K2 Weekly Newsletter # 27

Whats been happening?

Week of March 24th, 2014

EC Week 28 UISG EC Division

Lots of inquiries happened last week with the adoption of toads and a snail just outside the verandah area. They have a home now thanks to the K2Y friends. Many children inquired into their real habitat and what kinds of food do these toads eat. The slimy snail scared off some children and one child even thought it died because it didnt move for a long time. Since the toads have been the most talked about living thing, we will soon inquire into their life-cycle. On Tuesday morning a small bird flew into K2G classroom. It was a great opportunity for the students. We inquired into the way birds breathe and fly. Some students said they wished they could fly like birds but what a pity people dont have wings. The K2 children also planted their own mung beans in a transparent cup. You can ask your child what he/she used to plant the bean. Now we will wait for the beans to sprout. Billy in K2R even tried this at home and reports his seed is growing. The children will start to keep a diary of the beans growth. Hopefully the weather will be warmer next week so the shell will crack open. It has been a truly fun week for the children! Reminders: Children with no hats have to stay on the veranda at play time, so please help your child send his/her hat back to school. Library books and Home readers need to be returned in order for a new book to be chosen. Thank you for your cooperation!

UOI Information Transdisciplinary Theme: How The World Works Central Idea: All living things go through a process of change. Key concepts: Causation, change, form Related concepts: Animals, plants, growth Lines of inquiry -Living vs Non-living things -Exploring different lifecycles -Basic needs between people, animals and plants

We would like to thank last weeks Classroom Helpers

Helper Line Leader Snack & Lunch K2G Martin Sterling Rachel K2R George Kei Willem K2Y An Nan, June
Kyeong Chang, Elise

This Weeks Focus Finding Out stage

Language: Letter sound: Ww, Letterland Character: Walter Walrus / Jack and the beanstalk story sequence UOI:Observe and record plant growth Parts of a plant/ Plant life-cycle (books/video clips) Intro to animal life-cycles focus on the frog Putonghua: introduce the concept of life cycle of plant, with specific names for stages of life cycle in Putonghua. Mathematics: Finding patterns on our clothes/ on the calendar/ events of the day/words/clapping Story: Brown Bear Brown Bear by Eric Carle where can you hear the words repeat? Number focus from 10 -15 (counting/formation/recognition/order to 15) Creative Art: sketching outside, looking at living things PE: various sport games in preparation for Sports Day in April Music: "Der Gloomf"song and a song-game "Jump Jim Joe"

Calendar/Weather

Florian

Calendar of Upcoming Events And Celebrations

Month March Week of 24 Event/Celebration Photo week K2Y Wednesday K2R&K2G-Thursday April break Sports Day Comments Remember to dress up!

April 7-11 18 Schoolclosed Come and watch the fun!

Something you should know

This weeks article is rather long so we have attached another page to this. Thanks and hope you will enjoy reading this valuable information. Please continue to scroll down to the next page.

Any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. Ms. Stephanie(K2R)- sfairall@uisgz.org Ms. Chan (K2Y) cchan@uisgz.org Ms. Daoqiong (K2Y)dqiong@uisgz.org Ms. Rimma (K2G) rfatkhutdinova@uisgz.org Class Reps: K2R waiting K2Y Antoniasmum (Nadine):ptnschmitt@me.com K2Y Elisesmum (Ulrike):ulrikeranzow@googlemail.com K2G Rachelsmum(Gillian): gilliangao53@hotmail.com K2G Emersonsmum (Tiffanee) : kaihonu73@gmail.com Learn more about IB: www.ibo.org K2 webpage: k2uisgz.weebly.org (password = k2pl@yground)

How To Deal With Lies and Encourage Honesty by Dr. Victoria Samuel, The Parenting Support Servicee Honesty is a trait that is highly valued by adults so when children lie this can cause real concern for parents. Its common, however, to be unsure how to handle lying; parents may flit betweenlecturing, ignoring and punishment. Supernanny expert Dr Victoria Samuel looks at why children lie, how to encourage honesty, and what to do if a child tells tales. Why do children lie? All children lie occasionally but a variety of different reasons may prompt them to tell tales: Very young children do not understand the difference between what is the truth and what is not. Therefore, preschoolers' lies often stem from innocent fantasy rather than deliberate deception. Children at this age frequently engage in wishful thinking: your little one says he didnt hit his sister because he wishes he hadnt, not because he is deliberately fibbing. Children often lie in an attempt to hide something they know they have done wrong in order to avoid the shame of disapproval and the negative consequences they anticipate adults will impose. Lies may also be used by children to avoid the inconvenience of adults rules e.g. lying about having completed homework in order to be able to go out to play. Children with low self-esteem may embellish the truth, brag or exaggerate in a bid to impress others or in an attempt to fit in with peers. Similarly, children who are feeling insecure may invent scenarios to try to get adults attention and interest. How to encourage honesty 1. Calmly name the issue but dont demand confessions Dont ask questions about behaviour if you already know the answer! Trying to force your child to confess is rarely effective: most children (and adults) will lie to protect themselves when put on the spot. For a preschooler whose comments reveal a blurring of reality and fantasy, calmly tell them that you know what they are saying is untrue: I know youd love a pet cat, so you were imagining wed got five kittens? If you know your child is lying to avoid getting into trouble calmly describe the problem: I see you got pen on the wall, how can we sort that out? If possible, avoid lecturing or criticising your child as this tends to be counter-productive, leading to defensiveness and more lying. Give your child the chance to make amends. For example, if you know theyve not prepared their bag for school, dont ask them: Have you packed your bag? (which just invites a lie). Instead, briefly describe the problem: I noticed your bag isnt ready. Or better still, invite them to take responsibility: Please show me your bag when its packed. Never call your child a liar; negative labels such as this can erode self-esteem and lead to selfconfirming behaviour. Similarly, it is not helpful to bring up past transgressions This is the third time youve lied about this. If you catch your child telling a blatant lie, tell them you know theyre not being honest: I know that isnt true. Its normal to worry about telling the truth if were afraid weve done something wrong, but lying isnt helpful. Lets see what we can do solve the problem 2. Try to understand why your child is finding it hard to be honest Its important to think about why your child feels she needs to lie. Perhaps your child lies about the marks she get at school because she is feeling overly pressurised to achieve. Or if your child repeatedly lies about their actions to avoid discipline, perhaps the consequences you are using are so severe that your child is too afraid to tell the truth. Remember that consequences are about teaching a child, not inflicting distress.

Once youve identified potential reasons for your childs fibbing, encourage them to talk about their worries by calmly raising the issue in a supportive and warm manner: It seems its really important for you to get good marks. Do you worry about disappointing us? 3. Teach your child about why lying doesnt work Teach your child about the importance of telling the truth and how lying can stop people believing them even when they are being honest. A good way to do this is to read books with your child which give a clear message that lying is not helpful; 'The Boy who Cried Wolf is an obvious example. It helps to take time after reading the stories to chat with your child about what he has learnt. Remember this should be relaxed and fun, not a morality lecture! 4. Respond with clear consequences By around the age of six, children are able to know the difference between truth and lies. So if they lie to try to cover up something theyve done, it may be helpful to give consequences, both for the lying and for the behaviour they are attempting to conceal. Make it clear to your child that honesty will get your approval and mean they get off more lightly. This approach means that if your child does something wrong theyre less likely to take the risk of covering up with a lie. Again, remember that consequences should not be overly severe as this may push your child to lie to protect themselves. 5. Set a good example Remember that children learn more through watching other peoples behaviour than through any other form of direct guidance or discipline. Unfortunately this means that if youre prone to being economical with the truth, be it mouthing Im not in when your mother-in-law rings, or by taking a few years of your childs age when buying a bus ticket, you will inadver tently be teaching your child that lying is acceptable. 6. Praise honesty Always be encouraging and positive whenever your child tells the truth and praise them for being honest: Thank you for telling me you broke the glass. I really like it when youre honest. If your little one is going through a phase of frequent lying, set up a reward system so that she gets a sticker every day there are no lies. Agree in advance that she will get treats once a certain number of stickers have been gained.

Dr Victoria Samuel Supernanny Expert