This week felt like a true settling-in week — for my learners and for me. 🤍

I finally managed to get into 5B, and much of the focus went into class management 🗂️. We worked on class information posters, duty rosters, and even learned how to manage class money by recording a simple ledger 💰📒. Honestly, it reminded me of my days working in audit — who knew those skills would come back into my classroom life? 😄

We also did some writing ✍️, which I consider a diagnostic task. The learners wrote a short paragraph about themselves — five sentences that needed to be coherent — and this allowed me to observe both their writing mechanics and their ability to organise ideas 🧠📝. I haven’t marked them yet, but I plan to do so on Monday. I’m curious (and a little nervous) to see what patterns emerge 👀. There are also a few more posters to finish, so that’s on my to-do list too 📌.

For 2Z, the learners progressed with their alphabet writing this week 🔤✨. Only two of them still did not bring their books, which honestly frustrated me 😮‍💨. However, I’ve informed their parents and I’m hopeful things will improve next week 🤞. On a brighter note, their class rules chant is getting better! 🎶👏 I can see more confidence, and I truly hope that soon some learners will begin to take the lead during the chant 🌟.

My 3Z learners moved into their textbook content this week 📖, and I was so glad to see them getting into the groove of writing in their exercise books 🖊️📘. I noticed some really nice handwriting — moments like these genuinely make me feel proud 🥹💛. Many of them were able to understand the words in the paragraph we wrote together. Next week, I plan to challenge them a little more by starting with fill-in-the-blanks ➡️ then moving into parallel writing. I hope this gradual scaffolding will help them gain confidence and mastery 🚶‍♀️📈.

One common issue across all three classes, though, is that none of them have formed the habit of writing the day and date on the board before I enter the classroom 🗓️✏️. This is something that will definitely need consistent drilling and reminders until it becomes second nature 💪.

On top of teaching, this week was packed with school activities — the cross-country event 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️, the Bantuan Awal Persekolahan programme 🎒, and a three-hour briefing on discipline matters 📋😵‍💫. That briefing, in particular, left me feeling a little overwhelmed with the amount of work ahead — one of those moments where it feels like I might tumble straight down the rabbit hole 🐇🕳️.

Still, as tiring as it was 😅, it was meaningful 🤍. I truly hope I did my best in balancing everything.

As I look ahead, I hope that next week my learners will begin to settle into their learning routines, just as I am slowly settling into my teaching rhythm 🌊. My hope for this year is simple but big: I want to teach my learners well 🌟. I want them to be able to speak and write confidently, and I know that to get there, I must first strengthen their listening and reading skills 👂📚.

Here’s to patience, consistency, and growth — for them and for me 🌱✨

Wish me luck! 🍀💛

Ever since I began my teaching career 21 years ago, I have been embracing this quote 💬:

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” ✨

For many years, I found myself torn between teaching content 📚 and teaching life 💛 in the classroom. Teaching young learners often means that the academic content is manageable—but classroom management, attending to learners’ needs, disciplining, guiding, listening, and caring take up most of the time 🧠🤲. There were moments when this made me feel sad 😔, even inadequate, as if I wasn’t doing “enough teaching.”

But returning to this quote helped me pause and see things more clearly 🌤️.

I realised that everything I do in the classroom is education 🌱. Every reminder, every act of patience, every boundary set with kindness, every moment of care—these are lessons too 💫. They may not appear in a syllabus 📄, but they shape hearts ❤️, habits 🌼, and humanity 🌍.

I am not failing when I teach life alongside content.

I am not wasting time when I pause to guide, correct, or comfort 🤍.

I am a teacher 👩‍🏫.

And in every moment, in every way, I am always teaching ✨📚

 

This week, I introduced Class Rules Chants to my learners. The chant was actually okay, and they followed my gestures really well. But I kept wondering…

Do they truly understand what they’re saying? 🤔

I noticed they clearly understood the first four rules and the last one, but the middle three? Hmm… they looked a bit lost 😅

Still, I’m not worried. I’ve got a whole year to practise this with them, and I’m staying optimistic!

Alphabet Writing: Slow Progress, But Real Progress

Since I want them to build strong basics, I decided to reinforce alphabet writing first.

By the end of this week, we only reached Letter G — both capital and small letters.

Yes… it’s a long way to go 😭😂

But I’m choosing to take it slow, because I want my learners to:

✅ settle down

✅ build confidence

✅ stay patient with their own progress

…and I guess I should also learn to be patient too? Hahahaha 😆

My Plan After the Alphabet

Once we finish the full alphabet, I plan to move on to:

1. Writing names

2. Writing class / basic personal details

3. Reinforcing class rules again

I’m still not sure how long everything will take, but I’m reminding myself:

Slow and steady is still progress.

Progress Check: Where My Learners Are Now

As of the end of Week 1, here’s the situation in my class of 28 learners:

• 10 learners managed to complete writing up to Letter G

• 5 learners were absent

• 3 learners still had no books (even though I gave them one week to prepare 😭)

So, I sent a parent note to make sure books will be ready by next week.

For the rest of the class, their work was sent home as homework — some with corrections, and some still needing to complete the task.

I really hope to receive their homework on Monday 🤞✨

Next Step: Phonics + Vocabulary

After they’re more confident with letters, I want to start introducing phonics sounds and slowly blend that into vocabulary teaching.

My goal for my learners by the end of this year is:

📌 To be able to read simple sentences

📌 And for some learners, to write simple sentences with guidance, such as:

• substitution tables

• fill in the blanks

It may take time, but I believe consistency will make a difference.

Post-exam season can be tricky — learners are tired, attention is low, and it’s so easy for learning to feel like it’s “already done.” But I wanted my Year 2 Zamrud learners to still experience English in a meaningful way, just without pressure. That’s how Perky Piung’s Wonderful Words Island was born 🌴🐢

This ebook is a simple documentation of the project, the outcomes, and what I learned as a teacher. I also shared updates throughout the activities in several blog posts, and you can click here.

 Hello everyone! 👋

Welcome to a new school year! I am so happy to be your teacher this year. 🥰

This year, we will learn English, have fun, and become better students together.

To help our class stay happy, safe, and organised, we will follow our classroom rules.

Don’t worry — the rules are simple! 💚

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🐢 Perky Piung’s Classroom Rules

✅ Rule 1: Clear your desk when the teacher enters.

When I come in, please clear your desk.

Only keep the things you need for learning.

✅ Rule 2: Write day & date on the board.

Every day, we will write the day and date on the board.

This helps us stay ready and focused.

✅ Rule 3: Be seated and ready before class starts.

Please sit nicely and get ready before the lesson begins.

A good start makes a great lesson!

✅ Rule 4: Raise your hand to speak.

If you want to answer or ask a question, raise your hand. 🙋‍♀️

I will give you a turn.

✅ Rule 5: One voice at a time.

We listen when someone is talking.

Teacher’s voice or student’s voice — not both together.

✅ Rule 6: Follow instructions the first time.

When I give an instruction, please follow it the first time.

This helps us save time and learn more.

✅ Rule 7: Try first, then ask.

If you don’t know the answer, try your best first.

Then you can ask me for help. 💪✨

✅ Rule 8: “1-2-3 Eyes on me!” → “1-2-3 Eyes on you!”

When I say “1-2-3 Eyes on me!”

You say “1-2-3 Eyes on you!” and look at me. 👀

This helps us focus quickly.

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🌈 Why do we have rules?

Rules help our classroom to be:

✨ peaceful

✨ fun

✨ safe

✨ easy to learn

When we follow the rules, we can learn faster and enjoy the lesson more.

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💚 Let’s do our best together!

I believe you can do it!

Let’s make this year a great year with good behaviour, good learning, and good teamwork.

See you in class!

Teacher Asniem & Perky Piung 🐢💚

Hello, my dear learners! 💛

Welcome back to school and to a brand new year of learning together!

The first day of school can feel exciting, nervous, or a little scary — and that’s okay 😊 School is a place to learn, make friends, try new things, and grow every day 🌱

To help you start the year happily, I’ve prepared a special e-book just for you 📖✨

It’s about the first day at school, starring Perky Piung 🐢 and Friends! Follow Perky Piung as he meets new friends, feels a little nervous, and learns that school can be fun and friendly.

👆👆Click here to read or listen to it. 👆👆

Remember, you don’t have to be perfect — just do your best 💪

I’m so excited to learn and grow with you this year!

Welcome back to school,

💚 Teacher Asniem 🐢✨

Reflections from Perky Piung’s Wonderful Words Island

Every teacher knows this phase.

The exams are over.

The bags are lighter.

The routines are looser.

And suddenly, attention, motivation, and even attendance begin to dip.

The post-year-end examination period is often treated as “filler time,” but I’ve always felt that how we end the year matters just as much as how we begin it. So in 2025, with my Year 2 Zamrud learners, I decided to try something different.

Instead of worksheets or disconnected activities, I designed a small project-based learning experience called Perky Piung’s Wonderful Words Island: Sharing Stories and the Things We Love.

Why This Project?

The intention was simple.

I wanted my learners to:

• stay engaged after exams

• continue learning without pressure

• feel happy and safe using English

And since Perky Piung had already become a familiar and well-loved learning mascot in our classroom, it felt natural to bring her along on this journey.

If learning had to continue, it had to feel friendly, meaningful, and manageable.

What Did the Project Look Like?

Learners worked in groups of three, but here’s the important part:

👉 each learner completed the task individually.

Every group produced three sets of work — one from each learner.

However, groups could only submit their work once everyone had finished.

This small condition made a big difference.

• Learners supported one another

• No one could “opt out”

• Everyone stayed accountable

The tasks themselves were intentionally simple and familiar:

• copying words and short sentences

• talking about things they love

• creating visual and written project outputs

The focus was never on perfection — it was on participation, effort, and confidence.

What Did the Learners Tell Me?

After the project, I collected feedback through a simple learner survey.

The results were encouraging:

• All learners said they enjoyed learning English with Perky Piung

• Most learners reported feeling happy and engaged during the project

• Nearly all enjoyed talking about themselves, their families, and familiar topics in English

All learners reported enjoying learning English with Perky Piung. This suggests that the use of a familiar learning mascot helped maintain positive emotions and engagement during the post-examination period.

For young learners, these responses matter.

Before accuracy comes confidence.

Before confidence comes emotional safety.

And this project created that space.

What Did the Assessment Show?

From a skills perspective, most learners demonstrated:

• basic to developing writing ability, which was expected for Year 2

• high levels of participation, even among quieter learners

• strong creativity, especially in visual elements

The majority of learners achieved the highest participation score, suggesting that the project design successfully encouraged active involvement. The combination of individual accountability and group responsibility helped prevent passive participation.

Writing confidence remained an area for growth — and that’s okay.

This was never meant to be a high-stakes academic intervention.

It was a bridge — keeping learners connected to English at a time when disengagement is common.

While some learners felt confident writing simple sentences, a significant number still required support. This highlights the importance of continued scaffolding and reinforces that the project prioritised engagement and confidence over writing accuracy.

What I Learned as a Teacher

This project reminded me that:

• engagement is a learning outcome

• joy is not a distraction from learning — it enables it

• young learners need emotional safety before academic risk-taking

Using a familiar mascot and familiar topics wasn’t a shortcut — it was a pedagogical choice.

And perhaps most importantly, I was reminded that post-exam periods don’t have to feel empty or rushed. With the right design, they can be meaningful, gentle, and deeply human.

Moving Forward

If I were to refine this project in the future, I would:

• include short oral recordings for richer evidence

• add more scaffolded writing support

• compare before-and-after samples more intentionally

But as it stands, Perky Piung’s Wonderful Words Island achieved what it set out to do:

👉 keep learning alive, joyful, and purposeful — even after exams.

And sometimes, that’s exactly what our learners need most 💚

 

PP 1-min reading report by ASMAH HANIM BINTI CHE ANI KPM-Guru