This week was a fun week! We had a couple of birthday girls in the dolphin class, and we got to celebrate the moon festival.

This week in math we worked on the concept of "more" and "less" and the children did some worksheets to help them understand the difference. Their mathematical reasoning seems to be improving. In Science class we reviewed the characteristics of mammals and we made a poster together with different kinds of mammals. In the afternoons we continued to work on phonics. We reviewed long and short vowel "i" and talked about the different ways "i" can sound in different words. For arts and crafts we made Moon Festival playing cards and had fun playing a little memory game with them. I also told the class different legends about the moon festival.

Thank you to the parents who sent Moon cakes to me. I have never had one and I am eager to see what they are like.

Ian seems a bit better these days. I have been keeping an eye on him in class in order to figure out how I can make him more comfortable. He is very quiet and does not fight with the other children. His work is very neat and he grasps concepts very quickly. I will continue to watch his progress.

I was very impressed with Terry this week when I was teaching the class about "integrity." I spelled the word on the board and I asked the class who could read it. I didn't expect anyone to raise their hands, but Terry sounded the word out and said it correctly! I was happy with his effort and it payed off!

Adam is a lively student and sometimes he finds it hard to be quiet. He has an amazing memory for songs and stories. When told him the Moon festival legends he remembered them all the next day. He's usually quick to finish his work and I am happy to say he can stay focused when he is busy, however I would like to help him practice his patience as he seems to get very loud while he is waiting for other students to finish their work.

Ethan is always very eager to help. He tries very hard during class (although he sometimes starts to act silly and it is very hard to reign him in for work). There are a few things I noticed about Ethan and they are his lack of confidence in spelling and sounding out words, and his tendency to take very long while completing assignments. He often erases his work several times because he doesn't think it looks nice. He needs to find a medium between sloppiness and perfectionism.

Tony really needs to check his bag for items when I ask the class to hand them in. I don't know how many times I have asked the class to hand in their reading books or their passports and Tony says: "I didn't bring mine," only to find out later that it was in his bag the whole time. Other than this minor problem, Tony is doing well and progressing nicely. He is always eager to work ahead in his books.

Erin is becoming more independent when it comes to doing class work. She is often one of the first in the class to finish assignments and she usually catches on to material rather quickly. She sometimes becomes loud during lessons but she responds very well when I remind her to be quiet.

Emily is a very bright girl. She caught up on all the material that she missed during break time this week. You don't need to worry about the material Emily missed as she is a very good student who learns very quickly. Her level of reading is improving and she takes great care in her written work.

Joyce's reading is progressing very well. Sometimes she daydreams in class and has to write quickly to catch up, and I often wonder if she is listening to what I am saying because she rarely volunteers answers. I Sometimes walk around the classroom only to find that Joyce has been playing or doodling in her book instead of writing the answers. She has the potential to be a great student she just needs to focus.

Paige is progressing well. She is very artistic like her brother. She is well behaved and eager to answer questions. She is very independent during arts and crafts, whereas many of the other students ask me for help while cutting and folding. She seems eager to do things for herself and often says: "teacher, I can do it by myself."

Melissa is putting forth a good effort. I notice a change in her behavior and she seems less aggressive. Her phonics are progressing and she can sound out words with some help. She seems to be able to identify words on paper. She should practice reading words out loud at home if she can.

Stephanie is a good student for the most part. She can follow instructions and she produces good written work. She sometimes gets distracted and I have to remind her to pay attention. She also seems to get into arguments with the girls in the class sometimes. I have to remind her to be a little bit nicer to her classmates at times.

For the next two weeks the theme here at Tree House is "integrity." We will be discussing integrity and teaching the children the value of integrity.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Halloween is approaching and the teachers are all VERY EXCITED about building the haunted house and having a fun weekend with the kids!