Week 7

Terribly sorry about the late post regarding last week.

Last week was the 7th week into the year, and our theme was about responsibilities. What are responsibilities? and what are our responsibilities at home, at school and outside? Many of the answers given were reflective of our classroom rules, but I tried to have them think beyond that and tell me what they are responsible for. Or more simply, what do they have to do in their everyday life.

A first a big word like responsibility may sound like something that is too difficult for a 4 or 5 year old to get, but I was quite surprised that as we discussed it more and more each day they were able to understand it.



We had 4 students complete their sticker charts and given an award this week as well, great job!

Last week was also the end of May, and of course, our birthday party at the end of the month was more Mao and Gen. Happy Birthday you two!

~ James Barbosa

Week 6 and Literacy Week

Last week was literacy week, and it was great to have many of you come out to read to the class. It was also a week full of sunshine so the students had a lot of time to run round outside at the park. We also worked on our theme for the term. This week were discussed how we can be a good friend in situations like during break time, at lunchtime and in class. The students also made bracelets for each other.

The beginning on last week we did a teacher swap. Mr. Ben came to our class to read and I went to his Preschool class to read. The students also played a game with Mr. Ben.

Further into the week the students from Grade 4 came to our classroom to read to the class. It was a lot of fun and everyone had a great time, I think!

It was great to have so many people come to read to the students of our class, even the parents coming to read to us was a treat. The students had a great time listening to the stories, even if they were a bit energetic!

Ai`s mom and Yuns mom reading to the class together.

Julia`s mom reading to the class

Etta`s mom reading to the class.

All in all it was a good week. 

Updates to consider,

At the right hand side you`ll see some information that will be updated weekly. One of them are the words that the students will be practicing each week. These words will change every week and it would help the students a lot if you could help them practice these words at home each week with the laminated vocabulary words that they took home a few weeks ago. 

As always, thanks for giving this a read,

- James Barbosa 

Week 5 in PreKinder.

Week 5 of PreKinder A

Last week was a really good week for weather, we had many chances to spend time in the park and the class is working well together. Each day we covered the alphabet, and numbers up to 100. In regards to the alphabet we focused on the lowercase letters and the sounds of those letters. The students are great at recognizing the uppercase letters, but need improvement recognizing the lowercase letters. They learned that when they read a work in English, they will see that the most common letters are the lowercase letters. These kids are really bright so they caught on quick. 

I'm seeing a lot of improvement in their writing, too. Practice makes perfect.

Week after week we are learning ourselves. This terms central idea is "Communication with others impact relationships" Inside and outside the classroom the students are learning about how friendships, and family interactions impact our day to day lives. We learn about this through positive reinforcement. When they do good things, they are rewarded. We also started to fill our inquiry wall. The students did a cut and paste about what a good friend does and what not a good friend does. Stay tuned to see how our wall will look at the end of the term!

One of the best examples of this is by having them all share one type of toy, and working together to create something they can all be proud of.

An update:

We are in the process of planning a field trip for July, the details have not been finalized but I look forward to sharing that information with you soon!

Last week I had the students take home vocabulary cards. They can keep them at home and if possible take some time out of the week to practice memorizing 4 or 5 words.

Thanks for tuning in!

- James Barbosa

Week 4 and Mothers day.

Week 4 in class was focused around the upcoming mothers day. As you may have seen last Friday the students brought home a card and a craft for their mothers. We hope you enjoyed your gifts! 

The entire week was focused on being a great classmate to each other, I asked them what a great classmate would say, do, is, and is not. And the students would answer and we would write it on the white board. We have done this every day as a way of remembering how we should act in class. 

The park was an interesting time as well. However we will soon have to cut our park time time short as the summer arrives due to the heat. But for now they have enjoyed the park. 

All in all it was a fun week a lot of the playtime was focused around one activity that all the students had to share and work together to use and I am happy that they are working together better week by week.

A few updates,

The students will begin using a phonics workbook. The workbook will stay in the school and they will work in it bit by bit every week. I may have them bring it home on the weekend to show you their progress, and do a little bit of homework in it from time to time. 

Lastly, I will be sending them home with some vocabulary cards that I am making for them to practice. If they could practice the vocabulary a few times a week that would be great! They will be bringing it home this weekend.

Thanks for tuning in.

- James Barbosa

Week 3

The week before golden week went really well. Week 3 was all about how to be open-minded and caring people and we put that into practice. The students also did finger painting, well hand painting is more accurate to say. I wanted to document their growth between the beginning and end of the year. With that in mind I hand them create hand paintings that you can see when you come to the class.

Here is a photo just in case you don`t have a chance to see it this week.

We also had our first birthday party of the year! Happy Birthday to Gento and Ai for the month of April! We listened to music and ate popcorn in celebration of their 5th birthday.

Check back here next week for more!

- James Barbosa

Pre-Kinder Week 2

Hello parents and welcome back to the exciting adventures of Pre-Kinder A

Our goal for week 2 was to get used to the classroom routines, how to use a pencil correctly and practice their line work on paper, and have fun while doing it. There were a few ups and downs, however in the end the students did well! Everything from lining up, helping to clean the classroom and after themselves has improved greatly from the 1st week.

During the 2nd week we had an art class where they had the opportunity to paint whatever they wanted. After, I put it up on the wall in the hallway. I know many of you were able to see their artwork. The goal of it was to imagine being in an art gallery and pretend. To go around and see the artwork but also ask about what they drew, and what other students saw in the artwork. It was a good exercise, I wanted them to name their artwork but many students could not think of a name for their artwork.

In the future I would like to revisit this and see what else they can paint later on.

These students have been together in a class for several years, and it shows. Sometimes they get frustrated with each other, but other times they work very well together. This week was a lesson in caring for eachother, and working together. Here are some photos of their progress.

And lastly, the students had a fun time in Japanese class, learning to make Origami flowers, with Ms Hisako. 

In conclusion it was a fun week! I look forward to week 3!

- James Barbosa

Hello everyone!

Hello everyone!

First let me introduce myself. My name is James Barbosa and I am the Pre-Kinder A teacher for this year. I am from Toronto Canada. I can speak two languages fluently; English and Portuguese, and a little bit of Japanese. I have lived in Japan for 6 years and I have taught English in Kagawa for 4 years and in Hyogo for 2 years. If you have any questions you can always ask me.

First week of Pre-Kinder.

I had a lot of fun getting to know all the students. This group is very dynamic.and at times they can be a handful, but kids will be kids.

This week was about getting to know the students. Their strengths, and their weaknesses in order to go further and teach them in a way that is fun for them. One of the books I read to them was a book called Shark in the Park. They really enjoyed the book and wanted me to read it again! I have read this book many times over the last 6 years to many children and I never had anyone so captivated, and so into the book like these children were. 

I will definitely read it again to them again in the future. 

This week was also the first time the students got to learn and use the smart board in the classroom. They were so excited to try it out. I hope to get them to use it more in the future, but first we need to learn how to treat it nicely! 

The students were also able to show their artistic side by decorating the classroom door with whatever they wanted. It was a fun exercise, which gave me a window into their personalities.

All in all, I want to have fun with the students, but I also want them to work together and display good manners when interacting with people inside and outside of the school. This is our primary goal this year. For now we are learning safety and procedures when going to the park. Learning how to treat each other with kindness in the classroom and helping the teachers clean up!

Stay tuned for more exciting tales from the class of Pre-Kinder A

- James Barbosa