Young children are about to enter primary school, and they will step into a new, unfamiliar and unknown world from a very familiar one. In this process, children may inevitably experience psychological anxiety and confusion about their future learning. Helping children better pass through this stage, a “two-way connection between kindergarten and primary school” to help children adapt to primary school life, has always been an important endeavour at SUIS Qingpu. With our efforts, we aim to be practical, meticulous and thorough.
In the face of the current situation of online lessons and lockdowns, how might we encourage our prospective primary school students to be eager for primary school in September? The primary school and kindergarten have always worked together to look for good solutions to solve challenges. Through online campus tours, online interactive interviews and online talks, prospective primary school students were relieved of their nervousness, and their aspirations and yearnings for primary schools raised.
But what exactly is a primary school classroom like? What interesting things can students learn from their primary school teachers? This has always been the most pressing issue for children in the senior kindergarten class, and it really is best to get them immersed in a real primary classroom environment to help them understand what lies ahead for them. SUIS Qingpu’s Primary School formed a team of teachers that included all the subjects experienced in Grade 1, and carried out the activity, “Primary Teachers Enter the Classroom – the Connection between Primary School and Kindergarten Promotes Growth”. The teachers worked together to present the “First Lesson in Primary School”, bringing a wonderful transitional event to the children who are about to enter the primary school, and helping both children and parents intuitively experience the primary school classroom.
Teachers integrated interesting subject activities with primary school students’ classroom literacy, helping the kindergarten students discover and explore the richness of primary school classrooms, and helping parents better understand SUIS’ educational philosophy and classroom culture. The purpose and design of the event were not only to illustrate the Grade 1 classroom atmosphere, but to also cultivate students’ interest in learning and their awareness of the importance of rules.
Next, follow our gaze as we see what sparks flew when the kindergarten children met primary school teachers!
A Primary School Classroom Experience
A fun and interesting tour of a forest – a different kind of English learning
With the theme of “Animals We Love”, a topic that many children are most interested in, Ms. Vicky first welcomed children to a ‘fantasy forest’ with games, videos, picture books, and interesting sounds, and then started an immersive learning journey. Although the children were still very young, they played and actively learned in the well-designed activities and games, and contributed to a fabulous overall performance in the class. The switching of many scenes, from the fantasy forest full of sunlight to the forest under the stars at night and finally to a pet’s home (something that is close to the children’s lives), ignited full participation and interaction in the students, even though they were separated physically by their computer screens.
Fantasy Adventures – travelling through English picture books
Ms. Yana and Ms. Amy led children into the interesting world of English picture books. The children followed the brave Gingerbread Man and started a thrilling escape adventure! Through a “Little Magic of Reading – Making a Prediction” activity, they excitedly predicted the fate of the Gingerbread Man. The children were at times happy, at times worried, sometimes sad and sometimes full of hope, as they accompanied the protagonist in the story. They truly felt the joy of reading during this adventure!
Learning ancient poetry – the Chinese world is full of charm
Ms. Zhou brought children virtually to the poetic West Lake as it appears in June. From the three perspectives of painting appreciation, poetry reading and understanding, Ms. Zhou led the children to appreciate Yang Wanli’s work, “晓出净慈寺送林子方”, helping students feel the beauty of ancient poetry, phonology, images, and artistic conceptions. This activity also helped children to understand and appreciate traditional Chinese culture, exercise their thinking and imagination, and develop their aesthetic awareness and creativity.
Exploring mathematics with a lot of fun
Ms. Luo led the children to explore the “Number Kingdom” in a vivid and interesting style. This activity integrated mathematics, stories, operations, writing and drawing, and connecting abstract numbers with real situations, allowing the children to experience the relationship between numbers and objects. The teacher helped children feel the charm of mathematics through watching, talking, and playing. Ms. Luo’s classroom activity not only stimulated children’s interest in learning mathematics, but also focused on the cultivation of mathematical thinking. All in all, the children were fascinated!
Fun activities to play with the art and science in life
Mr. Ryan and Ms. Becky took the children into the wonderful world of art by experiencing “The Composition of Dots”, an activity that helped students learn about and appreciate polka dot art. Under the encouragement of the teachers, the children used dots to create and express their ideas.
Ms. Julia and Ms. Anna then encouraged the children to make or assemble their own percussion instruments with objects at home, enlivening the interactions amongst the children in the virtual classroom and leading them to experience the fast and slow speeds of the music in the music games.
Mr. Peter and Mr. Bela asked the children to find some household items, toys or kitchen tools for physical exercise. During several sports games, the children naturally discovered that sports are not only cool with regular movements, but are also interesting and imaginative.
The STEAM class has always been the most curious subject for children. What kinds of surprises would it bring to the prospective students? Mr. Shi helped the children explore the unseen and untouchable air. Through continuous attempts and repeated verifications, the children came to realize that air is the substance that people, animals and plants depend on for survival, and also felt the power of experimenting like scientists.
In the 30-minute experiential learning activities, the primary school teachers fastidiously encouraged the children, who were all eager to learn, through wonderful and ingenious guidance, situational teaching, lively and vivid classroom interactions, and comprehensive support. Looking at their eyes full of anticipation and curiosity, the small hands raised actively and the way they answered questions seriously, the children were clearly very interested and happy, as if they were real primary school students!
This course experience allowed us to witness the self-confidence, generosity and good classroom habits of the children, and also to feel their yearning for primary school life. We believe they will start a beautiful primary school life calmly and confidently, fulfilling their highest expectations.
Making connections between Primary School and Kindergarten, – we are acting together
The natural transition from kindergarten to primary school and strong connections between kindergarten and primary school students have always resulted from the two-way effort and cooperation between SUIS Qingpu’s primary school and kindergarten. We try our best to help our children smoothly adapt to primary school life, and we are ready to welcome and embrace them as they prepare to join the big family of SUIS Qingpu’s Primary School. Let us open our arms together, hold up an umbrella for the children’s anxieties about primary school, and help them enter the next stage of their school career confidently and happily!
