Bulgaria - Keith's Corner - Diary of a School

Keith's Corner
A diary of a school - www.anglia-school.info

31.01.2016

Keith's Corner is a diary written monthly over the course of two years and published on Macmillan's onestopenglish.com.
As well as an interesting insight into setting up and running a school in Bulgaria following a CLIL approach, the diary offers a rich collection of tips and strategies for designing a curriculum for learning English by 'doing something else'.



I created Anglia School with a wish to provide exciting English learning experiences for my daughter, Dara and her best friend Natalia. Creating learning for Dara and Natalia developed into a small group and the school grew from there. At the time of writing, we now have 18 teachers and over 200 children in our classes. And, we plan to grow further. This diary is the story of how we got to where we are today!



Entry 1: Our very own school gives an introduction to Anglia School detailing the processes involved in setting up a new school. Entry 2: Working with tiny tots discusses the importance of communicating with young learners and the need to think on your feet when things don’t go to plan! Entry 3: Keeping it cool shares some favourite tips for calming children down when energy levels are running high. Entry 4: Senses looks at ways of teaching young learners some sensory vocabulary. Entry 5: Autumn seeds uses autumn seeds, nuts and fruits to teach maths and science. Entry 6: Space and stars goes to infinity and beyond with his young learners as they tackle the topic of space. Entry 7: An arctic winter warms up through the winter with an artic-centred theme.



Entry 8: Sports and celebrations bring winter to a close with an action-packed month learning about winter sports and Chinese culture. Entry 9: Pirates and explorers looks at pirates and explorers, where the children even find their very own buried treasure! Entry 10: Snack time discusses Anglia School’s snack-time routine and some useful phrases for when kids want some more … Entry 11: Toddlers and maths offers up some fun ideas as he explains how to teach maths to the youngest learners. Get your triangles at the ready! Entry 12: Dogs at Anglia School explores the theme of dogs. And, they round off the week with a visit from someone special! Entry 13: Maths and pre-school explores the theme of maths by looking at clocks, nature and apples! Entry 14: Design week explains how even the most unlikely of objects can inspire a vast array of language-rich activities when during Design Week at Anglia School they put something old to good use!



Entry 15: Houses at Anglia School is Houses week at Anglia School! Amongst other things, they talk about the different places people live in around the globe, as well as the materials used for construction. Entry 16: Music - it’s music week at Anglia School! The kids learn about classical instruments, work on their rhythm and counting, and make and play instruments of their own. Entry 17: Christmas has lots of fun with Christmas-themed activities – not forgetting those all-important Christmas treats! Entry 18: Dinosaurs - All children love dinosaurs and the children at Anglia School are no different. This month delves into a prehistoric world. Entry 19: Winter - The children at Anglia School have been enjoying a wintery theme in recent weeks. It may be cold outside but, with a host of wintery arts, crafts, songs and stories, the children are as merry as can be! Entry 20: Forest animals invites us to explore the forest and the animals that make it their home. Entry 21: Love - the children at Keith’s school wear their hearts firmly on their sleeves, exploring the related themes of love, affection, respect and politeness.



Entry 22: My body - Action is always an important part of any curriculum for young children. This diary entry shares activities that get children moving and, of course, there’s plenty of language learning to be had along the way. Entry 23: Science - It is great to get kids enthusiastic about science from a young age and there is no better way than through fun experiments. This diary entry shows how to incorporate science into children’s learning so that they can learn through doing, a crucial concept at Anglia School! Entry 24: The learning wheel - The word pedagogy comes from the Ancient Greek word paidagogos, meaning to lead the child. This final instalment explains how the teachers at Anglia School lead their pupils towards learning in English, with the Learning Wheel as their guide.

I'd like to develop classes for children to learn their maths, science, geography and others through the medium of English as they go through school. We're only 3 years old, but as our older children go 'up' the curriculum, Anglia School will have to develop and change to offer more English-medium curriculum opportunities. 

For more information on Anglia School - www.anglia-school.info