Coffee, Icecream and Bakery Cafes in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

While I was in Cambodia, I was hosted by a local church and ate my meals most of the time with my host.


However, there were times when we did go out and tasted some of the local dishes and tried some of the popular eatery.

Brown Cafe. - A great place for coffee and working on internet projects!

A little taste of home for me!

  A favourtie place of mine is the Brown Café , (a coffee place very similar to the Starbuck set up) where I could order my usual coffee or fancier hot drinks while escaping from the searing temperature, enjoying the air conditioning and checking my emails or using the free wi fi to do my work.

 Later on, I went with my friends again and tried something different,  my friend and I l enjoyed it for the second time. 

Surprisingly delicious Egg Benedict served at the cafe!

I tried some of the pastries such as egg tarts and cookies, not bad at all.









But what I really enjoyed was the breakfast served at this café. I had Mini Benedict - Toasted soft brioches, sauteed spinach, sliced Salmon, two poached eggs covered with Hollandaise sauce. Yumm--yummmy.

Looking out from Costa's while pecking on my computer

 I tried the different breakfast items on the menu.
They tasted great!













Another coffee place is called Costa –a  similar set up  serving  fancy coffees and pastries but a little pricier, therefore less crowded.

Excellent pastries served in a Phnom Penh bakery cafe

For someone like me, who is used to working and living in a cooler climate condition, it was a little taste of home for me sipping my coffee and pecking on my computer doing my writing – the most favourtie thing for me to do!

A local ice cream and soda shop

 Our Cambodian host took us to a local ice cream café where we were served delicious ice cream with local favours such as durian, mango, jack fruit and coconut. 

Phnom Penh served the most delicious and fresh coconut ice cream

The ice cream was served in a hollowed coconut bowl sitting on a pretty glass with wafer sticks. The durian and coconut ice cream was fresh  with much fragrant taste. The tastiest ice cream I had ever tasted!

A nice restaurant serving delicious local Khmer dishes

My last night in Phnom Penh, Principal Lawrence treated us to the Malis Restaurant, a classy Cambodian restaurant serving delicious local dishes. 
 ( No. 136, St. 41,  Norodom Boulvard, Phnom Penh. I am writing this down so that I will remember where to go when I revisit Phnom Penh next time. )

Delicious and fresh pastries could be found in Phnom Penh

Sitting in a beautiful setting, served  with delicious genuine local Khmer dishes and eaten among good friends with warm hospitality in a foreign country – what could be more enjoyable and fitting for a farewell dinner?

A tinge of sadness came over me towards the end of our dinner.  Cambodia can start growing on you having visited it for a couple of times.   I sincerely hope that I will be able to visit this country again, serving the people and working with the school staff with my loved ones by my side!

R.T.
Phnom Penh,
Last night in Cambodia

How to Set Up a Reading Centre in an Elementary School Classroom

Display the books neatly in class

Setting up a Reading Centre in the classroom is important if a teacher wants to establish the habit of reading in students.  Here are some tips on how to set up a reading Center

1 Where  -      Choose a corner of the classroom

2 What to include?   Display age appropriate story books/ reading material  nicely and neatly on a book shelf or in storage bins.

3.       Books should be of a variety  of topics: sports,  animals, science, fiction, non-fiction books, cartoon/ comic books, joke books, famous people, children’s magazines  etc. 

Students recommend their favourite part of tehee story

4.         Books should also reflect the interest, cultural  and ethic background of students

5.       For beginner English learners, choose high interest, low vocabulary books with lots of pictures and illustrations.  

Create a comfortable reading area for students to read!!

    How - Create a relaxing, quiet and comfortable environment for students to read

   When reading,  students can sit on chairs, cushions or on the floor. 
      Sometimes students may share a book and have discussions among themselves about what they read.       Monitor the discussions. As long as they are talking about their reading, that will be fine. 

  

  Student  independent reading time should take place every day in school if possible.

   Each reading period can be from 15 - 30 minutes depending on the age of students

 Tracking and Reward

Tracking sheet for individual student to record the books they have read

 -  Once a week, ask students to take turn to share of what they have read in class.

Student tracking their own reading

-    Encourage students to  record books they have finished reading on an individual tracking sheet

 -  Encourage students to give rating on the books they have finished reading. 
-  I ask students to draw a happy face on the rating column if they like the book, a sad face if they don't like it. Some students ask me if they can draw more than one happy face. Of course, the number of happy faces they draw represent how much they like the book, similar to our five star rating of hotels, restaurant etc.
  
-   Post these individual reading tracking sheet around the Reading Corner.

- This will help to motivate students to read as they see how many books others  have read. 

Students love to read! Make reading a daily activity in the classroom!

 Reward students when they have completed and filled each Tracking sheet.

 Put up a new tracking sheet and file the completed tracking sheets in students’ folders for record.

Teacher Noel is enthusiastic about the Reading Centre in his classroom

When teachers show their enthusiasm for reading and learning, their love of learning will filter down to their students and they will become a life long reader because of their teachers' influence.

A Professional Learning Community - Teachers learning from each other

 Teachers are one of the most significant role models in our students' lives!

Hats off to those who put forth great efforts in introducing the precious gift of reading to their students when they are young and impressionable!

R.T.
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
Week of Nov. 24, 2014

Helping Elemenatary School Students to Establish a Reading Habit

I love teaching and I love working with kids!

The past few days, I had the opportunity of being back in the classroom and share my love of learning with students and teachers. It was an uplifting and exhilarating experience!

 Since English is not the mother tongue of these kids,  nurturing a love of reading  and cultivating a reading habit in these students will help to improve their English skills.

I  taught and worked with elementary school students for the past three decades.  When teaching reading to students,   I found that the follow  strategies  helped my students to love reading:  

Teaching Strategies for Reading

a.       Pick an interesting and age appropriate story/ book for students

b.       Before reading the story to students,  ask them to look at the cover / pictures of the book

     Pre reading  activity

Discuss background information - a Pre reading activity

a.       Based on the cover  pictures/ illustrations,  ask students what they think the story is about. Get them start thinking about and be interested in the story.

b.      After the students express their guess of the story. Discuss the background of the story/ topic with the class.

c.       Teacher starts reading the story.

d.       Read with tone variation, different speed and voice levels .

   

Ask student to predict what happens next in the story

 






   Prediction 

a, Before turning to the next page, pause and ask students what they think may happen next.  This prediction discussion gives students opportunity to practice their logical and sequential  skills as well as their  imagination. 
b.    Continue reading, asking questions.  Encourage students to respond.

Students acting out part of the story they read

c.   Reading  should be a fun and interactive learning experience.

  Participation

a.The teacher can ask student to make certain sound or respond in certain way whenever you come to a certain character.
b. Have student participate actively in the story reading process.

    Post reading activities

a.    Discuss story, characters, meaning of story etc.

b.      Students can assume the characters and act out the story.

c.        Students can  write or draw  a different ending to the story

d.      Students can write or draw their most favorite part of the story

Schedule a regular time in your timetable for class reading.  Guided reading should happen at least 1-2 times a week so that the teacher can demonstrate the steps for reading.
  
  As a teacher, you would certainly stimulate your students’ interest and they will look forward to reading in class!

R.T.

Phnom Penh

Cambodia

Week of November 24, 2014