid your lady friend leave your nest again?This is very sad, makes me feel so badYou can fly away, in the sky awayYou're more lucky than me!
I also had a pretty girl, she's not with me todayThey're all the same, the pretty girlsTake tendernes, then they fly away
Yellow

"Why? Why? Why?" Children ask.

In my eyes, my dad knows everything. As a child, I always ask him "Why?" about anything that crossed my mind; and I don't remember a time when he didn't treat my questions seriously.  He's the first teacher who showed me how to treat little kids with respect.  I think I read a research somewhere saying that on average children ask at least 70 questions per day. (Although I doubt it...the number

Summer Song #4 - After you've gone

Can you name all the instruments you hear?


A little more about this song
The performer featured in this video is called Benny Goodman.  He is a famous American jazz musician, a.k.a. "King of Swing."  He is a fantastic clarinetist.
Do you like this particular style of music?  If you do, you may want to go to Jazz For Young People Website to find out more about this music genre!

Summer Song #3 - The Sorcerer's Apprentice

A little about this piece

The Sorcerer's Apprentice was originally a poem written by the great German poet, Goethe in 1797. 100 years later, in 1897, Paul Dukas decided to write an orchestral piece (a symphonic poem) with the same name. This piece became so famous that it is used to accompany a section of the Walk Disney film Fantasia. Mickey Mouse, obviously, plays the role of the apprentice!

The very hungry caterpillar and his friends

Eric Carle's picture books are so popular among playgroups and kindergartens.  We may not have befriended with all of Mr. Carle's creations, like the Mixed Up Chameleon or the Foolish Turtle; and not all of us has traveled to The Mountain that Loved a Bird; but most of us should be quite familiar with what happened to The Very Hungry Caterpillar!  (Find the complete list of book by visiting the

Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

Stick Man is a wonderful story about the adventure of a stick - certianly, he's no ordinary stick, but he is mistaken to be one!  After being swept away, his adventure begins...hm...I wonder what can Stick Man be?  Perhaps a snowman's arm?  Or a boy could have pick him up and turn him into part of a slingshot!  Oh, the worst thing is to become part of the firewood...he can, then, never return to

Summer Song #2 - Puff the Magic Dragon

Not only is Puff Magic Dragon a great song, the story it tells is very touching. If you read the lyrics of Puff the Magic Dragon carefully, you can see how similiar it is to Disney's Toy Story.

Puff the Magic Dragon
*Puff, the magic dragon lived by the seaAnd frolicked in the autumn mistIn a land called Honah Lee.
Little Jackie Paper loved that rascal Puff,And brought him strings and sealing

Summer Song #1 - We are the Champion

Well, well, well~World Cup 2010 is over! Did you enjoy the game? In my eyes, there is no loser for all teams have won many matches to come this far.  They have all tried their best in every match! 
Today, summer holiday officially start. As promised, I will share with you a new song every Monday morning at 10:00a.m. for 7 weeks. I hope you will continue to discover different kinds of music during

What the future holds?

THE FUTURELAB is a UK-base non-profit organization which support research and projects that facilitate innovative teaching and learning in this digital age. 
This is a very useful site for teachers who are interested in enhancing the relevance of their teaching and students' learning outcome in this the age of 2.0, or very soon 3.0. 
I was attracted to this page by the latest version of its

Summertime is ice-cream time!!

Ice-cream treat @ Lyon, France
Flavours: Lavender + Raspberry

Gelatomania - the best gelato shop in Geneva, Switzerland
Flavours: Caramel + Yoghurt


Hello Children,

How are you?  Are you enjoying the sun?  Before the series of Summer Song 2010 starts, I thought I'd like to share a series of pictures with you all which will surely bring you to the mood of summer holiday!! 

This is the

Summer Songs 2010

HELLO CHILDREN,
Summer is finally here!  Are you ready for it?  I look forward to my summer holiday every year; I will eat lots of ice-cream, I will build sand castles on the beach, I will jump over the waves with my friends,  I will lie down under a tree with an ice-lolli when the sun gets too hot!  What do YOU plan to do this summer? 
Though I don't usually spend so much time on the computer

LEGO and creativity

LEGO is one of the most ingenious toy invented, isn't it? Children get very excited when they receive new toys; but they get tired of it after playing with it for a while. Strangely, have you noticed, children don't really grow out of LEGO bricks. They'd bring them out occasionally and start building new things as they age. Even with adults, when we are sitting in front of a pile of LEGO bricks,

World Cup 2010 - The Vuvuzela

NOISE or MUSIC?

While you watch World Cup 2010, an unfamiliar sound fills the stadium. A lot of people are cheering with the colourful VUVUZELA.  I can already imagine some of you asking me, "where does the vuvuzela come from?"
You know what, children, I am afraid I cannot give you a certain answer - neither can media around the world.  People around the world are talking about this horn-like

Cycle-of-life for Toddlers

Have you ever tried talking to your toddler about life? And you may say, "What? They're too young for that!" You think so? The more I interact with kids, the more I think they know something about life that I don't, or at least I've forgotten about. I'd like to share a cute little short film with you and your tots - yes, a film about life that I'm sure both of you would love.For more films for

World Cup 2010 - The Opening Ceremony

World Cup is a world-class event; it only happens every 4 years. Last time when it happened, some of you were still in kindergarten and next time when it is held again, you'll almost be teenagers!!
An event as big as the World Cup unites the world. It breaks boundaries among nations, it brings people together. Music always play a big part when such an event happens. I'd like to share the video of

World Cup 2010 - Let's do the WAKA WAKA dance!

World Cup happens only once every four years! Last time when it happened, some of you were still in kindergarten; next time when it happens again, you'll be hitting your teenage years! There's also a theme song when such world-class event happens. This year, the song is called This time for Africa (or Esto es Africa, the Spanish version). The song features Shakira and a Soutch African band called

IAC2010 FILM recommendation #2 - Two Asian Films

Children, do you have dreams? What are they? What would you do to follow your dream?
These two movies from this year's IAC Children's Film Carnival are about determination. 
Tahaan has sold his best friend, the donkey, to repay his debt.  He is destined to get the donkey back - no matter how difficult the journey may be.
The second movie takes place in the beautiful landscape of Shangri-la;

How teachers see creativity?

To continue my sharing on school and creativity, I'd like to share with you one of the most inspiring speech I've ever heard in years.  Sir Ken Robinson, in the 2006 TED conference, gave the speech titled Does School Kill Creativity?  
He justified my belief and teaching philosophy - 
Creativity in school is as important as literacy. 
I won't do a summary of the speech as I encourage every

From the Newspaper - Creativity and your children's education

I'd like to share with you two articles from the Herald Sun.  The first one is an exerpt from a to-be-published book How to prepare for kindergarten: a common sense guide to guiding your child and yourself ready for day one.  The author, Laura Whitfield Watts, is a kindergarten teacher.  She enjoys working with the 5 to 6 years old for their creativity.  The article also talks briefly about