A reposted article from Nick Triggle, Health correspondent, BBC News. Although this article focuses on the specific situation in England and the U.K, these issues are effecting children worldwide. They are not likely to get seriously ill with Covid and there have been very few deaths. But children are still the victims of the virus - and our response to it - in many other ways. From increasing rates of mental health problems to concerns about rising levels of abuse and neglec

Throughout the year, our teachers participate in workshops and trainings during our "Teacher In-Service Days." These are times for teachers to sharpen their skills or learn and develop new ones. Here we see teachers participating in a workshop that focuses on clay. Although it may seem straightforward, it is anything but. Traditional clay workshops, especially at the beginner level will have students focus on technique and recreating a model. Students will be tasked with copy

Can you spot our new school pets in their new enclosure? As well as our children being the happiest children in Bangkok we now believe we also posses the happiest frogs in Bangkok. They got a beautiful new enclosure with everything that frogs love and need. Moreover, some of the advantages of caring for and observing school Animals are as follows: • Observing and caring for an animal instills a sense of responsibility and respect for life. • A pet brings increased sensitivity

Our Oisca Staff members P'Suk and P'Jamnuong have created a new home for the Oisca frogs. Located in one of our four garden areas, it is a larger space for all 8 frogs to have enough space to roam, leap, and explore - all with their own fountain and swimming pool. A total frog resort! With this new type of enclosure, teachers and students will be able to easily access the frogs and incorporate them into their learning experiences. We are excited to have the students return to

We have been busy here at Oisca preparing new exploratory activities for the children upon their return to Oisca! Exploring the colour blue and square shape. The art centre, mixing and matching the colour blue. A range of different and beautiful materials to explore. One to one correspondence at the mathematics center with natural materials. Simple beauty A puppet centre In the practical activity room there are many new additions at the learning zones for your children to lea

At Oisca we are continually thinking how we can improve our environment to give the best educational experiences for your children. Here are some new outside installations, which we are sure the children will love. A new hopscotch game Improvements added to the assault course A new Bamboo musical instrument in the updated musical garden. Recycled installation for musical explorations. Bells, castanets and tambourines. A relaxing Zen Rock Garden Sandbox Let’s make patterns in

As we end the academic year, we look back one year ago to the very first day of school. This photo was taken on that day. Some of the students and staff have since left Oisca. Meanwhile, other new students and staff have joined us. Some many changes over a year, not just at our school, of course, the many worldwide changes such as the pandemic. It is easy to get caught up in the negative aspects of the many changes but we must remember that the ups and downs are a necessary p

We have several ongoing communal project at Oisca. These are projects that all students and staff will take part in. For example, the Recycling Trash into Treasure project - which focuses on recycling materials from home to be used as school materials for art and some practical uses, like pots for our plants. Another one of our communal projects is the ever-growing photo display. The photos are nice portraits of our students and staff. On the back of each photo, there is a se

Cooking with your children at home is always a great activity to do at home especially when you’re running out of ideas. It does require time and patience but its worth it! Here are some benefits: Develops a curious eater – Children usually become an adventurous when they are exposed to many kinds of food and variety of textures. It helps them to be open to different tastes and makes parents lives much easier. If they are in the kitchen and helping out with the cooking, they

Show and tell is a great way of linking phonics and language to everyday objects and then learning how to present, discuss and ask questions of each other. Here our student, Rei, choses to construct a road for the long vowel sound of oa. She was, as you can see, very happy to present and discuss her construction project and explain why she chose us to represent the long vowel of o. #oiscainternationalbangkok #kindergarten #Internationalschoolbangkok #bangkokschool

‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’ – Albert Einstein. Imagination is crucial for your child’s development especially during the early years. It helps social development, emotional, physical, creative, lingual skills. During this pandemic we understand how hard it is for both the parents’ and children. It is not easy to study online especially for kindergarten age groups. For working parents, it must be challenging to manage time for work and online classes. It is

In Language Arts class, the students revise their new vocabulary for the letter 'X' and connect the ideas by creating a skeleton from bones for the word "X-ray". To make further connections, the next day the students go on a treasure hunt around Oisca Park. As "X marks the spot" and a treasure is found! Later in the week, during their Show and Tell time, students are asked to bring in something that starts with the letter "X." It is these types of connecting activities that h

One of the joys of working with children is introducing new things to them and seeing how they react. It's like when you have a favorite restaurant and recommend it to a friend and they too enjoy it as much as you do - the joy is amplified. Similarly, we feel disappointed when a friend informs you that your favorite place is just 'ok.' Here the students are introduced to the game of hopscotch - an old favorite from many of the teachers' childhoods. Luckily, the students loved

Every morning, the first 30 minutes of each class is devoted to "Circle Time.' It's a chance for the students and teacher to 'warm up' together and start the day. Teachers sometimes review lessons and vocabulary from the previous lessons, other times it is a physical warm up with stretching, songs and dance. It's an opportunity for the class to gather and start the day together. Prior to circle time, kids have some free time to move about and communicate with each other indep

It's a bright clear and day in Bangkok. The sun is high and shining its rays brightly down on the earth. The sky is bright vivid blue and the air is relatively fresh (for Bangkok!). But as I walk the halls and grounds of the school, I feel sluggish and heavy. There's a lack of pep in my step. Something is desperately missing. The buildings feel like simply buildings. An empty lifeless concrete structure. The lifeline and life blood of any school is that of it's community. An

Show and tell is an activity where you stand up in front of your friends and classmates and speak about a topic that they love. Here at OISCA we include show and tell into our weekly schedule and ask the children to bring something from home in relation to their topic for that month. Show and tell is greatly beneficial especially when it comes to self-confidence. Being the center of attention will make them feel special and valuable. These emotions then increase their confide

Using a needle and thread. Putting new shoelaces into shoes. Basic skills that we somehow developed through our lives. Most simply do not remember having learned these practical daily skills nor having a specific class for them. However at Oisca, we have weekly classes in our Practical Activities Room to focus on just these skills. Here we see the Pre-K class (students ages 2-3 years old) working on the skill of threading. Besides building upon and sharpening their fine moto

One of the great features of our school campus is Oisca Park. It's our huge 1000 square meter playground, complete with hills to climb, a river to wade through, trees, grass, sandbox, vegetable garden, plant garden, musical garden, a bike zone, and other outdoor play sets to play on. Ideally, we have the students playing outdoors everyday. Sometimes the weather is against us but for the most part - our students take full advantage of the park and run and play freely every day

In December of last year, we held our annual Christmas party. As we do each our families gather together to enjoy performances from our students, a visit from Santa, and enjoy the holiday cheer. One important tradition for us, is the donating of Christmas gifts to the Home for Hope Orphanage in Nonthaburi. This year due to the many covid-19 restrictions, we were not able to deliver the presents in the usual way. However, finally after much waiting, Teacher Shari was able to g

Practical skill activities are a major part of Montessori education. Here at OISCA we are gradually incorporating this into our curriculum as we see from experience it has lots of benefits. Practical skill activities help build independence and concentration. Such activities allow students to develop skills that will not only help them in school but also throughout their life. Here are some benefits: - Increase concentration - Developing self-esteem and self confidence - I