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Title: Issues of Parenting
Sub Title:
A guide to Parenting Issues, and, preschool children
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Contents
Introduction:
Chapter One 7 - 63
Planning together our educational goals
A Programme planning
B Using themes
Chapter Two 64 - 192
Discovery activities
A Discovery materials and activities
B Organising discovery activities
C Caring for plants
D Cooking with young children
E Learning through discovery
F Helping children discover
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Chapter Three 193 - 219
Educational trips
A. Organising educational trips
B. Learning through trips
C. Helping children learn through trips
Chapter Four 220 - 232
Books for young children
A Kinds of books for young children
B Organising our books
C Learning through books
D Helping children learn through books
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Chapter Five 233 -243
Story-time
A Kinds of stories for young children
B Organising our story-time
C Learning through stories
D Helping children through stories
Chapter Six 244 - 258
Music for young children
A. Organising music for young children
B. Learning through music
C. Helping children experience music
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Chapter Seven 259 - 269
A Time to know your Child
A Babies First Books
B Child Care
C Development of Reading
D Parent and Child
E Parent Education
F Picture Books
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Introduction:
The times that a parent cannot recapture of a child are the moments that
the child experiences for the first time. Every day, there is something
new for a child to learn, to communicate with, to create, and to think
about. It's one of the most special times for them and their parents. Your
child is now attending a day-care centre, nursery or playgroup. It's time
for him to learn to be independent. Getting involved in activities with
him would make it valuable and exciting for your child.
Children benefit from enjoyment of the activities a lot more when
friends or parents are involved. Young children learn through playing
with friends of their own age group and not through formal teaching.
This allows children to explore and find out about what they are capable
of. A child cannot concentrate when hungry or exhausted. A play session
should be relaxing. Never try to force a child to concentrate if he does
not feel like a certain activity, leave it for another day. Allow them to do
what they want, providing it's not dangerous.
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Make the most of your time with your child
If you are the parent of a baby, toddler or a pre-schooler, you are aware
that your child's brain develops at an astounding rate until the age of
seven. Every bit of stimulation he gets now is an investment. In spite of
expensive toys and good intentions, most parents have so many other
responsibilities that they soon find their child's precious first years have
sped by.
Teach your child to brush his teeth and dress himself from an early age,
so you'll have more time to do interesting things together. In spite of the
great advantages of playgroups and pre-schools the demands put on
school beginners are so high that it's rare for a child to be completely
ready for school from day one.
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By preparing him for school from an early age, you can save yourself
and your child a great deal of frustration. Don't only focus on
educational activity, also, do ordinary things like taking walks together.
Find out what your child should be mastering at his age.
This will, prevent you spending unnecessary time on games that are too
easy, or pressuring him to perform at an unrealistically high level.
Choose activities that don't need much preparation. A three year old can
concentrate for only about 10 minutes at a time, so if you have the
planned activity and it takes 15 minutes to prepare, your child will lose
interest.
He will have more fun doing things he's good at than those he
doesn't have a natural talent for. Also, do not take over an activity
he is doing, learn a good deal by watching children observing their
own material. That's how they have new findings out and
encounters on their own.
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Early learning of a pre-scholar
According to traditional thinking it is suggested that intelligence is
only responsible for around 25% of a child's success at pre-
school, a child's personality accounts for about 65%. Our findings
indicate that confident children, who are more independent by the
age of three or four, tend to be less anxious when they start pre-
school, and therefore learn quickly. Friendly children spend more
time playing with others, and as a result have more opportunities
to learn new ideas. An extrovert, meaning the outgoing child, is
usually more successful at pre-school than an introvert, the
withdrawn child, and motivation is a key factor in their success.
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Using this book
Although this book is for the ages from an infant age, to the
starting of pre-school, I have not indicated an age group for each
activity, with regard to the enormous changes that age span
encompasses. Age is not the actual, point; it’s a question of, how
able the child is to perform the activity. The activities are
organised into different sections.
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1. Planning together our educational goals
2. Discovery activities
3. Educational trips
4. Books for young children
5. Story time
6. Music for young children
7. A Time to know your child
The main aim in this book is to suggest ways, to channel a child's natural
curiosity. Finally, an activity for the child and parent can be fun when
doing it together.
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Chapter One
Planning together our educational goals
Children get to learn their names, surnames and to increase their
vocabulary. When children start building with blocks they begin to know
the shape and the size of objects. They also learn how to construct each
block according to size and shape. At the tables at pre-school children
can learn to do table-work. This helps them to concentrate for longer
periods.
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They, could, also, learn from resources, like cards, or, exercise books,
teachers can get worksheets made and stencils, can be used to show how
one can trace letters from it. They can write down key words, key
sentences and it can brighten your child's ability. Objects can be
provided for children to sort out according to their size and shape. Put
objects that can be balanced according to weight.
Make matching numbers on cards so that children can develop their
understanding clearly. They can learn to write and to draw, and to colour
their drawing correctly. Other methods are that children can bring to
school all sorts of objects in different shapes and sizes and teachers can
ask them to use their sense of touch to feel all the unique textures of
these objects.
They can label the objects to read each name on the label. For each day
there should be an activity set out for children to play freely, like
drawing, painting, some energetic activity like skipping, throwing the
ball to each other, playing on a swing and so on. There should be a daily
routine of activities that gives the child a sense of security. This allows
him to feel secure in his environment and to learn without fear. Every
day should be occupied with some activity, so they don't get bored.
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They are always excited to be at pre-school and love excitement. So, the
more activities they have, the more fun-filled they'll be. Children begin
to know and understand their reality by means of examples. The
different methods of teaching can be shown by preschool teachers.
Children are now going through a phase where they will be reaching out
to adulthood.
The first things children learn are about the different natures and cultures
of the people in their communities. It takes time for a child to master
nature and culture. Children cannot sense and obtain knowledge that
easily, it gets confusing when so young, so the child needs an adult to
adapt information. It should be made to be understood at their level.
Reality must be chosen in such a way that it's chosen from various
subjects or life realities. Culture and nature should be taught, as that
stage of childhood can master and apply knowledge skills obtained.
Teachers should have authority over children; this should be done to be
meaningful to the children.
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Teachers have responsibility with regard to the way a child gains his
knowledge. Children should not only know and be able to, they should
also know and do. They get to learn and develop from their own
experiences. In pre-school or primary school there are varieties of
subjects for children to learn from.
Subjects like, language, culture and health education are subjects just for
the pre-schoolers, too many can be confusing. Language for children is
the most important thing for a child to learn. Pre-school children are not
so familiar with the real part of language. They should use language as
part of their level only. In this way they'll understand it easily. Language
releases a child from the concrete world and makes him more mobile.
Young children need to feel and do what they like and also speak freely
and be outspoken and not to be shy of others. This helps the child to
grasp the reality around him and to verbalise.
Children's programmes should be based on children's needs.
They should be told about their development as young children
and when they grow older. Activities chosen by children should
never be underestimated. Presentation of activities should be
informal. Attention should be given to the programme and activity
within the programme.
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A programme planning
Each school has its plan and course for the day. The daily programmes in
nursery schools or playgroups are as follows: The teacher pointed out to
teach a certain group of children has activities of different kinds to teach
the children, these are written out. All free-play activities which are
planned by the teachers are not chosen by the teachers, the children have
their own choices and types of activities chosen by them so that they can
be able to go about doing whatever is possible.
A nursery school being well adapted will have these types of activities
during the day. They will follow a specific time-table which may differ
from other pre-schools, nursery schools or playgroups. The daily
programme should be written or typed neatly and placed on a notice
board, so parents can read it and be familiar with their children's
activities for the day.
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Depending on the activities a child can only do an activity that he is
capable of. In cases like that the teacher will always give several
activities to a child, for example - the art activities (ages 2-5yrs)). You
can arrange a playroom to look attractive and very inviting so that your
child can be convinced to learn the activity that he wants to.
Classroom management
Teachers should work with a small class of children. A daily routine
gives children a sense of security. They know what to expect and they
also feel safe in the process. Allow children to play freely from one
classroom to another. Have structural activities for children, in this way
they can learn to follow their own interests. Encourage children to take
an individual equal responsibility while in the classroom.
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Making of worksheets, flash cards and ideas can be of resources to
children. Well equipped learning areas are needed. By children working
together in different cultural groups they learn new ideas and new
languages together. This gives them a chance to learn about each other's
backgrounds at an early age. Discussion topics are ideal too. Learning
how to share and to respect one another is as soon as they become
debatable and given stimulation activities. Children that work well
should be put to work together.
Shy children should be invited into discussions often to get them
used to audiences. Having open discussion questions allows your
child to be encouraged to learn and think from the task arranged.
If children are slow in learning, divide children into pairs so you
can explain the specific subject and it will be understood properly.
When preparing using material
Always use materials that are easy to find and can be bought
cheap. Ask the children to bring to school the following objects.
Useful materials like cardboard boxes, empty egg trays, old
plastic jars, old containers, old magazines, shells and so on.
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Children should be able to perform activities that interest them
and also be able to achieve goals at their own pace. Activities
should be creative, indoor or outdoor activities are best. Doing art
activities gives children more potential and creativity. This is when
they are using paint and not so much when using crayons.
A playroom at the day-care centre
A reading corner should have storybooks or colouring books.
Storybooks for the appropriate age groups and colouring books
for the age group that is capable of colouring such books. Always
remember to have the playroom kept neat and tidy, have lots of
toys, like building of blocks, jigsaw puzzles, tea-sets, dolls etc.
Children need to be seated or relaxed during a certain activity.
Most important
The teacher at the pre-primary school must remember that she is
not to teach a child in a formal way, rather, in an informal way.
The children are young and cannot follow a routine so soon.
There should not be too many children in a class. The amount of
six children in a class is most appropriate.
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Art activities
These are selected by the child himself. Choice is adapted to the
age of the child. These go according to the topics of each week,
and the skills and experience the child has. This is not offered to a
large group of children, only six children at a time.
Activity that is not chosen by a child
This activity is chosen by the teacher, to specifically reinforce skills of a
particular day. Teachers do the explaining to the child of the type of
activity of the day. Children also have an opportunity to express their
feelings, their thoughts and to create new ideas of their own. A pre-
primary child cannot communicate well concerning his vocabulary that
may not be too good.
By drawing, painting and modelling of clay playing, this enables the
child to cope. A child should also differentiate between shapes, colours,
and painting of pictures and to think creatively.
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Teachers should allow the child to feel free to draw what he can and
wants to, the teacher should not show the child how to do it because the
child would feel that he cannot do it on his own, he may have a low self-
esteem and think that he cannot do it by himself.
Using variety of drawing activities
1. Thin and thick felt-tipped pens
2. Crayons
3. Coloured tipped pencils
4. Chalks of all colours
5. Chalkboards
6. Charcoal
This type of activity should be offered on a daily basis on good
quality paper, by dipping chalk into water before use is best as the
writing stays on the board for a while. Children can draw pictures
and then trace out the outline and colour it in.
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Cutting and pasting of pictures
A child can cut out pictures from old magazines using a blunt-
nose pair of scissors, and those that he drew he can stick on a
plain sheet of paper or in an old book, to make it an attractive
picture book.
Painting
Children can use paint to paint blotches. They can mix all the
different colours together, one can make a rainbow or also paint
all the different objects (old toys) - paint handles of old brushes,
old books and so on. To avoid mixing colours especially when
painting a specific picture place the paint brush in a different
holder. A child should be given paper of all sizes and shapes it
must be plain white paper. Children should wear aprons when
using paint. Teachers have got to encourage children to choose
light and dark colours.
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Guide to the use of stages I-IV
Stage (I-III)
1. Allow the teacher to understand the aims of each lesson.
2. Keep the children busy on a daily basis.
3. Have discussions on themes - discussions and acts of music and
movements -progresses from easy to difficult. Gradually the child
masters the contents.
They develop self-confidence and learn while playing.
Stages IV-V
Self confidence and awareness which have been developed by the child
and the language the child masters can make him call upon his
experiences. Children are led to problem situations where they get to
find solutions to make discoveries. A pre-schooler is open to asking
questions.
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Talking to your child is helpful
Being a pre-schooler your child is aware of people around him
thinking creatively. Children at this stage want to explore and
discover new ideas and new situations, they want to have new
friends and become more outspoken. Having discussions in class
is the utmost objective idea. This is testing the children's
knowledge. It's got to be a two-way communication, questions and
answers are what you need. This gives the child confidence in
himself. By questioning the child it openly makes him discover
new discoveries. This is to stimulate their thoughts, also a child
questioned by the teacher and parent on a subject that's of
interest to the child.
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B. Using themes
Let your child know about preschool learning. Parents got to teach their
children the different parts of their bodies. The growing child has got to
learn about it at an early age. A child should undress in front of a mirror
to look at his body and then know the actual parts or what each part or
organ looks like.
Children got to know the appearance of them that is by looking at their
description. At some stage at school children will come across a human
body which is made out of plastic in this they can be taught about all the
different parts we have and the functions of each. This can teach children
lots of new ideas.
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Theme: Oneself
A pre-schooler can find out about plenty activities that can be indoor and
outdoor and about the child himself too.
Finding out about oneself
What do you look like?
Parts of your body
Are you a boy/girl?
How old are you?
What is your name?
What is your nationality?
Are you friendly?
How many pets do you have?
Emotions - about, feeling happiness, sadness, angry, or afraid.
What are your likes and dislikes?
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Senses:
Touching - Can you feel textures of your skin? Can you tell if it is rough
or smooth?
Hearing – Do you hear yourself making different sounds like laughing,
crying, screaming, shouting or giggling?
Taste -Do you taste the kinds of foods you eat? What tastes sweet,
bitter, or sour?
See -Do you see the colour of your eyes? What is the colour of your
hair? Is it brown or black? Can you tell the colour of your clothes and
shoes that you have on?
Smell -Can you smell yourself and the perfume you have on?
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Hygiene
Have you washed your body?
Have you brushed your teeth?
How often do you brush your teeth?
Do you have healthy foods and drinks?
Kinds of music you like
Kinds of art you like
Are you tall or short?
Match hands and feet; are they the same or different?
Do you have long or short hair?
How are your manners at the table?
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Do you have a big family?
How many members are there in your family?
Which school do you go to?
What language do you speak?
What are your manners when speaking on the telephone?
Do you perform any exercises at home or at the gym?
What is your name?
What is your address?
Your place in your family
Where was your place of birth?
Parents should show children photographs of them when they were much
younger and also present photos. It is to let them know about each
person in the photo. Children should beware of the noises their bodies
make. Moves of their bodies when walking, running, exercising or
dancing. The foods that children eat should be healthy foods. Foods like
meat, fish, poultry and eggs. One should be a well-mannered child at
home and in public.
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Personal grooming
Combing of your hair
Washing of your hands before and after eating
How neat and clean is your clothing
Cutting of your fingernails
Your hygiene in the toilet
Washing of your hands after the use of the toilet
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Use of toilet paper
Children should be able to recite facial expressions like angry, sad and
happy faces.
When children are happy or sad?
At pre-school teachers should teach children the feelings of being happy,
sad or angry.
What brings happiness or sadness?
What causes you to be angry or happy?
What makes you feel scared?
When children are sad, an adult should make them feel happy by
showing things to them that will take their minds off their sadness. If
someone is sad it could be because one has lost somebody in their family
or a pet can be gone missing or even if one has lost a special gift.
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Happiness is when you feel like listening to music and being with
people. One would want to enjoy being with people and have fun in
dancing and singing. Give children the opportunity to express
themselves of these feelings and to talk about it to one another. The
feeling of anger is what one feels towards someone.
Let children talk of their personal experiences to teachers at
school or at home. They then realise that this kind of feeling is
inside of them. Act out dramas of anger, sadness or happiness to
the class to make each child understand these feelings and what
actually causes them to react or feel that way.
SENSES:
Sight - What do you see?
The distance you can see.
How do you see?
Light helps you to see.
Help to assist the blind.
Touch - Feel rough objects.
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What do you feel when you get hurt?
Have your tooth extracted.
Feeling of your skin, is it rough or smooth?
To feel, wet or dry, hard or soft. Prick of a needle, feeling blunt or
sharp objects. To
Hear - The sounds of dogs barking, cats meowing, wolves howling and
children and creaming.
Chiming of clocks
Music
Assisting of deaf people
Smell -Odours of foods that are good or bad.
Flowers, fresh produce, lotions or creams
Tastes - How do you taste food or juices?
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Theme: Oneself
They will need photos of themselves to develop a positive self-image.
Children have to be aware of the differences between them and other
people. Things like the following:
Who are you?
What is your name?
Where do you live?
What are the names of your parents?
Ask your child about the pet he has or about himself.
What is the name of his pet?
What is the colour of his eyes/hair?
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Ask children about themselves, about their body parts and its functions,
like the eyes, hair, fingers, toes, hands, legs, and, about the importance
of life.
Parts of their bodies
Their shoulders, the neck, hips, ankles, elbows, throat, spine, back,
bottom, chest and with the use of the skeleton they will be able to
identify such part. Make children know the functions and how many of
each they have. It could be the eyes, nose or the mouth. Teach children
about the ankles and that when they play twist and turn they can hurt
their ankles and it can be painful. Getting hurt on their elbows can be
very uncomfortable too. These experiences make them know that there
are games that cannot be played dangerously.
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Discussion with children to make them know the way that people are the
same
We all need food and water, clothes and a home
We all need to learn security.
We all need to be healthy.
We all need to be clean and tidy.
We are all tall or short.
We are all big or small.
We all speak different languages.
We all have different religions.
We all have different sizes of families.
We all play and sing differently.
Describe fruits and vegetables.
Sweet and sour, taste of sugar, salt and spices, something that is juicy or
dry, like an orange that is juicy and an apple that is not.
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Children can be taken for walks to experience the scents of flowers; they
can touch the different trees and plants to feel the different textures of
each. Children can feel the stones, trees, leaves, petals of roses, the grass
and lots more can be done with the help of a parent. They can hear the
different noises of birds, or dogs barking, cars hooting, screeching of
tyres, or children screaming to each other and so on. As parents you
should be able to help your child to describe these experiences to them.
Ask questions about the walk they had in the garden.
Questions like, what did they see? Did they enjoy their walk? Did they
hear noises? What kind of noises did they hear? The types of trees they
saw. What were the scents of the roses like? Did they like the scent of
the roses? Ask children to talk freely of their experiences that they have
had. By blindfolding your child and asking him to guess what is on the
table can also be a good idea. He can guess the smells of fruits and
vegetables.
He could try to tell you what it is by just the smell of it. This encourages
him to learn more out of experiences. Guessing games can speed his
abilities. Make colour flash cards with different colours on each one and
ask your child about the colours. Patterns can be done in the same way.
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It can be very creative for your child. He can be given a chance to guess
if they are the same or not. Children should be allowed to feel things, the
warmth, cold, the warmth of a home, of the weather, the cold of ice, and
also the warmth of clothing.
When bathing they should know if the water is hot or warm enough to
bath in. Hot and cold foods can be compared too. They can have hot or
cold drinks. Ice cubes from the freezer, children should know how it is
done. This is known when children have experiences with the feeling of
warmth or cold. Hot or frozen foods and how it is that we get ice cubes.
They can collect objects to school and feel textures of each one. Objects
like crayons, cardboard boxes, shells, stones, toys of different sizes and
shapes, matchsticks or sticks from trees, books etc. the feeling of wet
and dry. Feeling of boiling water can be dangerous.
What does it feel like when water is on your body? Does the water make
you feel good?
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The texture of hard or soft
Hard
What is hard?
Wood, furniture, hard covered books, floors,
What is soft?
Wool, sponges, clay, pillows, swabs,
Cushions, soft sand, bread
Revise these themes as often as you can. This allows children to
remember and understand easily. Daily talks of these topics will
enable them to talk and learn about the senses themselves.
Hearing of sounds
Loud
Sounds of thunder
Use of a drill
Sounds of a trumpet
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Slow
Walking slowly, dancing slow/waltz
Playing with soft toys
A cruise
Jogging instead of running
Near
Ringing of bells from a church
Doorbell ringing
Lighting a candle close to you
Eating at a restaurant near you
Alarm of a clock goes off near you
A place to go to
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Far
It could be a place to go to
Shops to go
A gym that you can go to
The clinic
Sounds
Sounds that you can recognise
Sounds of animals / nature
Tools
Spoons, forks and knives
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Emotions:
Children should be able to participate in discussion groups to discuss,
emotions, of one. Love and care they need, the need to be loved or liked
by someone, feel the warmth of love. They can love their parents, pets,
friends of family.
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Theme: Insects
A child can collect insects from a local environment. One can try
going to a nearby park or playground at school, in your garden or
even a river if close by. Encourage children to collect insects as
much as they can. They will need the top of the container to be
closed properly and it should be plastic containers. A net on top of
the container is a good idea.
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You can also build a home-made top to trap insects. Have the insects
taken to your classroom; they could be ants, ladybirds, ground crickets
and beetles. At school your teacher can help you identify the parts of
these insects.
It can be very exciting for children as this kind of project mainly takes
place at school, there are ideas that you can come up with. The size of
the insect, the number of legs it has, and the number of eyes it
has.
Find out how insects see and feel. Can you see its eyes? Are
they large or small eyes? What type of weather it prefers. Does it
like to be in the sun or in dark corners?
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Theme: Animals
Speak of animals to your child often so that he knows what it is
like to be close to one. Allow him to have a pet of his own. He will
realise that one can get close to a pet and love it too. He would
experience on his own about being affectionate towards an
animal. This would allow him to know that one can be close to
animals as well as humans. If he has a pet he should learn more
about it and take lots of care. He can get information about his pet
from library books if he doesn't know much about his pet. Also,
depending on the kind of pet he was.
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A child should know the kind of food he should feed his pet, know
the breed of his pet, and know how it should be t treated, where it
should sleep and lots more if necessary. Children learn lots from
these kinds of experiences.
It makes them feel responsible and free to know about what goes
on in their daily routine. Pre-schoolers can learn new ways of
how to take care of their pets and maybe get to know advanced
ideas. They eventually learn of wild and tame animals.
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Theme: Clocks
Pre-schoolers could look at library books that tell you how to see the
time on a clock; it will give them an idea. There are different types of
clocks, like watch faces with or without numbers, stop watches,
grandfather clocks, Mickey Mouse clocks and lots more. Draw a clock
for your child and he can be familiar with it as he would want to look at
it and have it taken to school daily.
A child will notice time on a clock after each of their daily programs.
This can allow him to see time. The sign of sunrise and sunset is one of
the ways in which he can learn to see time. He will experience the time
of day and night. Talk about the time of the year, the four seasons, alarm
clocks that go off at a specific time, when it is lunch time, supper time or
breakfast time.
Teachers should show the children the numbers on the clock, the number
of hands the clock consists of, talk about the hours, minutes, seconds and
the counter hand.
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Clocks should be drawn of all kinds to allow children to learn new ideas
of clocks and how it shows time.
Theme: Growing things
Allow your child to plant his own tree and he can watch it grow. Give
him that opportunity to watch something grow, it could be a good
experience for him as a pre-schooler. By doing this your child realises
what a plant needs to make it grow and how it should be done. He will
know where a certain plant should grow. Does it need to be planted in a
shady spot or a sunny spot? At home o school, children should be asked
to cover seeds with a dampened piece of cotton wool. It can be seeds of
beans just as an experiment. These seeds should be kept for a few days
in this way so that you can see what happens to the seeds. It can be very
exciting for children doing it for the first time. Besides the seeds under
damp cotton wool you as the parent can help your child to grow an
avocado plant.
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You can use the pip of an avocado, place it in a glass of water with four
matchsticks pricked into it, so that it just rests on the rim of the glass,
preventing the pip from being totally submerged in the water, and let it
stand for about a week or until you see shoots growing. When children
watch their own plants grow they tend to take a lot of care of it. They
water it daily and know that it should be in a certain spot. They also
learn that it needs a specific amount of sunlight and that it gets the right
soil. Pre-schoolers learn how to look after a plant and they know that it
should not be destroyed as it beautifies our gardens, provides us with
shade and plenty of fruit.
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Theme: Frogs
Introduce your child to frogs at home or at pre-school. Study its life-
cycle. Observe tadpoles/frogs. Children find it amusing playing with
frogs and also watching frogs jump and catching its prey with its slimy
tongue. Children can try to jump like frogs too. They should learn to find
out about frogs, about their habits and habitats and food requirements.
Also names of different kinds and areas where they are found. Frogs can
swim and children can do the same.
Do research and label parts of the frog's body. In this way you will know
what each part is. Frogs are amphibians as you know and it is because
they live half-time on land and half-time in water. Children love playing
with frogs because it is a harmless amphibian and they find them
fascinating. They also have a rough skin. More information on frogs can
be found in library books that specifically concern frogs or in
encyclopaedias. When reading magazines and by watching television
documentaries.
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Theme: Learning
At pre-school children should be allowed to discuss their experiences
they had feeling scared and panicky. The panic of talking to strangers,
being asked to perform in class can make one fearful.
Strength
Allow children to describe their feeling of strength. Physically strong,
they can demonstrate by showing how strong they are by methods of
exercising. Play games of action and swimming are ideal for children.
Your home
This theme is to create a skill of their own life to the lives of living in
their own homes. Children will eventually learn of the activities they
perform in each room, the photographs of their homes and the names of
each room. Discuss the chores of each room. What is the dining-room
for and what do we do in the bathroom? Explain to the children the
different kinds of homes that are built around us.
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Talk about the homes in different homelands like the cabins which are
made of timber and the thatch-roof house with has lots of dry grass on
the roof which some people like to live in. The Eskimo's live in igloos,
homes that are made of ice. Houses are made of bricks, blocks, stone or
even sticks when one cannot afford to build expensively.
Children can describe how big or small their rooms are. How many
rooms do they have? What kind of a roof do they have? What is the
shape of the windows? Is their neighbourhood safe? Do they enjoy living
in their neighbourhood? Is their home comfortable or spacious enough?
Do they have a fireplace in their home?
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Is water and electricity available in their home? Is water close to their
home? Some people that live on farms have to go a long way to fetch
water. People that live on farms have difficulty with the water, electricity
and toilets. These problems seldom experienced with those living in
residential areas or cities.
Theme: About your family and friends
Children should be taught of the pronunciation of names of their families
and friends and see photographs of friends and families too. Teachers
can ask children to bring photographs to school. It can be of friends,
family and of themselves. A discussion can take place about the people
in the photograph. Questions can be asked, like, do they know the name
of the person in the photo? Were they happy or sad when the photo was
taken? Does it look pretty? Talk about brothers and sisters in photos.
Ask how old they were at the time when the photo was taken.
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Mention grandparents and how they are related to them. Discuss being
friendly with neighbours, go to the shops together, try to invite each
other over to your homes, it will be quite interesting to know about each
other in different ways. Revise these themes weekly at school so the
children can remember and learn a lot from this aspect. They learn to
communicate better in class, when discussions are carried out more
often.
Our community
Have discussions about what a community consists of. Our community
consists of houses, streets, pavements, churches, temples, mosques,
health clinics, pre-schools, crèches, play schools, day-care centres,
shopping complexes, doctor's surgeries and libraries, optometrists, parks,
etc. These we have for the people of our community.
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Some people go to the community centres to have lessons on certain
interests that they would like to share with others of their own age group.
With the supervision of an adult, a child can take walks or organise an
excursion to explore the community centres. They can be told about their
community centres. For instance, about the churches, the kind of people
that goes to church, talk about the mosques, about the kind of people that
go to mosques, also about the temples, the kind of people that go to
temples too.
Children can observe their surroundings. Many people of different
cultures and ages like to go to their community centres. Some people
would prefer to be alone, or would like to meet people of their own age
group. Picnics can be one of a family get together in parks and it could
be fun. Some people attend the community centres in order to join
specific classes to learn or do activities of their own choice.
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Activities like painting, drawing, singing, dancing, even exercising
can be done. Worksheets can be made to show children in class
explaining to them the different activities we have in our
community centre. Children love dancing and this can be done at
our community centre. Tuition can be given to children if they are
interested. Dances like ballet, waltz, and jazz, break dancing if
needed and even learning to do different kinds of art. They can
learn to dress in different ways for each dance. The languages
that one speaks differ from the next person. Children could learn
these too. Cultures of other people should be taught to the
children of today, quite often a child wants to know or learn the
language or culture, and of others because it is different to the
one he/she has learnt.
At pre-school - inside the classroom
Discuss the area in which the children are going to play in and what it
contains. There should be a play corner, book corner, and toys for
children at the children's corner, crayons, clay, and paint for children to
do art activities. This is to get children to be playful and to explore their
surroundings.
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Children can play fantasy games like pretending to be mummy and
daddy, bake, and clean the house in the house area and lots more. In the
book corner they can play quietly, at the children's corner they can play
with blocks, toys, and be communicative. Children can paint and draw to
be imaginative. Using clay, or cooking dough to strengthen their
muscles.
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When outside the classroom
When children are outside the classroom they want to be active and play
games of all kinds. In the playground or garden, children can run, hop,
skip, jump, roll on the grass, play on a swing, play on a skate board etc.
They can smell different flowers in the garden, play with water, pour
water into bottles, tins, jars, buckets, blow bubbles, splash in the water
and have fun in doing it. Allow children to draw when outside. They can
draw what they find or something that they are playing with, or talk
about the object they found in the playground. Talk to children about the
different kinds of schools we have. Schools like the pre-schools, primary
schools, day-care centres, universities and secondary schools. Ask them
about their school and the number of rooms it consists of. What activity
is performed in each room? Who are the teachers that help perform these
activities?
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Do you have families that go to universities or secondary schools? Do
you know how they are taught at these schools? Sketches can be made of
other activities and then pasted onto the board. If children cannot think
of other activities then the teacher could go over the sketches with them,
they should not have to feel bored, always have some activity at hand for
them.
Discussions on streets
Children have to be aware when playing in the streets, especially if the
streets are busy. A quiet street is most appropriate. It is dangerous to
play in streets where there is daily traffic passing by, as children can be
hit by a passing vehicle. Always cross streets with an adult. Children
should never run across a street. Look left, look right and then look left
again before crossing.
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Listen and look for any traffic before crossing a street. Children should
walk on pavements and not close to the street, as accidents can occur
suddenly. In our community we have community workers, for example,
the garbage removal man who collects the garbage from our homes,
schools and parks etc.
We have the street cleaners who keep our streets clean. We have the
milkman who delivers the milk daily in most areas, and then there is the
postman who delivers the mail daily at home or into one's private post
box. There are lots of people who do these different tasks daily, they
have to be careful on the streets as they pass traffic all the time. The
postman wears a cap and a special uniform to perform his duties; it's to
specify that he is a postman. All the others mentioned wear specific
uniforms to be identified as a certain kind of worker. These sorts of
topics should be emphasized to children at pre-schools allowing them to
know more about their surroundings.
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The builders you see on the street, or in your neighbourhood, are the
people who build homes, office blocks, buildings that play a major part
in most people's lives because lots of people work in these buildings,
schools, libraries and cinemas etc. The council workers who clean the
parks daily also wear uniforms; this is mainly to protect their clothing.
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It is important for our environment to be clean all the time. Council
workers place bins in specific positions so one can put litter into these
bins.
The traffic officers are there to see that the motorists abide by the rules
and regulations of the road.
They deal with road safety, robots and controlling of traffic. Fire-
fighters are called out when there are fires that cannot be
controlled that easily. These men wear uniforms that are brightly
coloured. Fire-brigades are what firemen drive in case of an
emergency. The siren on the vehicle is switched on in order to
allow other vehicles to give way for it to pass. All these people go
for special training before they become used to working by
themselves. In most cases people train for a certain amount of
years before they become really experienced.
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Health and safety of our children
Health and safety of our children are very important. Parents and
teachers need to make sure that children always have their health
checked and that they are always safe. Having your child's health
checked can be done at clinics locally or at your family doctor.
Children should be told about themselves when playing because they can
get hurt and may need the help of a doctor. They should be allowed to
talk of their personal experiences when going to a doctor or clinic.
Questions can be asked about their visits at the clinic or surgery. What
did their medication taste like? Did they have an injection? If they did,
was it sore? Ask them to describe the clinic or surgery to you.
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What children should do to look after themselves?
Discuss the ways children should bear in mind to prevent themselves
from getting hurt.
Children should not play with any detergents, they can be poisonous.
They should not be in contact with medicines that are "for adults only".
Broken pieces of glass should not be lying around, they can cut
themselves.
All these mentioned should be kept away from children.
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Children should not be near boiling water or oil. They should not be near
a stove, a gas stove or a cooker. It can be dangerous. They can get burnt.
Children should not play with matches. They should always ask adults to
help them to do a certain chore that they are not capable of.
Safety in the area you live
Organise discussions amongst children about experiences of violence in
the area they live in. Each child should have a turn to talk of their
experience of violence and other children should pay attention to that
child telling of his experience. Other programmes that can be done are
the emergency of a fire-drill. It can be planned for children to respond to
it. In this way they get familiar with procedures planned, in an
emergency and they would know how to react, with doctors, nurses,
patients and equipment
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Doctors can be females or males. They wear white coats or a uniform to
specify that they are doctors. They see to patients that are sick, they give
medication to patients and perform operations if needed. They have to
study for many years and practice as well before becoming qualified
doctors. The needles they use are often sterilised after being used on a
patient. This is to prevent diseases. Discuss topics of nurses and doctors
to children. There are males and females that are nurses Ask children to
act like nurses and doctors at pre-school, these acts can be performed at
home too. Children can learn about doctors and nurses when they
pretend to be like one, and can then develop new ideas about them.
Themes: Houses
Children need to know about the shelter that they live in. They should
know what their houses are made of. Why is it important? Draw pictures
of your house and of other houses to show the differences in houses.
Show the different way houses are built and shaped. Make houses out of
a shoebox to show children how to play in a toy house. Little toy tea-
sets, furniture can be made to show what a house looks like inside. Find
out about the area you live in.
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The kind of house your neighbours have and the way their houses are
built compared to yours or others around your neighbourhood. There are
various kinds of houses that one can live in like the caravans that are
used when going on an outdoor trip, the thatched roof house, huts, igloos
and lots more which can be found in the library books.
Houses are of great meaning to people because it gives us
shelter and warmth. Without a house one cannot live a luxurious
life. Teachers can show children pictures of other houses.
Different people live in different homes. Some houses are made
of stone, ice, bricks or blocks.
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Theme: Icy treats
Ice sticks, are a delicious treat. All you need are plastic ice-lolly
containers (available from supermarkets) and a little imagination to
dream up delicious ice-lolly recipes. For a taste-bud tingling snack,
chop some fruit (apple, pineapple or peach) into little pieces and add to a
jug of fruit juices or cool drink. Pour into ice-lolly containers and
freeze. Alternately, freeze yoghurt. Children can help their parents when
performing these recipes and can learn a lot from participating in these
themes.
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Chapter Two
Discovery activities
The reason for the design and development of discovery activities will
depend of the needs of the learner and depend on the program needs.
These are activities that the parent and child or teacher and child discuss
together. In many cases it's the teacher and child because parents are
working and their children are left at pre-schools, day-care centres or
playgroups. Children find out about creating indoor activities, activities
that they can cope with.
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Most children learn to express themselves freely and develop their
imagination through fantasy play. Hand and finger puppets and dolls
with dressing up clothes are an excellent way to encourage this sort of
play. Discovery activities like creative play are one activity your child
can enjoy the most. Cutting, pasting, painting and drawing are favourites
of children's activities. Give your child theme colouring books on wild-
life for example, so that he can learn about the world while he colours in
pictures. Blunt-nosed scissors are ideal fur cutting pictures out of old
magazines. Most children enjoy painting and water-based paints are
easily removed from clothing. Balls are ideal for developing your child's
co-ordination. Show different sized balls to your child while outside and
encourage him to throw them back to you. Learning and copying things
differs from one child to the next.
Some children may learn best when activities are concrete, another when
activities are more open-ended and abstract. One can learn by seeing,
another by hearing, another by touching, and so it differs from one child
to the next. The differences in learning can be done within created
learning materials. For a child to learn, he needs to explore, investigate,
learning goes beyond experiencing.
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Learning should include activities that a child can touch, mould, create
and shape as part of their learning process. By design, learning materials
can be put together like puzzles, sorting colours to create a book or
collage.
Children have to have something to do or learn they feel excitement and
joy in learning creatively. To advance learning skills children should
have new skills and development. Methods of learning that would
motivate a learner to complete the task or activity. A learner should be
challenged to learn or try to excite a learner to perform. Methods and
approaches should be done to provide unique experiences. Focus of the
learner is increased and interest of tasks is increased too. Tasks using
pens and pencils can be replaced by learning games, projects and
activities. To increase self-study skills learners should be provided with
motivational and interesting tasks like, imagination and creative,
expression of a child's self-identity, self-confidence, warmth and esteem
is strengthened. Tasks can be provided to allow the child to pretend, to
create, to suggest and to imagine. A child is allowed freely to respond to
activities.
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At the age of three years old your child may have started drawing
pictures which represent people, animals or items, even if to mom's
untrained eye they look like mere squiggles on paper. Once he reaches
four or five, he'll be able to draw more realistic representation of what he
sees, although abilities vary enormously. Try using art to stimulate your
child's creativity in the following ways:
Once your child has drawn a picture, ask him to make up a story about it.
You could even write the words down and stick them to the picture, like
a cartoon.
You might find that he tends to copy favourite TV characters instead of
drawing his own. You can encourage him to elaborate on the theme by
adding his own characters to the picture.
If your child keeps drawing monsters, ask him to tell you what the
monsters mean to him. If he is frightened of them, suggest he comes up
with a way to get rid of them.
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Pre-schoolers are seldom influenced by outside opinion of what "right"
colours are and may have a favourite colour which dominates their
pictures, simply because the colour delights them.
As your child gets older, encourage him to let his imagination run freely
and to adapt what he sees to create original drawings instead of simply
reproducing what's in front of him.
Hopefully, his lack of conventional thought will carry over into
other areas of his life as well.
Discovery materials and activities
By allowing or telling your child to use designed tasks activities, their
learning can be pleasurable and successful. They will have confidence
when approaching activities and will be willing to complete activities
with little or no assistance. This will allow your child to have a positive
attitude towards learning. Use creative learning materials for daily
assignments, like phonic tasks. A special corner in your classroom can
be used for creativity and free time. You can get your child to perform a
project at this special corner. Organise special corners that are
educational, where children can perform various activities.
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Ways to create tasks at home
In your child's playroom set a special corner with crayons, felt-tipped
pens, pens, pencils, rulers, clay, a blunt-nose scissors and paper. A child
can use this area to perform various activities of his own imagination.
Set aside activity time at home daily, your child will enjoy these times
and have excitement in doing his activities. You will know your child's
weakness in various activities. Allow your child a day in a week to play
a night game with other family members. Spend some time at the library,
get tasks from a library book for your child to approach and complete.
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Use of cards
Using cards of various colours and shapes are learning tasks. Patterns on
cards are also used. Usually try to focus on one specific activity.
Through unique experiences the learner is motivated and challenged to
perform various tasks. Sorting of pictures, colours, shapes and activities
that require matching are highly motivating to learn Hobbies are some
activities that children can have, like horse-riding, collecting of stamps
of different countries, coins, learning to bake or cook, collecting of little
charms etc.
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Making of folders
Cut and paste two plain pieces of paper on one side only. You can make
it look like a folder by having holes punched in it or you could have file
clips to hold it together. Pictures can be stuck on the front to make it
look attractive. In this folder you can keep lots of your personal
belongings like little newspaper articles and so on. Using specific words
from stories, poems and rhymes you can ask children to form sentences
and see how many they can do.
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Additional activities
Keep a chart of a well-balanced diet for children and keep note of
daily eating habits. Take children out to supermarkets so they are
able to know and identify the different fruits and vegetables on
their own. A well balanced diet is very important for their bodies.
Encourage children to have fruits and vegetables and bran foods
daily. Plenty of fresh juices, milk and water are healthy to have.
Rhyming of words
The learner will have to match words that end in the short sounds.
For example: bat, cat, rat, and mat, sat, fat
Pot, cot, lot, dot, not, hot
Fin, grin, din, tin
Live, dive, jive, five
Met, net, get, set, let, pet
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Vowel sounds
Words with long vowel sounds: light, ruler, teach, break
Short vowel sounds
Lend, bend, send, mend, bind, duck, chick, gent, cot, etc.
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Art
Thicker and less sticky than mud, and more applicable than clay is, ideal
for modelling objects of art. It's also cheap and can be used over and
over again. Show your child how water makes clay pliable and
encourage him to mould shapes, using a finger dipped in water to
smooth over any cracks which appear. Clay should be modelled on a
non-porous surface, like plastic wrapped in a damp cloth when you've
finished using it, to prevent it from drying out. It can be purchased from
art shops.
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Art Activities:
Marvellous construction toys and play dough
Any building activity presents plenty of hand-eye co-ordination
challengers to pre-schoolers. Even before your child is a year old he can
benefit from nesting and stacking toys and large but simple building
blocks; and play dough, graduating to more complicated models through
the pre-schooler's years. By using construction toys and play dough, your
child will learn:
Shapes, colours and sizes
Fine finger movements
Balance
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To sort and group items
From two years old, as your child becomes more imaginative in his play,
he'll start to make simple cars and houses out of uncomplicated blocks.
He'll also develop fine-finger control and a greater understanding of how
things fit together.
Building block-kits with vehicles, people and animals will encourage
him to use his imagination and to add on ideas of his own. Young
children enjoy playing with crayons, that's what every child wants to do
when they are just pre-schoolers or even younger.
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They like to draw or scribble on walls or paper, the enjoyment coming
from seeing the different shapes and colours they can make. This activity
is most enjoyed on bad weather days when one has to stay indoors.
These scribbles that a child makes mean something to him as it is how he
actually learns to write and draw and eventually it will lead to circles or
even showing pictures. By praising your child for the scribbles makes
him feel that his work is important and appreciated. They also feel proud
and very much encouraged.
Nursery rhymes, at the age of two a child starts to enjoy rhymes and
sing-along tapes that are super for encouraging them to sing and dance
and to perform the appropriate actions. This is a good idea for an indoor
activity. Children can play sing-along games with other members of the
family. It can encourage your child to enjoy nursery rhymes even more
at his age.
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Providing indoor activities for children
Painting and drawing are a wide range of activities for your child. It is
also important for him to use crayons that are thick enough to hold.
Drawing for children is a universal process. They don't need to be shown
what to do when working with paint or crayons because it happens
automatically.
As their powers of observation and muscles develop, they learn better.
All parents or teachers need to do is to provide lots of plain paper,
crayons and lots of time for the child to draw and be occupied.
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Painting is more appealing than drawing. The child is able to mix paint
colours together and making strokes with the paint brush has a very
interesting effect. Using bright colours for blotches are the first paintings
of a child. At first he will not use colours of paint as needed but as time
goes on it will be shown in their choices.
It's important for children to paint whenever they want to without fuss
or trouble. When a child wants to paint, make sure that the table he is
going to work on is fully covered with old newspaper. Also, the child
working with paint must have an apron on to protect the clothing. Use
thick brushes, they are most popular, and also have thin brushes
available. An early interest in painting for children is much more
interesting because it will give them that creative thinking. So, it's good
to encourage children to paint as it is one of the most glorious parts of
creativity in a child's life. It's also a good idea that they have the ability
to paint whenever they want, and it should be done freely.
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Materials used for painting
One can do painting with lots of other tools other than just paint brushes.
Children can use old toothbrushes, sponges, straws or any unwanted
tools that have patterns on it. Painting can be done outside if it is a
sunshine day as this will allow the paint to dry quicker.
Cutting of shapes to use when painting (Collage)
Cut shapes of thick cardboard, shapes could be of a butterfly, of squares,
of circles, triangles, oval, rectangle etc. This can be done very easily
with different colours of paint to make it look attractive. Children can
then paint the shapes and have them cut and pasted into a book. This is
called a collage.
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Colours mixed
Children love using bright colours irrespective of what they use,
be it paint or crayons. So, by allowing your child to mix the bright
colours like red, yellow and orange it makes all sorts of colours.
It's something for your child to enjoy by himself and have new
experiences with.
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Art at home
This is an excellent idea or way to stimulate your child's mind and
to encourage creative thoughts that will keep him happily
entertained for hours. While colouring-in books can be lots of fun,
your child can also creatively benefit from having to come up with
his own pictures with just a large blank piece of paper and some
crayons in front of him.
Paint painting
Making a mark with an object on a piece of paper is most satisfying with
children. All you need to do is to provide them with paper and brightly
coloured objects like cotton reels, corks, old toys, leaves, twigs etc.
Alphabets can be made from thick cardboard which can also be used.
Prints can be made by hand and foot as well. Dip your child's palm, or
foot, into the paint, and place on a plain piece of paper, making designs
of all different sizes of hands or feet. Potatoes can be cut into different
sizes and shapes and can be printed with paint and different patterns
could be made with it.
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Riot of colour and imagination
Your child's artistic talent is more likely to blossom if he has no fear of
breaking painting 'rules'. Being given the freedom to experiment with
colour, shape and technique is what opens the doors to the enchanting
world of art.
Forget the traditional easel, paint on the floor instead (cover it with
newspaper for protection). You'' find that your child's art will reflect his
interests, whether it is trips to the park or to the beach, his pets or
favourite video character. He'll learn to observe the world more closely
and have fun interpreting his adventures and feelings. Anything goes
when you paint.
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Houses don't have to look real and elephants can be pink. The more
freedom he has to express himself, the more enthusiastic your young
painter will be and his pictures will reflect his personality. Avoid
analysing your child's art for him. What you see and what he may be
trying to paint could be worlds apart. Ask him what he is drawing and
comment favourably on his use of colour or the interesting pattern of
lines on the page.
Different strokes
Don't restrict your child to paintbrushes; try these ideas for interesting
results:
Let him use his fingers and toes (water based paints only)
Give him a feather to paint with or a straw to blow the paint through
Leaves make excellent stencils, as do plastic party cutters in assorted
shapes
Fat and thin brushes will inspire your child to experiment with paint
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Cotton wool and sticks make interesting patterns in water colour paint
Cut a potato in half and carve an interesting shape into it Your child can
dip it into the paint and stamp patterns with it.
Joint project
The most rewarding way to help your child to learn about the joy
of painting is to experience it yourself. Tap into this sense of
wonder and join him. If you don't have much faith in your artistic
abilities, see it as doodling and enjoy it. Painting with your left
hand (if you are right handed), or vice versa, will add to the no
rules fun. Work with your child on a painting - you paint a line
then suggest he adds a line and so on. In this way you will
develop a new way of communication with each other. Most
importantly, remember the point of painting is to connect with your
feelings and creativity, and not about achieving perfect results.
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Painting tips
Give your child large sheets of paper to paint on so that he can splash
out.
Keep painting sessions short, as pre-schoolers have a limited attention
span. Half an hour to an hour is enough.
Show him how to wash his brushes between colours.
Let your budding artist develop his new skill at his own pace.
Always use water-based paints as it washes off easily.
Don't distract him from his efforts by complaining about the mess.
Once he's finished, display his works of art where everyone can see
them.
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Pleasure of painting
During the early years your child is like a little sponge, continually
absorbing new information and ideas. The pre-school years are an ideal
time to encourage your child's creative thought and painting is an
imaginative way for him to express his feelings and interpret life as he
experiences it. Even a child who prefers action to art will enjoy painting
if it's specially geared to his personality and interests. It's how to
encourage your budding Picasso.
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Playing games (fantasy) not real
Children enjoy playing games such as house games and a bit of story
acting and dressing up games. To make a house they would need a large
box. Children could have toys inside the box like toy tea-sets, dolls, toy
pots and pans, whatever is needed to make it look like a home.
They can pretend to be cooking and entertaining a family or friend. Ask
children to dress up as clowns or some elegant lady, play parts of a play
from one of their story books. It could be fascinating playing the
characters in the story book. It can improve your child's vocabulary.
When applying make-up check for allergic reactions. Do not leave
make-up too long on the child's face.
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Let’s pretend. Make believe lets your child shape his world as he
finds his place in it. There might be a place for you too. Pretend
play is a crucial element in your child's development (ages 2-3
years). By the time a child is two, parents begin to focus on school
readiness. It's certainly helpful to sing number rhymes or paint out
letters in a book. Exploration makes the child better able to absorb
the facts of the world, numbers, colours, shapes or the alphabet.
Opportunity allows them to start developing their own way of
controlling themselves.
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Get into shapes
Spotting shapes may seem pure fun. What child can resist posting
circles, squares or stars through a shape-sorter or trying to cram his
shoes through the flip-lid bin in the kitchen and then wondering why
different shapes cannot fit together? Identifying shapes is, however, an
important learning skill. It aids your child's visual discrimination and
ability to recognise both numbers and letters when it's time for him to
read. As your pre-schooler matches, sorts and puts names to shapes, he's
developing basic language and mathematical concepts through active
play and discussion. Here are some simple yet, effective ideas for
activities you can share at home.
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Games with shapes
Start by assembling your props. Make an assortment of squares,
rectangles, circles, semi-circles, triangles, diamonds, ovals and stars out
of coloured cardboard or foam.
Make a shape post-box
Take a large piece of cardboard and cut out a square hole, a triangular
hole, a rectangular hole and a circle, making sure that they are slightly
bigger than your cardboard or foam shapes. Fold the cardboard and
staple or tape it together to form a cylindrical post-box.
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Spot odd one out
Place four squares and a rectangle together on a tray and ask your child
which is the odd one out. You can repeat this activity using a variety of
combinations.
Test his memory
Put five different shapes on a tray and let your child have a good
look at them. Now ask him to close his eyes while you take one
away. Can he tell which shape is missing?
Make a sequence
Prepare a double-set of various shapes, and then make a simple sequence
of three to four shapes, for example, a square, circle, triangle and a star.
Ask your child to copy the sequence by placing the identical shapes on
top of one another.
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Creative shape
There are various other games you can play with shapes designed to
stimulate your child's creativity.
Build towers with blocks and bricks of different shapes
This helps your child to learn which shapes are the most stable and
which fit together well.
Dot-dot - drawing shapes
Draw four dots, indicating the points of a square and pencil in a tiny
arrow to show in which direction your child's crayon should travel. Let
him join the dots. Do the same with circles, rectangles or a triangle.
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Trace-it
Draw a shape, then tape a piece of tracing paper on top and ask your
child to draw the outline carefully on the tracing paper following the
picture. This can be done in most pictures.
Stencil shapes
Make cardboard stencils of various shapes and get your child to
draw around them. He can colour them in and cut them out
afterwards
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Use his sense of touch
Draw shapes on a page after you have spread some glue on it
and then sprinkle sand, sugar or glitter on top. Once it's dry your
child can feel the textures of each and it can also be done with
shapes. He can become familiar with the textures of each shape
that's been spread with the different kinds of grain.
A world of shapes
Whether your child's splashing about in the bath or travelling with you in
the car, you can play 'spot the shape' games, as we're surrounded by
shapes all the time.
At home
Look for big shapes like windows, doors, TV, washing machine
(including the window of the washing machine), bed, bookcase
and rugs. Then move onto smaller items like plates, saucers,
table-mats, place mats and bathroom tiles (point out how they fit
together exactly).
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Out and about
During a car journey, look out for different shaped road signs and name
boards, for example triangular, circular and rectangular or diamond-
shaped, even an oval shape.
Shapes on plates
You could arrange food on your child's plate in different shapes,
for example a pile of peas and a square of mashed potatoes.
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Food itself also comes in various shapes, for instance a round
hamburger patty as well as fruits and vegetables. Oranges, peas
and meatballs are also rounding. Fish fingers are rectangular and
you also get square sandwiches.
Toys that shape up
These are great toys for teaching shape awareness.
Shape sorters, starting with the most basic and progressing to more
elaborate containers with complex shapes.
A set of building bricks in a range of shapes and sizes.
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Information about Shapes
Jigsaw puzzles will encourage your child to look carefully at shapes and
to try to fit them together. Start with simple peg jigsaws or inset boards,
where a small number of pieces fit into a surround.
It's best to teach your child the names of shapes right from the
start, as they become part of his everyday vocabulary. For
example refer to circles and squares and not to 'rounds' or 'boxes'.
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Making of flash cards
Make some flash cards with action words on and ask your child to
do the action of each word. Words like run, jump, skip, turn
around, bend, kneel, frog jumps, duck walks, hop and lots more
that you can think about.
Collecting of various small treasures for children
Children enjoy collecting beads, shells, cans, stickers, badges, old
pencils, old ribbons, strings, little charms, key rings and so on. All of
which will be piled up in corners of the playroom. In this way they learn
a lot about the collectables, so that by the time they start school they are
familiar with the way the little collectables feel and they also know how
to count.
Get your child interested in comparing the collectables.
Which are round, short and dark in colour?
What are the names of each collectable?
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Go on to describing the family of the child.
How tall or short is mum or dad?
What is the colour of the child's hair?
What is the colour of the child's eyes?
They can make pictures of their parents and stick them on the walls. This
will get your child to talk descriptively and he will also be aware of how
his parents look.
All collectables of children can be used to decorate when sending gifts,
for instance beads can be stuck on to the gift wrap. Some coloured dust
can be put on to the gift wrap to make it look shiny or glittery.
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Learning to understand and observe numbers
As seen on the previous page the activities of allowing your child to
learn is the activity of collectables. These differ from child to child as
others may be just ready to start school by knowing enough to start off as
a first time at school and others will want to go on further (knowing
more).
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These children learn every day with each other, also with other activities.
Children must never be forced to learn or take part in games they don't
feel like. Choose a time when you and your child are relaxed to
participate in activities.
Does the child know the actual meaning of numbers?
Many children learn to count at an early age but do they know the
actual meaning of numbers? If you ask your child to bring you 4
oranges you just may be given 2 or 3 oranges, all that the child
knows is that it is more than 1. Below are some ideas on how to
help your child to understand clearly.
Help your child to match numbers
Place two or three balls in the table. The balls should be differently
designed. Now ask your child to match each one. They could also be
different coloured, or sizes. Say "There are six bunches of grapes on the
plate that's placed on the table". You take away four of them and then
you can help your child with the answer.
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Do not go onto bigger numbers until the child has coped with smaller
ones, as he will not be able to take too much of learning all at once. Get
the child to add and subtract, he will enjoy it. By using smaller numbers,
and small or big objects, to teach your child is a good experience and a
lot of fun.
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Using picture cards
Draw eight spoons on a card, or using the numbers from 1-10
draw any object you please on all the cards of a postcard size.
Now, help your child to arrange them in order highest to lowest or
vice versa.
How do things around the house work?
All gadgets that we have at home for our use to make it easier for
us can be of some entertainment for our children too. Things like
typewriters, telephones, radios, TV, clocks, door knobs, alarms,
kettles, fridges and so on. So, when your child is bored, help him
to get to know all the functions and maybe you can learn
something new.
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Toys that have wheels
Explain to your child about the purpose of wheels on vehicles or trolleys.
Your child's push chair and little toys like trucks and cars. The reason for
these having wheels is that trolleys are used to serve tea or food to
people; trucks have wheels to move on the road, the same with cars etc.
Talk to your child about your telephone at home. Why do you have a
telephone? Why does it have numbers on it? There is a lot that one can
teach a child at home and about the surroundings.
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Art activities
Art is something introduced to children to form a picture or model.
When a child is encouraged to look, touch and talk about the things he is
going to draw, the more detailed his work will be. Children should
analyse colours of art to be used. This can then be transformed to their
own creative efforts.
Art can be done indoors or outdoors, depending on the weather. Line is
mostly used in drawing. A child starts off drawing and writing with a
line and it is done effortlessly. Children find plenty of encouragement by
using chalks, crayons, coloured-tipped pencils, pens and pencils to make
lines when drawing. Colour is what children respond to for the pleasure
it gives. They like using bright colours and also learn from mixing
colours together to get a completely different colour to paint a certain
picture.
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The textures of things around us, children, are always told not to touch
things when outside but without touching the child cannot know the
difference between soft, hard, rough or smooth. Pattern of art can be
found on face bricks, houses that are built of glass, tiled roofs, leaves,
nature, and these man-made patterns which can be made when using
paint. Children can use leaves, corks, stems, flowers, pebbles and shells
to be decorative on fabric and paper, for instance.
Creativities
Clay and cooking dough can provide children with lots of
opportunities in creative activities. Young children are highly open
and creative. Creativity is when a person makes something for
him/herself and it is valued by the individual.
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Something that one can think about doing on his/her own. When
someone is creating something they have a plan in doing it. This
involves ideas, exploring and using his imagination. Children can
enjoy activities in which they can participate freely and openly.
They want to express themselves openly and want to bring out
new ideas and experiences. Creativity is enjoyed in many ways.
All children are creative to some extent in life. They are not
creative in the same way. Observe children when they are
working with materials. They should be encouraged to share
experiences. Always praise a child when being creative. In this
way they feel proud and know their work is appreciated. Children
find out things for themselves and it is fun when they do it on their
own. They feel that they are encouraged. When, attempting, art
activities use leaves to do drawing. Cutting of shapes can be
used.
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Organising discovery activities
These are activities that are organised by parent, teacher or other
concerns. It's done for a specific purpose concerning pre-schoolers or
adults. Parents should take their children to theatres, concerts and shows.
This should be done regularly as it can make your child aware of what to
expect if she is ever interested in taking part in the dances presented to
her. These are done at an age that she is able to perform such an act.
During school holidays you can take them to shows or concerts and
theatres as this can encourage them in the art of acting as well.
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By allowing your child to see how it's done will give them an idea of it.
Puppet shows and concerts are also good outings. Dancing is a good
start for pre-schoolers as they learn it quite easily. As they get older they
can become professional and learn to master their steps more easily.
Ballroom dancing is a good starter. Practice with your child at
home to mime, miming is a good practice as it does not involve
verbal ability. Parent and child could organise to have some
debate or play at home, a few friends and family can be included.
Children learn from these outings and the more often they are
taken to puppet shows and concerts, the more active and
outgoing they will become. They will get used to different people
and there will be no chance of them becoming withdrawn at all.
Organising birthday parties
Children love eating cakes and all sweet goodies, but before they start on
all of that, you will persuade them to have at least one healthy sandwich.
When your child turns a year old, you would want to give him a big
party. It is very interesting as it's his first experience and you are very
anxious about it. Keep the excitement level down on your child as it can
lead to tears.
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How big or small it should be? Depending on how experienced you are
don't invite too many children as then you may not be able to handle all
at once. The children tend to misbehave and the party will not be
enjoyed because there are too many children to cope with. Rather have
about 6-8 children for the beginning, until you get to increase it or until
you get more experienced. Inviting the parent and child, the parents can
stay with their children at the party for a while, or if wanted, parents can
stay till the party is finished. In this way nobody gets out of hand
because the parent of each child is present. Children behave when their
parents are there. Games can be played after the party.
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Presentation of food
Food can be presented by making sandwiches, little cakes,
sausage rolls, or cooked food.. There could be some sweets,
chocolates, fruitcakes, ice-cream with cones and maybe some
custard and jelly, if possible.
Special day for mums and dads
Children can treat their mums and dads to a good breakfast in bed. They
can buy a card or present too, that's if they can. No matter what they do,
it is the thought that counts. In this way mums and dads feel special. It's
time for children to show their parents how much they mean to them.
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At school teachers can help children to make a Father's Day card or a
Mother's Day card.
Making of special cards
At pre-school children can make cards with the help of their
teachers. They can make a card by using crayons to draw on
some paper and folding it into a card. Teachers can also show
children how glue can be put on the front of the card and some
glitter can be applied on it to look attractive. With the help of a
teacher some sweet words can be written on the inside to surprise
mum or dad.
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Cultural festivals
These are festivals that our community look forward to every year. It’s a
traditional festival. Festivals like Easter, Diwali and Eid. Easter, it's the
resurrection of Christ. It's a spring festival where people buy lots of
Easter eggs, hot cross buns and lots of sweets. At pre-school children get
to make Easter cards with an Easter bunny drawn on the cards to feature
the kind of festivity it is. Get books from the local library to give you
detailed information on the festivities you are interested about. Diwali.
During this festival Hindus, light lamps and lights in their homes
because this is what it is all about. It's a festival, when people make
sweets for the aim to give out to other people. They exchange parcels
from one home to another.
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The dressing for this festival is with Indian clothing, and saris or any
fancy clothing. This comes around October-November every year. It's
called the festivity of lights.
This festival celebrated by Muslims, called, Eid, throughout the world.
They have got to fast for a month in order to feast at this festival. When
it's time for them to feast they cook lots of food to give to the poor
people and for charity to homes for the disabled.
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They always dress with clothing that covers their bodies fully. This can
be spoken to by children at pre-school or at home by the parent. Books
can be borrowed from the library if one wants to know more.
Art discovery
Allow children to cut and paste pictures on boards or books to
make a picture book or a picture board. They can play with clay
or, even play dough too to make patterns and shapes of all sizes.
Art entails lots of creativity for children.
Drawing and painting
Give children crayons which are thick, and paint brushes should also be
thick, so that it's easier for the children to hold and it does not break
easily. Modelling with clay can be of great fun for children. This
strengthens their muscles. They can shape, roll, hit and sculpt with clay.
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Make biscuits with faces by using colourful sweets like liquorice or any
sweet in a round form, these can be very exciting for children.
Drawing with chalk
Children should be allowed to draw freely with chalk. They can draw
lines, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, circles and scribbles. This makes
them feel that they are capable of lots of creative work. If you don't have
a chalkboard, allow your child to draw with a stick on sand or by using
his finger on muddy ground to write on.
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Make puppets
This involves creative art work because you need accessories like beads
for the eyes, a piece of board to cut the shape of the mouth and so on. It
can be done attractively involving art to a certain extent.
Making a collage
Put out a variety of materials of different shapes, colours, textures, like
wool, bottle tops, small plastic lids, paper plates, toilet rolls, crayons, felt
tipped pencils and felt-tipped pens etc.
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This is one of the best ways of learning as you learn the five senses and
it's more of a learning experience.
Making of shakers
Make a number of shakers by putting small objects into a bottle and
tighten the lid so that the objects do not come out of the bottle when
shaking it. You can shake it and hear the kinds of noises it makes.
Children can put uncooked rice, dry beans, beads, paper clips, marbles
and small items like bits and pieces of hard plastic or little blocks into
the shaker.
Finger painting
Place some old newspaper on the table that you are going to work with
paint on, and then children can use the different colours of paint with
their fingers to make a variety of designs.
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They need to express their feelings in some way and painting is one of
the ways in which they can express their feelings.
Making clay sculptures
Clay has a smooth touch. Children should be encouraged to experiment
with clay even if it is messy. They can experience this as a positive and
enjoyable art.
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Making of masks
Masks can be made for children out of all kinds of shapes. Children
should be given the opportunity to explore. They can express themselves
and also gain more confidence in trying to create things for themselves.
They can draw a face on a paper plate and any facial expression can be
made. Eyes can be cut out, the mouth and nose can be drawn and they
can hold the mask in front of their faces, this is very easily done.
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Making objects out of boxes
Children can make cars out of boxes. They can find toilet rolls to make
the wheels, it can also be painted. They can make lots of different
structures out of boxes.
Cutting and sticking of shapes
Children can cut shapes and stick in their picture books, shapes like oval,
triangle, rectangle, square, circle and diamond shaped cardboard.
Pictures can be cut out of old magazines and pasted onto pieces of
cardboard.
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During baking
You can help your child to bake cakes of all different shapes and sizes.
A cake can be made round, in the shape of a car, train, house, butterfly
or whatever shape or size you want it to be. Professional bakers can help
you to do it. Draw family faces in each circle or oval shape you cut out
of a book or of the shapes you've drawn. Creativity is an extremely
important foundation for an intelligent and aware approach to life.
Children can only express themselves when they are free to explore their
art. They should express their own images through art. Help children to
design family cards. These cards can be decorated and words of their
imagination can be written on the inside.
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Having to know about a class tree
Ask each child to draw himself, or the members of his family, on each
branch of a class tree and place each branch on the tree. Names of
friends can also be written. Children can find objects, they can find
leaves in the garden that have different shapes and sizes or twigs, and
they can use paint to draw a colourful class tree. The leaves and twigs
can be used after it has been painted, to make their own class tree.
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During the paint procedure allow children to feel the texture of leaves,
they can paint the leaves and make prints on plain white paper and then
textures of the paint can be felt. Different designs can be made. Organise
an excursion or a day out to the recycling waste material area. A list of
waste material can be brought to school. It can be empty cans of canned
vegetables or fruit, empty toilet rolls, plastic jars, jam tins, empty pickle
bottles, spice bottles, margarine containers, ice-cream containers, cotton
reels, sweet wrappers, milk cartons, cigarette cartons, polystyrene, egg
trays etc. Big boxes that are not in use can be recycled.
Children should be allowed to stick any of the above items
together, they can be constructive with this waste material as it
can be painted or coloured with crayons. Children become very
creative at a young age. Going to places of art or to some festival
can make your child learn lots of new ideas and thoughts. By
allowing your child to go to parties at their friend's house, or for an
excursion to a different place, allows your child to be outgoing and
to feel free when in the presence of other people, and not to be
shy. A child should feel free to ask questions about the new
environment and feel free to observe new surroundings.
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Creativity
Creating a bind out of construction paper is one way a child shows
creativity. Cooking dough can provide children with many opportunities
for creative activities. Creativity may result in new ideas or new
thinking, new creating and new experiences.
Encouraging children's creative nature makes a difference for a child
going to pre-school.
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During creativity identify how the child goes about working with the
materials provided. Not all children work at the same pace, some
complete their art, and some don't. Some children get tired and some
don't. There are a few factors that teachers should bear in mind at all
times, especially with regards to young children.
Firstly, children should be encouraged to share and experience their
creative work.
Ask children to draw their own experiences and stories. Creativity is a
way a child makes something, a way of thinking or acting. Young
children are creative and they can do things in a unique way. Both child
and teacher benefit from creativities. Children become creative when
they are able to solve problems, redefining situations, demonstrating and
flexibility.
Teachers should teach children of the change that is natural in life and
that many problems that we have do not have easy answers. Materials
are needed for creative work an apron to be put on when working with
paint and old newspaper to cover the table you are going to work on.
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Use of sponges or cotton wool can make your art work exciting. The
time you need can be unlimited, you can have hours of fun. Playing
house is part of a child's creativity. Children should not be hurried; they
should be doing their work at their own pace. Keep them relaxed when
working. It allows children to be imaginative.
What would happen if we had no transport? What would happen if all
flowers were white and the surroundings we lived in were all white too?
What would happen of everybody did what everybody else did? What
would it be like of everybody lived in the same kind of houses?
Another question to be asked is, in how many different ways can certain
items be used?
In how many different ways can a knife be used?
In how many different ways can a spoon be used?
In how many different ways can certain tools be used?
All these questions get your child thinking and he becomes more
creative too.
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Try to find out the interests of children and what it is that they can do.
What are the different kinds of drawings and paintings they can do?
What are they mastering at their age? Permit children to work with
friends. This gives them new ideas to learn differently. Activities that
children are working at should be fun for them. When children are
provided with proper material they can create their own fun. Children
must feel rewarded and satisfied for their efforts. Modelling of clay is
special for children.
The feeling of clay motivates the continuation of the activity. The
imaginative use of colour and shape and form can help provide children
with the reading readiness skills necessary for later schooling. Children
can have something to create about by outdoor trips. Pre-schoolers look
in many different ways, touching, patting, poking, and even tasting are
ways for looking for children. When they are involved in creative
activities they may express strong feelings and emotions. By allowing
them to work with other children, they will learn to respect the feelings
of others. Pre-schoolers continually learn new ways to create materials
and activities.
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Pre-schoolers (2-5 yrs)
Their interest holds for 10-15 minutes. Simple activities should be
planned in advance. Children should be spoken to about their activities
before they approach them. They should not be bored as they have a
short period of concentration.
Outdoor discovery activities
Playing with water is a great way to spend quality time with your pre-
schooler and you don't need a pool. A little time, imagination and a few
simple accessories can introduce your child to concepts like wet and dry,
warm and cold, transparency and colour provide a wonderful afternoon's
entertainment.
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Splash happy
Bath time is the ideal time to introduce water games. You don't have to
buy bath toys, plastic containers or any shape and size will do. Throw a
ping-pong ball into the bath so that your child can see how it makes the
water ripple and it floats immediately to the surface, where as a cup
filled with water sinks to the bottom of the bath. Show him how a dry
sponge soaks up water so he can watch water passing through the holes,
the same can be done with a strainer.
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Blowing bubbles:
This is a game that pre-schoolers find enormously entertaining. See who
can blow the biggest bubble, or blow bubbles for your child and see how
many he can pop. Here's a tried and trusted bubble recipe. Dissolve a
tablespoon of soap powder in a cup of boiling water and allow it to cool.
Use a piece of wire that has a round end to blow bubbles and that is big
enough to hold. Water play is a wonderful way to stimulate your child's
senses and a bath is superb entertainment for little splashes.
During the hot summer days your child will appreciate periodic cool
swims particularly if you add some entertaining bath toys.
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You can put your child in a pool outside in a shady spot and partly fill it
with cool water. Stimulate your child's hearing by encouraging him to
listen to the different sounds water makes when poured from a jug, when
running from a tap and when he splashes his hands and feet in water.
Bubbles can also be made when washing with soap. Encourage children
to play with boats and other toys in the water. Give them some ice-cubes
to play with so they can also see it dissolve. Even though water can be
messy, children do have fun with it. Water comes out of hose pipes,
sprinklers, and taps. One can play with water by using tea pots, kettles
and out of strainers, cups and buckets. Ask your child questions about
water. How hot or cold is it? How do you get ice-cubes with water? Do
you enjoy water? What do you use water for? Is water precious to us?
How much fun do they have with water? Do they love splashing in
water?
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Skittle action
Half fill 10 plastic cool drink bottles of the same size with water. Seal
the bottles and then stand them in four rows (four at the back, three in
the next row, two in the second row and one in the front).
Your child should stand about 2 metres away and roll a large rubber ball
towards the skittles. The aim of the game is to knock over the front one
so that it falls and knocks over the rest. As your child's aim improves,
he'll be able to stand further away and use smaller balls. Playing skittles
will help improve hand-eye co-ordination and will provide hours of fun.
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A day on the farm
This is a common activity for your child. It is organised by the teacher to
spend a day on the farm. If you live on a farm then you are lucky.
Children living on farms or visiting farms can discover lots of new ideas
and explore new surroundings. In this way children have an idea of what
goes on daily on a farm. There are lots of cattle, bulls, pigs, goats,
sheep, ducks, chickens, geese, ponies and even birds. There are lots that
are mentioned, but depending on what kind of farm it is. There are
different kinds of farms that only breed specific kinds of animals.
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These are the different kinds you get, so on your visit to these farms ask
questions about it. Some animals are pets on farms, some are not pets,
and they are just wild animals that live around close to the farm. The
buck or antelope mainly move around at night so one cannot see them in
the day.
There are a number of questions that can be asked on trips like this. How
is it that we get pork, beef and mutton? How do we get chickens to eat?
How do we get our eggs? Where does milk come from? Where does
cheese and butter come from? When children are taken to a farm, often
they enjoy it a lot and learn a lot from it.
They become adventurous. There are tractors on farms that are at
work daily, lots of labourers, trees that are used for firewood and
to make paper.
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These trees are chopped down and supplied to companies to be
manufactured for people's useful needs. Children grasp things
easily; exploration and experiences are needed for pre-schoolers.
A day at the lake
Having a day out with your child at the lake can be very much of an
exciting activity for your child. They become very playful. This gives
your child that experience of looking out more on an eventful day. A
child would love to be somewhere different. Foods that can be taken for
small snacks can be sausage rolls, pies, or sandwiches that your child
enjoys.
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You could have a barbecue, if you feel up to it. Allow your child to
take a ball with him or have a kite to take if there is a bit of a
breeze blowing. If there are four or five children the merrier it will
be. They can play and have fun and see some wild like if there is
any. Talk to your child about the different kinds of trees around
your picnic area. There may be swings nearby so allow your child
to play on the swings for a while. It can be very fun-filled and he
will enjoy being able to play so freely.
Going on a holiday
When going on a holiday try to get to places that have beaches or that
are close to beaches. Having your child taken to the beach is wonderful
because he learns a lot from that experience. Carrying a first-aid kit is
most important and don't forget to dress for the occasion. The sand on
the beach has a fine and grainy texture. Children build sandcastles and
roll on the sand. They dig up sand and play with it in all different ways
and while doing that they get to feel the textures of it. A back wave on
the beach can be very dangerous.
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Try not to turn your back to the sea with your child, as the wave can take
you and him into the water. The current of the wave is much stronger
when your back is turned to it.
To play with, children can find shells, stones etc on the beach.
These can be used as a collection, to play with or can be kept in a
cabinet at home for a display. It can be stuck on a board to be a
fancy attraction to your child's friends or families. Show your child
the different types of seaweeds that one can find on the beach.
Always remember to be with your child when on the beach and
never leave him unattended.
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Toddler's tips
Developing a sense of texture can help your child's fingers to become
more sensitive to touch.
Paint with butterscotch pudding - use both hands on the table. This could
extend into body painting. Mix flour and water with hands, knead, pull
and squeeze. Mess in the mud or play in the sandpit. Crawl through
tunnels, over mats, carpets or roll over large balls. Hide under duvets, or
large sheets of fabric. Have a messy day. Experiment with jelly (squish
feet in it too).
Paint on large surfaces with yoghurt or cream (glass doors or windows -
it's easy to spray down or wash off). Play with coloured ice-cubes that
melt in water. Splash cooked spaghetti around in water. (At this age food
products are more fun because so much exploration happens through the
mouth).
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Just because you, the parent, don't like the feel of something, try not to
deprive your child of the sensation. Let him explore freely within safe
limits.
You can do all the above, as well as:
Finger painting
Verbalise touch sensations
"Ouch, this is hot!", "Pat the dog gently, feel how smooth his fur is", and
"This jersey is scratchy".
A parent plays such an important role in optimising the child's
development, the learning curve is equally great for Mom.
Children should not be compared with other children.
You can wind up a musical toy and hide it behind an object in the room.
Let your child try to find it.
Let him help you identify the washing. What is it? Who dies it belong
to? It can be fun to get him to close his eyes and try to identify who it
belongs to from the smell of the garment before it's been washed. Let
him sort the socks into pairs and roll them up (an excellent introduction
to early maths).
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Allow children to help make the salad. Don't worry about bits that get
tasted before being added to the main dish, Dad won't mind and there is
time later for teaching the social niceties.
Find a simple recipe and make cookies with your children. Dress up and
let them pretend they have friends coming for tea, while the cookies are
in the oven. Use the opportunity to talk and listen.
Make your own ice-creams by freezing juice.
Grow flowers. Water the garden together.
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General
Do not interfere with children when they are playing.
Encourage learning about different sounds by letting your child drop
blocks into a variety of empty containers, cardboard, plastic, metal or
wood.
Nurture their curiosity. Let them open your eyes and ears to the
wonderful world we take for granted.
Did you know?
Children often fall or bump themselves because they are far sighted.
They also have limited depth perception and still have to master the art
of judging distances.
Young children tend to look at everything except where they are
going, their feet, the person or thing they're trying to reach.
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By their third or fourth birthday, however, your child should have
his navigation skills down pat.
How to tie a shoe lace
Between 4-5 years your child will become dexterous enough to tie his
own shoelaces. First show him how to tie his laces, then take his hands
in yours and practise a few times together. Then show him step by step
how to tie his laces. He should be able to complete steps of tying his
shoelaces before you know it.
Puppet play
Put on your very own puppet show
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You will need:
Wooden spoon, paint brush, wool and fabric scraps, cardboard, lace,
glue, scissors, sequins
Spoon tunes:
Decide what type of character your wooden spoon puppet is going to be.
Paint your puppet's face on the flat side of the wooden spoon and allow it
to dry.
Fold a piece of scrap material, the length of the spoon, in half. Cut a hole
in the centre of the fold.
Slide the handle of the wooden spoon into the hole.
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Tie a pipe cleaner or piece of lace around the puppet's 'waist' to keep the
material in place.
Cut arms from the cardboard and stick to the back of the puppet.
Decorate your puppet using sequins for jewels, wool for hair, and
add bits of silver or gold sweet papers for a crown or hat.
You will need:
Paper cups, pipe cleaners, ping pong balls, wool, masking tape, drinking
straw, stickers (optional), a thick felt-tipped pen, cardboard, scissors
Cup characters
Decorate the cup with coloured felt-tipped pens, or stickers.
Cut short lengths of wool and stick to the base of the cup for the puppet's
hair.
Draw eyes on the ping pong balls, or stick on eyes. Glue eyes on the top
of the puppet's hair.
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Cut a short length of pipe cleaner and twist around the end of another
short length of pipe cleaner to form hands and arms.
Push the arms onto either side of the cup and tape down on the inside to
secure.
Cut out two cardboard feet and draw on toenails.
Push a short length of pipe cleaner into the feel and tape the tape on the
underside to secure.
Tape the other end of the legs to the inside bottom edge of the puppet.
Tape a straw to the inside bottom edge of the cup in between the legs for
a handle.
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You will need:
Empty toilet rolls, paint, paint brush, masking tape, string, cardboard
Puppets on the move
Paint the toilet rolls to look like a snake's body and leave to dry.
Cut each toilet roll in half width ways.
Cut the snake's head out of cardboard, paint and allow to dry.
Glue the snakes head to one end of a toilet roll.
Thread a long piece of string through the snake's head and through each
body piece.
Tape the string to the inside of the last body piece.
You can make similar moving puppets to this one by using tube pasta,
beads or a combination of the two to make worms, caterpillars or
flowers.
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Caring for plants (seasonal activity)
Children should know how plants grow. What is needed to grow plants?
A child can plant his own seeds in order to know and care about plants.
When buying seeds it should be bought for that specific season. Details
are on the back of the package. It tells you what season it is for and
where it should be planted.
When watering your plant, avoid soaking water too much into the stem
of the plant because, in the process the stem can eventually break off,
and you will be disappointed. Your plant needs water but it's got to be
limited or else the stem will rot. By using a watering can to water your
plants, you not only save water, your plant is also being watered gently
and not with a force of water. Give it enough sunshine.
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To make your own pot plant can be a good experience. Use rich soil for
plants. You can use an ice-cream container for this. Fill the container
with rich soil. Water your plant daily and do not use too much water, just
a little each time. Plants do need water more than animals do. Using
library books about caring for plants can give you lots of information.
For your child to know more about plants it is best for him to grow his
own or watch documentaries on television.
Children should be taught at an early age about trees, plants that we all
have some interest for in our homes and gardens. They should be taught
how to plant flowers or a plant that they find some interest in. Teachers
can ask children to bring seeds of a certain plant and they can plant the
seed together and watch it grow. Trees and plants are very important to
us.
We should take good care of our plants in our environment. When it
comes to a day like Arbour Day, just about everyone plants a tree on that
day. This day signifies the kind of day it is.
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A day for caring for plants, but that doesn't only happen on that day, this
happens every day. When children show their interest in plants at a
young age they take good care of plants as they grow. Children are then
aware that trees, plants or flowers should not be destroyed. There are
many kinds of trees like Gum trees, Poplar, Wattle, Christmas trees,
Pride of India. Then we have fruit trees like peach, apple, guava, plum,
paw-paw, fig and many more. There are also trees that have pretty
flowers and there are those that don't have flowers. All these plants need
to be taken care of. There are ways in which one can get into a habit of
caring for plants by following instructions at the back of the seed
package, one can use his own soil to plant a seed and watch it grow, and
you can then make your special tree grow properly. Flowers can be
bought for your loved ones. They can be put into vases of water and you
can see which stems are thick or thin, long or short.
Study leaves of trees and you will notice the differences, also the veins
on the leaves. Children can examine roots of plants and trees.
Roots of onion bulbs can be seen through the glass it is placed in,
and you can change its water often. One can compare the roots of
a bulb with other roots and see the difference.
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Ground covers are also good plants to have. These grow by just a
small stem and before you know it the ground is covered with it.
These are called ground covers because they cover the ground in
the way that it grows. With a bit of talking to your plants and
tender loving care, your plants can be taken care of and will grow
beautifully. There are lots that one can teach children about
plants. Library books are ideal for this aspect as they give you
detailed information.
Cooking with young children
Children enjoy cooking activities together in a kitchen. They learn best
when using the sense of touch and taste. Children that have the
experience must be given the food and the ingredients to experiment on
cooking. Children can watch adults working and thereafter they can try it
on their own, still with adult supervision. Children come into contact
with food all the time.
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They see food at home, stores, take-away, on streets and in recipe books.
Cooking of food can get your child to learn new experiences, ideas and
skills. They learn to describe foods while cooking. It can help them to
understand new concepts. They learn that salt and sugar gives taste to
food, the difference in taste when salt or sugar is added. Changes are
observed when children learn to work with food.
Children learn to express themselves and increase their vocabulary,
tastes of food being bitter or sweet, sour, hot or cold, and they also
notice the steam coming out of hot food. If it's taste is delicious or
divine.
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Pouring liquids from one glass to another and mixing of foods. This
develops good co-ordination with children. Measuring skills,. Have each
measuring spoon painted in different colours to give children an idea that
each spoon has a different measure. They will also know the limit to use
when cooking.
A child may need help in holding a hot pan when cooking. Parents or
teachers will have to supervise, depending on where the activity is taking
place. As children work together they learn social skills. They can learn
to cook differently too. In this way children also learn about hygiene
and health hints. They learn about being clean when handling food.
Their fingernails must always be clean and short and aprons should be
put on when cooking. Do not allow your child to lick a spoon or fork
while cooking. Utensils should be kept out of children's mouths. Teach
children how to identify when an appliance is on or off.
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They have also got to know that when working with fresh produce, they
should wash it thoroughly before cooking it. Blindfold your child and
give him some food to taste. You can play a guessing game and ask him
to guess what it is by just smelling it.
Make simple recipes so your child can understand it quite well. Also
make pictures of the recipe with it.
Compare tastes of foods together. The textures and tasting of foods can
be done too. Show your child the different spoons you use when
cooking. Allow your child to feel different kinds of foods, which is soft,
hard, which taste salty, sweet, and not good and so on. Talk of the
different spices too. Young children find it interesting to cook and
experience new thoughts from it. Food activities are a natural part of the
early childhood program. Children experience many designs, colours and
shapes. Foods change in size when cooking. It's also different for
children.
The different smells and tastes of fruits and vegetables can be learnt.
Children could help to clean vegetables with an adult. They can know
the tastes of orange juice that tastes like a whole orange; apple juice
tastes like a whole apple, or even a pear.
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They can make their own juices with the help of an adult. Children can
learn the different tastes of spiced foods and of foods that are not spiced.
They learn descriptive words that have real meaning; children have a
more logical way of thinking. A child's small muscles and co-ordination
develop when experimenting with foods.
Slices of pear can be cut and used in a food experience to help children
with their classifying skills. This provides a pleasant combination of
social, maths and science experiences. In cooking experiences children
should be praised for their efforts, even if it is not up to standard.
Children learn while having fun, they should be allowed to be open and
creative in their food activities.
Cooking with your pre-schooler is a great way to give him the attention,
sense of independence and accomplishment, he needs. He is likely to
show more interest in food if he's had a hand in it's creation. Encourage
his interest by giving him his own responsibilities, like breaking up
green beans, sieving flour, mixing butter or pouring pre-measured cool
liquid into a bowl - all under your watchful eye.
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Before you allow your child to help you in the kitchen, he'll need to learn
all about prime kitchen hazards - heat, glass, sharp edges, electrical
points and moving parts. But, as long as he develops a healthy respect
for these dangers, and you watch him carefully, cooking time should be
free of mishaps.
Here are some guidelines for kitchen safety.
Stirring, sifting and tasting should be done on a kitchen table or counter
away from the stove.
Discourage him from turning on the stove or oven without your
permission.
Keep knives out of reach.
Ensure pot handles are turned inwards.
Don't allow your child to remove pots and pans from the stove or let him
pour boiling water out of a kettle.
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See that he doesn't put silver decorating balls up his nose or in his ears.
Warn him not to put his fingers into a hot mixture.
Use plastic mixing bowls rather than glass bowls.
Cover plug points and unplug appliances when not in use.
Ask your child to keep cupboards closed at all times, so that you don't
bump into them.
While you are cooking show your child how water becomes steam
when heated to a certain temperature. Flour becomes sticky
dough and thick gravy becomes thinner when water is added.
Your child will want to know why ice melts when warm water is
added, and why water freezes when in a freezer. See if he can tell
the difference between carbonated water and plain water by
tasting it and by looking for the tell-tale bubbles. Most pre-
schoolers enjoy washing up, so encourage your child to wash the
plastic containers. Point out how a damp cloth makes removing
dirt easier.
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Learning through discovery
Early learning of discovery is very important for your child. The habits
they learn should be from an early age. Varieties of activities are
important. These learning programmes must be reflected in the daily
programme. No formal learning for children.
Habits formed:
Washing of hands after using the toilet
Washing of hands before/after meals
Taking care/interest in ones needs
Resting when necessary
Cleaning away toys and objects after playing
Taking care of one's possessions
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Speaking politely
Being well behaved
Activities that pre-schoolers can focus on:
Blocks, modelling dough and puzzles are good activities for children.
They also love to play fantasy games. Give them a couple of empty
paper bags or baskets and they can go 'shopping', filling up the bags with
toys and books. A pair of toy telephones will get some conversations
started.
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Activities that can be done together are preferable to competitive games
that set one child up against another. Doing art work is especially
popular with children. An idea is to buy a sheet of poster paper and cut it
into a large shape, such as a house or school bus and provide the children
with a box of non-toxic crayons or use felt-tipped pens, to colour it in.
Set out a basket of old clothes, hats, jewellery and shoes and let them
play dress-up games.
They are also old enough to enjoy making simple snacks. Invite children
to help make their own sandwiches or milkshakes.
Children usually love building, and boxes of blocks and construction
toys encourage co-operative play. Simple ball games, such as throwing
and catching, are also a good bet. Children have to learn through
experiences on their own about health and safety in their early years.
They can learn this from parents and teachers. Health is the physical
part of a child's life.
A parent or teacher can teach children how to be clean, neat and tidy.
Children have to get used to cleaning themselves daily, they need
to know this.
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They have got to learn to follow a routine. For instance, when a
pre-schooler gets out of bed he may not brush his teeth, comb his
hair or wash his face, things like this should be taught at an early
age. Brushing of children's teeth should be done as a routine to
them. They should be taught to brush their teeth after meals and
sweets.
At pre-school teachers can demonstrate on how to brush ones
teeth and the kinds of toothpastes and toothbrushes that can be
used. When a child's first tooth comes out explain to him why it
happened, and that in time a new one will replace it.
Personal hygiene for your child
This is for children to realise to keep their bodies clean, their toenails
and fingernails clipped often and to make sure that they are clean at all
times. Their hair has got to be washed thoroughly, combed twice a day
and this can prevent it from knotting.
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A child should be able to keep himself clean unless he is playing
outdoors, but after enough play he should be washed and dressed in
clean clothes. Teaching children the functions of their body parts is also
very important. Washing of hands after touching dirty objects must
always be done. If the child cannot manage to do it, the parent can help
the child complete the task. Children should be taught to do tasks on
their own, like putting on a shirt, shoes, allow children to become
independent whilst performing these tasks.
They should learn to be tidy and to put away toys after playing, leave the
playroom neat at all times. This allows your child to be responsible for
tasks in his early years.
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A child easily learns about hygiene when the parent or the teacher
reflects it. It should also be important that children learn simple basic
tasks like hygiene in the classroom. The shelves or cupboards in the
classroom should be neat at all times. Children's coats should be hung up
neatly on racks. There should be sufficient waste baskets. Paper towels
are needed for children to wipe their hands.
At school
Contagious diseases like chicken pox and measles. These kinds of
diseases should be spoken about to children by the teacher in charge.
When a child is injured he should be treated immediately and a first-aid
kit should be at hand.
Safety for your child
Your child has got to be safe in the environment that he has chosen. If he
is not familiar with the environment he can get hurt accidentally with
lots of obstructive objects on the ground. But, if under adult supervision,
it can be minimised.
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There should be no obstructions for your child when he is playing.
Toys that can stop your child from playing, riding a bike or from
running should all be kept out of the way. Children should be
taught how to dial an emergency number. If you are in a situation
where you cannot dial the number yourself, your child can do it for
you without any hassle.
Learning about safety of your child
Learning about traffic and to cope with traffic is best to learn with real
experiences. Take your child into traffic and show him how to go across
a street, while traffic is moving or when in peak hours of the afternoon.
Go to robots and allow your child to operate the buttons on robots at the
pedestrian crossing and help your child to cross a street. Always stop
before going to the next street. Listen and see if there is any traffic
coming from both directions before crossing the street.
Walk along streets cautiously. Always be able to observe traffic and
sounds too. During a fire allow your child to be calm. That is one of
many reasons why your child should be taught about fire safety. They
should practice by using extinguishers, fire drills and how to call the fire
department.
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What is poison?
It can be foods, liquids, or creams.
Millions of children die accidentally from drinking of liquids and eating
all sorts of unusual foods. This is because children are not always
supervised by adults.
In these cases to prevent the many accidental cases it is advised to place
stickers on bottles of liquids that are not meant to be drunk at all.
Stickers that say 'do not touch', 'inflammable', do not drink'.
Children should be under adult supervision when taking
medication and it should be medication only prescribed by your
doctor. They should know what can and cannot be eaten or what
can and cannot be drunk. Adults (teachers) should always watch
children during the breaks, when at pre-schools, to see that the
children do not decide to explore certain foods or liquids. Creams
are also not good to be put into a child's mouth. When certain
forms of clay are used during an activity, always mention that it
should not be eaten. Even when using a fruit or leaves of a tree
when doing art, it should not be placed in their mouths. Children
learn good habits in daily experiences, during breakfast, lunch
and dinner. These are the factors that children have got to know
from an early age.
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Expression of an individual
This is when children work on their own with cooking dough, clay, pens,
pencils, crayons, blocks, toys to play with or any playing objects.
Making models out of blocks, or clay, drawing, painting, and also
colouring of books and experiencing music.
Improvement of language
Reading of rhymes, poems, stories, going to puppet shows, concerts,
browsing through picture books, interpreting of pictures and drawings, to
represent stories or acts and having debateable discussions. This is called
passive language. Going through lots of activities can help your child to
learn through discovery.
Like going on excursions, going to interest corners, have objects or items
of interest, having a children's corner, book corner, music corner, study
corner, colour corner, nature corner etc. These give opportunities to
children to learn individually.
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This invites the child to learn, to understand and observe their surroundings. At pre-school
children can play in the playground and find playing objects, they can play with toys of their
own or make some constructive toy to have fun with. Children can take off their shoes and
put them on again. Teachers can observe if the child is putting the shoe in the right foot.
They can do physical movements to develop their muscles.
Fun and games
Skittle playing, this is a super way to develop your child's concentration
and manual dexterity. You can also encourage some gentle competition
between your children during this game.
Fashion dolls. Most little girls enjoy playing with glamorous fashion
dolls and acting out real-life scenarios and little boys often enjoy playing
with dolls based on popular TV characters.
Pool activity, Goggles, snorkels or flippers are a great way to
encourage your child to learn to swim.
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Pre-school share alike
Children don't often share. They don't want another child of their age
touching their toys, be it old or new. Who have difficulty sharing, need
support and guidance. No-one likes to be told "You've got to", and it
won't help foster feelings of generosity. Sharing simply isn't a concept
pre-schoolers can understand. They think that the world revolves around
them alone, and if someone doesn't like it, that's tough.
A reluctance to share is pretty normal, at least until the age of three. But,
as your child gets older he will become less egocentric and will start to
identify with other's feelings. Sharing doesn't come naturally to a two
year old, though he may do it to please his mom, if he's told so.
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Children have to acquire the ability to share and it's a skill that
develops gradually over the first three years of life. Fewer than
threes are still very much into parallel play that is playing
alongside other children, but not with them. At around three they
start playing co-operatively.
Willing to share
Although learning to share is an important part of a child's development,
there are factors that will influence his willingness. Feeling secure is
important. If it's part of a child's experience that when he gives
something away he never gets it back, or if he never knows who or what
will be there for him from day-to-day, he is less likely to be able to
share. But, with a secure, consistent family life, whether with two
parents or one, he'll be more ready to share.
Children who haven't been with other children before starting pre-school
and haven't had to share may find it more difficult. But this situation is
fairly rare.
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At pre-school children have opportunities to observe what's going on and
learn how to behave, and adults assist children to share, help them to
learn to negotiate and talk to them about taking turns and swapping.
Sharing is among children, and also depends on the upbringing of the
child.
Playing safe outdoors
Now that your child's bigger, he's becoming more dexterous and is able
to tackle fairly complicated toys with ease. With your child's growing
physical independence, he will start to enjoy toys which require specific
balancing and cognitive skills. At home ensure that any battery or
electrically operated equipment is kept well away from water to prevent
shocks.
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He is also becoming more independent and will probably become a
regular at your local playground. It's important to ensure that the
equipment he uses is completely safe so that the likelihood of injury is
minimal.
In the ground ensure that he uses equipment suited to his size and
abilities, all equipment has been correctly installed, slides and swings
have soft surfaces beneath them to cushion falls and that dogs can't gain
access to the playground. It's also important to ensure that your child
doesn't use playground equipment in the rain and that he wears suitable
clothes.
For this reason girls should avoid wearing long dresses on playground
equipment. Supervise your child at all times, or ensure he is with an
adult who can watch him carefully. Pre-schoolers are very adventurous.
Playing out in the garden is just what children also like doing. If you
have a garden your child can play with other children and have that fresh
air too.
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Parents could have home-made swings for their children to play outside
with often, and also make or buy a playpen that your child can have fun
with. Children can play with see-saws, slides, trampolines and there are
lots more that a child can do even without the help of a parent. This
allows your child to discover how to climb a step-ladder when he wants
to go up to the tree-house. When children are playing make sure they
are wearing comfortable shoes and clothing. Be aware of them getting
cuts and bruises.
Always have a first-aid kit at hand, as children can get hurt from
running and tripping over some object on the ground. Outdoor life
is most important for children as they can learn lots through
discovery. If there is a stream nearby, with the help of an adult
your child can go to the stream and see a few fish, tadpoles or
frogs. Exercises are good too, this develops their muscles. They
try lots of adventurous acts like flying a kite on a windy day. Have
an empty plastic bag and ask your child if there is anything inside.
It could be a bag of wind. They can stretch their arms up into the
air to pretend to be catching something. It is a good exercise for
the children's arms. Books from the library can give you more
information on children's exercises.
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There are three main types of personality in young
children:
You'll probably be able to fit your own child into one of these categories.
The easy child copes with new experiences and without any difficulty.
The child is willing to try out new toys, new games and even new food
without any complaint. The child has regular sleeping and eating
patterns and adapts easily to changes in routine. He accepts discipline
reasonably readily, usually following rules set at home and at pre-school.
The easy child thrives at pre-school and moves happily from one
learning activity to the next. The child is self confident.
In contrast, the difficult child is hard to manage. Even as a baby your
child doesn't easily set into a sleeping and eating routine and the child
doesn't react well to changes. They lack confidence and tend to cry a lot
at pre-school, especially when the child has to cope with something new.
The child doesn't respond well to discipline because it means fitting in
with what other people want, so they challenge constantly.
Thirdly, there's the slow-to-warm-up child.
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A child with this type of personality is passive. He is not too
bothered about anything.
If the child doesn't like the juice offered to him at snack-time, he
won't ask for something else. He doesn't argue with other children
or disagree with his teacher, and tends to follow the pace and
direction of others. The slow-to-warm-up child needs a lot of
coaxing before he does what's asked of him.
Choosing the right school
Different personalities are suited to different pre-school environments.
While you may not be able to find a school that exactly matches your
child's personality, it's worth thinking about the following suggestions
when choosing.
Outgoing, enthusiastic and talkative
Look for a school that encourages co-operation between children and has
quiet areas that are free from distraction.
Quiet, withdrawn, likes privacy and finds mixing a difficulty.
Look for a school that gently waxes the children and has plenty of group
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discussions that will help to draw him out.
Creative, impulsive and likes learning new skills
Choose a school that lets the children develop at their own pace and
encourages imaginative play activities.
Studious, easily upset by failure and not very sociable
Choose a school that offers lots of 'problem solving' activities and gives
plenty of 'merit' awards.
If things go wrong
Despite all your planning, you may find that your child's start at pre-
school doesn't go according to what you'd hoped. Common problems
include not settling when left at school each day, bickering with other
children, not taking part in group activities and refusal to share toys. So
what do you do?
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The first thing is to stay calm and not to overreact; it won't help your
child if you become anxious. Remember the most problems at pre-school
are minor ones and can be sorted out. And do reassure your child. Your
child may think that having to go to pre-school each day is the end of the
world, but words of comfort from you will make him feel more secure.
Have another look at the pre-school you've chosen to be sure it's the right
one for your child. If not, make the change.
Alternatively, share your concerns with your child's teacher or the school
principal. Try to look for a practical solution to your child's anxieties
which may at least ease the situation, even if it doesn't solve it instantly.
For example, he may feel less anxious in the beginning. He may ask to
be allowed to take along a comforter from home with him. And finally
the golden rule is to keep taking him to school.
He may be reluctant but take him anyway, reassuring him all the
time that you'll get things sorted out for him. Your child will benefit
if you can help to develop these six key traits in his personality
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A positive attitude
Your child should feel positive about pre-school; so that he's enthusiastic
and tries hard at all the activities he's involved with. You can help your
child to feel this way before he starts school by being positive yourself.
When you discuss pre-school in front of your child talk enthusiastically
about it and mention special things that you know your child is going to
enjoy, such as story-time and outside play. On the other hand comments
that may seem quite innocent to you like, "I'll miss you when you start
pre-school", may be picked up in a negative way by your child.
Self confidence
The more confident your child is about his abilities, the more he will be
able to cope with unfamiliar activities. Encourage him by reassuring him
about what he'll do at pre-school and how he'll be able to cope with
anything. Point out his strengths. "The teacher's going to love your
drawings when you get to pre-school". Have a realistic expectation of
your child's ability and potential achievements. If you are always
expecting your child to do more than he is capable of, you're always
going to be disappointed.
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Good listening
Most information will be conveyed to your child verbally at pre-school
so he needs to be good at listening or he'll miss much of what goes on.
You can help develop your child's listening skills at home in practical
ways. Read about stories to your child and suggest he looks at the pages
while listening. Clap out a simple rhyme (such as two fast beats, a slow
beat and a fast beat) and ask your child to repeat it.
Inquisitiveness
Curiosity is one of the main driving forces behind a child's learning and
your child should be keen to ask questions. You can encourage this by
always treating your child's question seriously and answering them at the
level which is appropriate to his age and understanding. Explain to your
child that once he gets to pre-school he'll have to take turns asking
questions and he shouldn't shout out.
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Respect for others
Co-operation between children is essential at school. Your child
needs to be aware of other people's feelings and to respect them.
Help him to develop a sense of consideration by giving him lots of
opportunities to be helpful at home, for example, he could help
you tidy up the toys or lay the table for supper. Praise him when
he shows consideration for others.
Low aggression
Your child should be able to resolve minor arguments at pre-school
without becoming aggressive. You can encourage your child to keep his
aggressive feelings under control by having a structured and disciplined
environment at home, one that's neither too strict nor too permissive.
Explain to your child about the effects of his aggression. "If you snatch
Sophie's toys away from her, she won't want to play with you."
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As your child grows
How do you determine which principles to defend and when to go along
with your child?
Ask yourself the following five questions.
Is this going to cause physical or psychological damage, or is it just
something that bugs you?
Fighting over every uneaten vegetable, unbuttoned shirt or unmade bed
can get you into an endless series of emotionally draining and
unproductive arguments.
Are you caught up in a power struggle for no good reason?
If your anger seems out of proportion to the crime, you've picked the
wrong battle.
If you go along with your child, how are you going to feel about it
tomorrow?
Thinking about the long-term consequences of giving in will help you
determine the importance of the issue.
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Do you have a compelling reason to deny his request?
If you don't you're going to lose credibility or end up yelling because you
don't know what else to do. If you do have a valid rationale, it'll soon
become evident. For example, if you quite reasonably insist that your
child wear a jersey on a cold winter's day, he'll quickly realize that he
needs it once he steps outside.
Finally, are you or your child just too tired at the moment to get into a
lesson on hygiene, nutrition or decorum?
There are times when it's okay to let your child have the first, last and
only word. If you’re tired three year old wants to skip his bath or wear a
track-suit to bed, it might be a good time to say yes. You may decide
that certain issues aren't worth fighting over at all. After a lot of thought,
religiously enforcing the rules can also become a burden for you and
your child. If you're always focused on being consistent, you might
overlook creative solutions that are good for your family.
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By allowing your child to have his favourite food once a week, let him
feel that he has some say in the weekly supper line-up. Parents often fear
that one exception to the rule will set dangerous precedent.
They might worry that they're being too permissive if they agree to their
children's offbeat requests. In other words, if you let your child wear his
batman cape to school once, will he insist on wearing it to church on
Christmas Day too? Parents can make occasional exceptions without
setting the stage for a breakdown in family order. And if you think you
might be giving into your child's wishes too often, take stock of your
feelings the next time you do. When you are able to define your own
bottom line - saying no when it's possible you may well discover a
pleasant change in your home. Not only is it more fun to bend the rules
from time to time, but you may also discover that your child co-operates
more. Indeed, one of the best reasons to pick your battles is that we all
need a little leeway sometimes.
Children whose parents cut them some slack now and then feel
understood - and over time they, too, will learn to be more understanding
and flexible. You may also find that your child's self confidence grows
as he gets more opportunities to make or occasionally break family
policies.
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The parent should know when to say "Okay, why not?” It helps to know that in your child's
eyes serving cereal for supper on occasion doesn't make you any less authoritative as a
parent. When you as a parent know you are in charge, you don't have to say no all the time.
During research parents who bolstered their self esteem, got higher marks and more
confidence.
Helping children discover
Children like playing outdoor activities like playing with see-saws,
swings, step-ladders, jungle gyms, walking beams and so on. They can
play with balls, throwing to each other; learn to play tennis, cricket, bat
balls to one another etc. They can practice jumping over heights by using
a rope or elastic over benches that are not too high, about medium height
would do. This should be done only with the supervision of an adult and
in this way children can learn to jump heights. Races can be run with
each other. Children also learn cleanliness because after their activities
they get cleaned and dressed into clean clothes. A pre-schooler should
learn to be physically fit and try to ride his bicycle during his free time.
They can lie on their backs and pretend to ride bicycles by making big
circles with their legs.
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Go to the shops with an adult, take walks around your neighbourhood
and you will notice lots of cars, trucks, bicycles, vans pulling trailers and
maybe some buses that carry passengers to and from work daily. Ask an
adult to explain to you the purpose of this kind of traffic on the road and
whatever it is that you want to know.
There are four kinds of transport. Transport by rail, air, sea and road. A
pre-schooler can travel in any of the above-mentioned. This can be done
if one is going on holiday. A child can travel in a school bus with an
adult and experience the new sceneries while travelling, see new sights
of nature and see the different kinds of people getting onto the bus and
challenging daily life.
People can travel by ship and see the water that surrounds us, by air and
experience the feeling of an aeroplane, by train and experience the
feeling of the railway tracks changing all the time and of conductors
fetching your tickets.
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Postage is transported by these means as well. To go to places nearby it
is fun to go by car but if you wish to visit a faraway country then the best
method is by aeroplane. Swimming is another way of discovering new
ideas or experiences. It is also one of the fun-filled activities. On a warm
day they can swim and splash in the water, so long as there is adult
supervision. Carts can be made for children to play with; they can use
their bicycles or tricycles to play with.
Children can feel confident, as these activities can be played freely and it
could be done without having to play with dangerous objects. Also,
make sure that sharp objects are not in your child's way, especially when
he is playing. Something different for a child is when it rains and he can
play in the rain. Providing he is wearing a water-proof jacket and gum-
boots. If you have a pond in your yard, watch the raindrops hit the water
and bounce off. If you have geese or ducks then watch them in the rain
because they also love it. Geese and ducks love to stand in the rain as it
pours down their backs. Children can draw umbrellas while indoors,
rain-coats, boots or even a rainbow too.
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One could draw a rainbow to show how you can see it through the sun
after the rain has come. Stick pictures of rainy weather on the clothing
that one wears at that time.
Rain brings lots of water to plants. Parents or teachers should explain to
children the purpose of water. Rainwater is preferred for plants more
than water out of taps. People use umbrellas to protect themselves from
the rain and water-proof jackets and gum-boots do the same thing.
Watch animal tracks and trails
It is best to watch animals if you are in a park or a large garden, even on
a farm. Follow trails or tracks of animals on dusty or muddy paths. If
some animal's tracks are not easy to find, ask an adult. Animals are best
to watch quietly as when you are noisy or if they see you, they will be
scared to come close to you. They would want to run away. Bird’s nests
are found on top of trees. If you find a branch that is low enough to reach
and when you see a nest then you can take a peek inside. If there are eggs
do not touch them.
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In and around your home
Keep a watch for pets around your neighbourhood or maybe you also
have a pet that seems strange to you sometimes. You can follow your
pet's trails too. Animals that are big can leave big footprints and animals
that are small would leave small footprints. It could be your next door
neighbour's dog or a pet of yours.
One could put some flour on the ground to see animal's tracks, that's if
you don't have much of a sandy path. On the flour you will find some
footprints, if you are lucky, you could also wet the yard and maybe you
could still see their tracks. Children can compare the footprints to the
ones they previously saw.
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Encountering outdoor activities
For a child to explore and find out new experiences is something
he could do with adult supervision.
Going to the shops
When mum is going shopping she can take the children too. While in the
shops they can look at the different prices of items, the label of each one
and children can have a look at the frozen foods and vegetables. At the
bakery they can see the prices of the rolls, buns and freshly baked bread
and cakes and at the deli one can see the cold meats like ham or salami.
Shops and supermarkets are not the only places your child can explore.
They can look around their neighbourhood at bus stops and post offices.
At the post office your child can buy stamps and ask about the stamps of
other countries, the kinds that are different from the country he lives in.
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One can also enquire about the sizes of envelopes and find out
on the time taken to deliver mail. At the bus stops, children can
observe the different kinds of buses that stop to fetch passengers
and the times that the bus comes to fetch the passengers. They
can find out about the fare that's paid. Around your
neighbourhood you can observe your neighbour's gardens. What
do they have in their gardens? Do they have lovely flowers? Is
their garden looking neat? Are your neighbours friendly or not? Do
they all have vehicles? Are they working or do they stay at home?
These are the questions that could be asked when observing their
neighbourhood. One could go to butchery and look at how the
meat is cut and priced. Point out to your child the different signs
that you see when travelling. Signs like 'Children only',
'Pedestrians', 'Danger', 'Cyclists', 'Motorists', 'Stop' and so on.
Children can learn from it and mention these to you at a later
stage.
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About nature – trees
Children are not always aware of the different types of trees, as trees are
much too high for them to reach and they seldom come across them.
They are very important to us as they provide us with shade, pretty
flowers, and wood for fire, wood for paper, fruits from trees as well as
many other uses.
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If your child would like to know more about trees, this can be done by
looking in library books that have good quality pictures so that he can
see the types of trees clearly. Trees beautify our garden. Pine trees may
look solid but contain about 55% water. Some furniture is made out of
Pine wood. Most dining room tables, chairs, lounge suites and wall units
are made out of different types of wood like Oak, Pine, Imbuia and many
more.
Children should be able to point out the types of barks on trees. This can
be done with the help of an adult. Talk about short trees, tall trees and
trees that have certain kinds of flowers and leaves too. Branches of trees
that looks different to each other. How big or small are the branches or
leaves of the trees? How old is a certain tree? How can you tell the age
of a tree?
Trees can be seen in parks or all around you. Look at the roots of
a tree and you can compare them to other trees. See if the tree
has roots that spread out on the ground. Does a tree have big or
small roots? How much space do the branches take in your yard?
One can go on and on talking about trees but for a child it is a
good experience to learn from. This should also be done under
adult supervision.
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Chapter Three
Educational trips
Field trips help to enrich a child's pre-school experiences. Talk about
what they are going to see before they go on the trip. Make them familiar
with the trip so that they'll know what to expect. Briefly discuss the
trips; you can take a notebook to make notes, or a camera to take
pictures of the places that you are visiting. In this way you can remember
your field trips well enough to talk about. Children can learn to behave
by going on field trips. They can learn new concepts. This is what
makes a child free and not shy of others. Field trips allow children to
become more observant, to explore places and to know more about other
places. They do learn a lot as their teacher explains to them about the
places they are going to and what it entails. When a child has reached the
stage of going to pre-school or a day-care centre it is time for that child
to start communicating with people and outdoor life. Lots of trips can be
taken, like excursions, which are done at a certain time of the year at
schools or pre-schools.
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The teacher can organise transport and have the children arranged in a
class group. A certain amount of children are in each group. One could
even walk on a field trip. Wearing comfortable shoes is also necessary.
Suggested activities
Talk to children about their school and what goes on in the day. The
postman comes to deliver the mail at the school, the garbage lorry comes
to fetch the garbage, the gardener cleans the garden and mows the lawn
and the cleaners clean the windows and the classrooms.
Tell the children what each person does and then question them on each.
Allow children to watch each person performing his duties.
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Every pre-school is located in a community and teachers in these pre-
schools are well assured of the children having hobbies to enrich their
learning experiences. Hobbies make children advanced in learning
activities.
Organising educational trips
Trips can be organised in your community to help your children to learn
more about their immediate surroundings. When teachers organise field
trips they should try one like going to a store, where children can have
new experiences. When families take their children shopping, they seem
to hurry along. If you take your time when shopping with children they
can learn a lot.
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You could let them push small trolleys and small items could be put into
these trolleys. When organising educational trips it must be done well in
advance. Teachers have got to know the interests and concerns of the
children when planning a trip. In planning excursions you need to be
simple, discuss it and read about it. Give information to the children in
class on the area you are going to, if they are interested. Teachers need
to determine a safe route and should not be responsible for more than
four children.
The teacher has got to show the children how to cross the street if the
trip is a walking one. The purpose of this trip must be known to the
teacher and children. A parent can join in on a trip if necessary.
Excursions are most advanced for children. They begin to understand
and ask questions about their trips and the different places they visit. A
fee is paid for the transport that has been arranged or they walk on their
field trips, depending on the distance of the trip. Children can be taken
to libraries to see the different kinds of books, the arrangement of books
and to see how to use the books on the shelves.
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They can also get to know what the librarian does in the library and what
other people's jobs are like there. Books like fiction, non-fiction,
suspense, story books, fairytales, encyclopaedias and lots more can
experienced with pre-schoolers.
They will have an idea of what a library looks like inside and also get to
know the rules. They should be quiet in the library because other people
could be reading or studying and being noisy can disturb them. Another
place that children can be taken to on a day out is the police station. It
can be a good learning opportunity. Here, with teachers, they can find
out about the procedure in a police station. Questions can be asked. Why
do policemen wear uniforms? What's the purpose of having to carry
guns? What kind of a vehicle does a policeman drive? Children can learn
a lot from a trip like this one. A trip to the dairy is one of the best for
children. It can be very exciting. Children can learn about how milk is
processed and about it's products. Teachers can explain to the children
that a cow gives us milk and it's always pasteurised before we drink it.
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From milk we get our dairy products like cheese, and butter. We also get
beef from a cow. Children can be taught a lot from this kind of trip.
Outdoor life is a lot of fun for young pre-schoolers. If your child is
travelling in a bus with the supervision of an adult, allow him to sit close
to a window so he can observe what the bus driver is doing. The child
will see the kind of uniform he is wearing and he will also be able to see
how the bus driver controls the steering wheel while driving. Another
way for children to learn about every day routines is to observe the
workers on the streets. Tell your child the name of these workers and the
reasons for them wearing gloves. They sweep our streets and keep them
neat and tidy.
Pet shops
An adult can take children to a pet shop. The parent or a teacher can
organise a trip like this. At the pet shop you can ask children about the
kind of pets that are kept in the shop. Ask if the pets in the shop are the
common kind or are they the pets of the unusual kind. What kind of food
do they eat? Ask yourself a question.
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"Do you want to get a pet for your child?" Children can be taken with
teachers or with an adult to observe their surroundings. One can point
out to children the various shops and buildings that are around them.
They can point out the names of streets, shops, the stop signs and the
products sold in the shops and on the pavements. Point out churches,
mosques, temples, synagogues, old and new buildings, health clinics and
halls that people have specific functions in. Go to a playground and sit
and observe other people walking by or what they are doing. You can
talk about the people walking by and the reason for them walking. Why
are certain children on the street and some not? What do people in our
community centre do? Emphasise to the children that a community
centre has lots of entertainment for the people in the area.
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There is entertainment for the young and the old. The people of our
community can go for picnics in the park go to churches, temples,
mosques and there are fun and game centres for children as well as a
gym for those who want to work out and exercise. People can go to
health clinics and fetch medication or have their health checked when
necessary.
There are classes or tuition given to children to increase their abilities.
Tuition like singing, dancing, acting plays, puppet shows and lots more.
There are speech and drama classes, art, sculpture, painting and drawing.
This is to increase your child's experiences and vocabulary. Discuss the
different kinds of people that live in our community because it's what our
community consists of. Lots of educational trips can improve children's
speech, behaviour and give them new ideas and concepts. The
enlightening of the area they live in and lots more, if they do understand
or grasp the reason for field trips.
Field trips can allow children to explore in many ways. Parents
can be involved as well as teachers depending on where the
activity is taking place. A parent can arrange to take their child to
a certain place or the teacher can do it.
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Educational trips are the best as long as the child copes and has
an idea of what he is expecting, and then he will enjoy it. A trip
should always be an enjoyable one and not a confusing one.
Visiting new places will get your child to overcome boredom of
being at pre-school for a long period. It can be a monotonous
subject if your child does work at pre-school for the period that he
is there and he doesn't get much change of scenery.
Learning through trips
It's most important to discuss the purpose of the outdoor trips to the
children involved, at all times. They should be allowed to work in groups
to relate to one another. Trips are always planned in advance. Talk
about the trip that has been planned. A trip organised to visit a
Secondary School can teach children about the approaches of that school
and compare it to their pre-school. At the Secondary School they get to
see how the pupils are taught. A tour around the school helps the
children to know the differences of a pre-school to a Secondary School.
Schools have flower gardens and they also have caretakers in charge of
these gardens so pre-schoolers must be told about this too.
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There's a lady that makes tea for the staff at school. These are the
observations that a child should be aware of at a Secondary School. The
teachers at a Secondary School are more experienced than those at a pre-
school. During their tour they can have a look at the classrooms, see how
each subject is taught and how it differs from the work taught at pre-
school. It could be a learning process for pre-schoolers and help them to
understand the procedures of teachers and pupils at a Secondary School.
Children can be asked questions about the trip during or afterwards.
Teachers should be able to explain to children the differences of each
school.
Children learn new differences about a Secondary School as the pre-
school is not as big as the Secondary School. Desks are provided at a
Secondary School and a higher level of education is taught in a formal
way, whereas in a pre-school, a child is taught in an informal way, and
there are no desks provided and the level of education is a pre-primary
education, a much lower level of education. Children need to go out and
experience the new world. They need to know about their
neighbourhood, the shopping centres close by, and their community as a
whole and they can learn lots more.
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They should know the reasons for people in our community and why we
have different schools, different cultures, languages and nations. Pre-
schoolers have to learn to share, to be friendly, to be happy, sad, angry,
scared and panicky. They need to know about these things.
Trips to the music centres
If there is a music centre in the area that you live in, then your child can
visit one with an adult. At the music centre children can learn the
different types of music that's available; they can hear the sounds of the
speakers and ask the person in charge to play a certain tape or a compact
disc that they like.
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You could buy it or listen to it at the music centre. There are
different kinds of music that one can actually listen to. At the
music centre you will find instruments that one can play music
with, like the triangle, the drums, the bells, the tambourine and so
on. Ask questions about these instruments or about anything you
would like to know about music. What kind of music and
instruments go together? How is the instrument played? What is it
called? These questions can allow a child to know even more
about the music and instrument used. Music could be listened to
in many different ways like in different languages, cultures and
can also make you feel relaxed. Lots of children enjoy music at a
young age.
Religious celebrations
Children should be taught by the teacher of different cultures that are in
a classroom when they are at pre-school. Most pre-schoolers do not
realise that they have a different cultured child in the same class or that
sits next to him or her at school. They have got to be told about it and
will only understand once told.
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Children need to learn about other cultures too. A trip can be
organised to visit the religious places of different religions can
observe the procedures of each one, and can see what is
performed by the people in each of these religious places. Friends
of your child can invite your child to a cultural function that can be
different to learn and experience on his own. Many children like
new experiences and to experience new findings is good for them.
Helping children learn through trips
Pre-schoolers love going on trips and to explore new findings daily.
When having day outs they are very excited. Teachers should take
children to places where they can have an educational interest and it
should be of their standard level. The museum is a good idea, where
children can learn of the different collections that are kept in glass
cabinets.
These could be different kinds of badges of soldiers and can be centuries
old. There are also lots of antiques, many of them given to the museum
as donations. You can also find varieties of coins and shells. Animals of
all sizes can be seen.
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Questions can be asked about these animals, reptiles and collectables.
Which is the oldest animal in the museum? Why certain objects are kept
in a glass cabinet? Are there many protected species? Children can make
notes of what they have seen and what they have been told about in their
notebooks in order to remember what they have learnt.
Going to a demolition site
At this site, buildings that are of no more use, get broken down
and replaced by new ones. In this way children can notice the
changes in their city.
Going to a florist
All sorts of questions come up. What do these flowers smell like? How
is it that plants grow indoors and also outdoors? What kind of plants are
they? In the shop you can see the flowers and feel them too. Children
can learn how to water these plants and also learn about the soil that is
used to grow such plants. Textures of each can also be felt.
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While in walking trips children can observe their surroundings.
They can see how the police officer helps other children cross
streets safely, especially at an intersection. Watch how he
controls traffic. The uniform he is wearing. A special trip can be
arranged in advance to go to a speech of safety where you can be
shown by the police how their two-way radios work and how
children can be taught to avoid strangers. The officers at a police
station can be observed.
Visiting a shoe repair shop
When going to have your shoes repaired it is best to go with an adult.
One can watch how the shoes are repaired. Children can ask questions
about the tools used to repair the shoes and in this way can become
familiar as to how it is done.
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Visiting the dry cleaners
What are the smells like in the shop? What type of material do they dry-
clean for the public? How experienced are they when cleaning the
fabric? What is the cost of dry-cleaning clothing?
Visiting a farm
On summer days it is good to go on a visit to farms. Children can look at
different kinds of animals, chickens, ducks or geese. It will give them an
idea of the daily goings on, on a farm. Children will learn to know how
we get our products from the chickens, the mutton, beef, pork and lots
more.
How it is that life on a farm is so different to life in a city? One can see
rabbits, goats, sheep, bulls and also tractors. By allowing children to see
how other people milk cows is a good experience. We get milk from
cows, eggs from chickens, etc.
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Going to visit the bank
Here teachers can plan a trip in advance in order to take the pre-
schoolers to visit the bank. Children can ask questions about
cheques. How are cheques made to a specific person? What are
the purposes of credit cards? What are bank statements for? Find
out about withdrawal of money and depositing of money having a
savings account at an early age.
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A trip to your own city
A trip like this can be done by just taking a walk around the area and into
the city. By walking, children can get to see lots of buildings that are big
and small. What types of buildings they are? How many storeys does it
have? Children have an opportunity to see robots, pedestrians crossing
streets, vehicles passing by, trucks and lots more. What is the purpose of
robots? Where can one find certain stores? Children will get familiar
with the streets and know what goes on in their own city.
Visiting photographic studios
Find out about the kind of pictures photographers can have taken. What
is the size of their photos? Do they have colour or black and white
photos taken? Do they have a built-in flash in their cameras? Are their
cameras big or small? Pre-schoolers like visiting places of different
sites; they can go to the zoo, post office, fire-station, or the circus.
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They can go to classes to learn safety at home, in their classroom. An
organisation of a trip to the zoo can be fascinating. At the zoo they can
learn the different sounds of different animals, the eating habits of these
animals, the animals caring for their young and how the care of animals
is taken so naturally.
Children can count the animals in their cages. The behaviour of
animals can be noticed too. They behave differently in the
presence of people. Children can learn to imitate these animals,
in their eating, walking or crawling. This strengthens children's
muscles, it develops discipline and they enjoy themselves too.
They can hop like kangaroos, imitate birds flying by spreading out
their arms, try to eat like them and get great enjoyment in doing
this. Children can travel to lots of different places to see, know
and experience life. They also get to know the purpose of the
environment centres, zoo or places where activities are
happening and wherever there is knowledge for children. If they
have these outings often they will not feel closed in and will like to
be in public.
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Is your child competitive?
Once your pre-schooler starts to say things like, "I'm going to win" or
"I'm faster than you are", you will know he's starting to become
competitive. While children three years and younger show little interest
in how well their peers are doing in an activity and are more interested in
finding out about each other and their environment, from about four
years they will start to compare what they're doing with other children.
After research it has been proven that before a child's ready to compete,
he needs to be able to complete a task in sequence, without being
reminded what to do, and be able to make detailed comparisons. For this
reason, after research, it is said that children simply aren't mentally or
physically ready to compete against each other until four or five years of
age.
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Jack and the beanbag
Here is the perfect winter playroom accessory for pre-schoolers. Made
from durable brightly coloured fabric, this soft toy doubles as a chair. It
also has a durable, machine washable outer cover. Children of this age
group love these.
A day in the life of a pre-schooler
What does go on at a pre-school? Every pre-school wants to ensure that
each child's given the opportunity to develop confidence, has an
enquiring mind as well as the courage and skills to meet the challenges
of formal school life. A pre-school isn't a smacking school, it is a talking
school. Life skills, like how to make friends and decide between the
jungle-gym and go-cart track are all part of every child's play. It is early
in the morning and moms and dads rush to drop their children off, with
smiles and goodbye hugs. The teachers at pre-school sit on a low stool at
eye level with the pupils, greeting each with a warm hello. On a certain
day like 'red day', children are asked to wear something red.
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This is one of the ways children can learn all about colours. While the
children wait for their friends to arrive, they can play and paint on red
paper. Soon they will b e called to sit in a talking circle which happens
once the children have put away toys. After a roll call, it is sing-along-
circle time and then they will play a memory game with farm animal
drawings. Every day their teacher chooses helpers, called servers, to do
things for her.
A specific child is a server and has to choose a picture to show what kind
of weather they're having - burr, today it's a cold day, but not too cold to
play outside. Construction time again. They are hammering cloth, cork
and felt onto wood making plenty of pretty shapes. Yayyy, it's free
choice time.
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They can choose whatever they want to play. Children's favourite is the
glop, coloured red because it's red day. Children can squeeze it until it's
dry or mix water in it to make it runny. It has a funny feeling between
their fingers. Their favourite activities are the messiest and noisiest.
At pre-school there should be fantasy rooms, where children can dress
up and play kitchens, mommies or even doctors. I think this patient is
going to live. At the water table it can be fun pouring different sized
cups of red water into funnels and tubs. Children can get some healthy
exercises. Some children can climb and some are just learning to do it so
older ones must help those to climb up carefully. Then, it's tea-time at
last and during this time children can have a well balanced diet like
peanut butter on bread and fresh juice. But, first, they should give
thanks. At pre-school children learn to be responsible for everything they
do. If they make a mess they have to help clean it up. After tea, children
can wash their cups and plates shiny clean.
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The methods at a pre-school
A good pre-school should stimulate your child emotionally,
intellectually and physically, even though, to the child, it seems like he's
just having fun. Language enrichment, by telling stories using specific
words linked to ideas, and making these words part of play, broadens a
child's vocabulary.
Many children have difficulty distinguishing orange from red, so the 'red
day' theme linked the colour to the word 'red'.
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Cognitive (mental) skills are encouraged using games and toys. For,
example, a child learns the abstract concept of 'amount' by pouring water
into different-sized containers. Children are put in touch with their
senses through sensory play. This is like the 'glop'. They experience the
difference between rough and smooth, dry and wet. Outdoor play on
jungle gyms and bicycles helps children discover their physical limits,
how to climb, jump and perform physical skills needed in later life.
Using his hands to paint cut and hammer builds a child's upper body
muscles. These muscles are essential for fine motor skills and are often
underdeveloped in young children who rely on TV for entertainment.
Using toys such as a hammer and nails, Lego and blocks, or playing with
balls, develops visual-spatial skills. These are needed for tasks which
require an understanding of space and objects in space. This includes
walking without bumping into things, using tools and judging distances.
Creativity should be encouraged from an early age.
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A child can often express himself better through play than in words.
Painting, drawing, moulding and building all stimulate a child's
imagination. An appreciation of beauty and a sense of accomplishment,
as well as the self-discipline needed to finish a task, are all part of this
process.
Children should wash their hands after play. In the activity room they
can cut, glue and paint or play with dough. They also need reminding on
how to hold a pair of scissors. Some of the older children have to get
ready for bigger school.
These children learn about 'long and short' by cutting out paper
kitties and puppies and matching the right pieces together. After
a busy day children need to relax, so they can lie on mats and
wait for their moms to come and fetch them, while their teacher
tells them stories and sings to them.
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Learning to listen
TV seems partly responsible for turning children into bad listeners and
ultimately poor achievers. This is because cartoons and other
programmes often rely heavily on action rather than talking for its
meaning. To sharpen your toddler's listening skills, be vigilant about
how much TV he's watching and spend time reading stories aloud,
singing songs together and reciting nursery rhymes.
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Chapter Four
Books for young children
Pre-schoolers enjoy reading on their own, but their choice of books has
got to be worth their while. When fetching books for young children
from the library, or when buying story books, it should be with an
understanding of their standard level of reading. Language is a part of
children's development. They should be able to listen carefully and
understand what is being read to them.
Lots of young children are far better speakers than listeners. It's quite
common amongst young children to perform at different levels. Books
for young children should be of good vocabulary to allow the children to
understand easily.
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Books that are read to young children should have big colourful pictures
to encourage children to learn to read and understand each meaning of
the pictures. Children should read books with lots of meaning and also
try to act scenes from these stories.
It can be very much of an educational learning process for children that
enjoy reading and learning. Children enjoy looking at large, brightly
coloured pictures of things they can relate to, for example, animals and
people. Three year olds enjoy stories that are realistic from their own
frame of reference. It is useful when stories are told to children rather
than read. Having eye contact in the communication of the story, and to
be seated comfortably when telling stories, is the best of all to the child
and the person telling the story. Preferably a board to write words down
(not too many words) of the story is advised.
Draw pictures while telling the story. Books for young children
should have big and clear numbers and writing should be the
same, big and clear. This kind of writing can be seen clearly by
the child reading it.
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Do not tell stories to children that have a vocabulary that is over
their age group, as this could confuse the child. Books should
have stories that are not too long as children get bored with long
stories. Short and exciting is more appropriate.
Learning to read books
Parents who read aloud to their children, the books that are favoured by
the children, gain an enriched intimacy and an enlivened field of
conversation, debate and play. Parents should not use negative
psychology to stimulate their children's interests in books. A good way is
to read aloud to your child.
A child watching more than five hours of television a day will not have
time to read widely and deeply as he is likely to be an impatient and
reluctant reader wanting instant action and automatically recognisable
stereo-type characters in books and in his viewing. Most literature will
truly be closed to him.
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Using the library
Children should use the library often by browsing through books and to
choose what interests them. Parents should tell stories continuously to
enable the child to understand and be familiar with the words shown to
him. Children should be read to aloud for several years until they are
able to read for themselves. By showing pictures of the stories and
asking them questions can brighten their reading and understanding.
Books that have big writing, pictures and lots of colourful sites can
enlighten your child's abilities. In this way your child will feel more
encouraged to read and would know what he is looking for.
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Types of books for young children
The alphabets, numbers, animals, families, transportation, water
conservation, clocks or books on how to tell the time are ideal books for
young children that are going to pre-school. Books that children are
familiar with are Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Three Little Pigs, Jack
and the Beanstalk, Town Mouse and Country Mouse, Pied Piper of
Hamelin and many more.
Children can find books in the library that have all what they are looking
for. Libraries have book corners for children to read whenever they want
to. They will want to explore these books on their own. Help them to
learn and know the rules of the library. You could have records, tapes
and books that have children's stories on them. These, children can listen
to or read in the library with the help of a parent or the teacher in charge
of the library or the librarian, depending on which library it is.
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It could be the public library or the library at school. At the library it
should be quiet and comfortable. Books can be on fruits and vegetables,
plants and insects, or something that is educational to children and not
just plain stories like fairy tales or any other fantasy stories, but
something that's realistic.
Also, the kinds of books that children can read are those that have
adventure stories, books on shapes and colours, about nature or the
aquarium. Young children often learn words and phrases that have no
meaning for them. They cannot express their concepts in words. Young
children think in simple basic ways so they have difficulty
comprehending adult language that is abstract or too complex.
They should develop themselves to reading at an early age to get to learn
to write and comprehend easily. Development of reading involves
mental, physical and emotional skills, mainly for the child's
achievement. Books of educational subjects allow your child to question
the subjects he is reading, like having books about animals is what you
can question your child about. Ask questions about the animal’s places.
Where do the animals sleep?
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Where do they hibernate? What kind of animals are they? Does
your child enjoy reading about animals?
Organising our books
Making pictures of your stories, that you have in mind, and you know
the meaning of, can be useful to your child. Keep the sentences short and
simple. Always use small letters do not use all capital letters. It is
because it is the beginning of your child's learning experience; he won't
have to rush into learning.
Rhymes are one of the ways in which your child can remember good
words. Poems can have an effect too. Books should not be too boring
and should not have too much action either. Early experiences at home
are of having a playroom. Have a book corner for your child, this allows
him to have an interest in books.
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It's the expansion of abilities acquired in the early pre-school years.
Learning to read is part of the child's developmental processes based on
intellectual and physical skills. Early influences at home of reading
readiness influence the child's readiness of reading.
Books can be chosen from public libraries or school libraries. A teacher
should be able to help pre-schoolers choose their books of their liking.
Children should be free to choose, they should choose books that they
enjoy reading. They can learn about the world and experiences of their
own. To relate sounds, letters, capital letters, small letters, to develop
their memory span, hearing and vision of words and sounds or words,
eye movement from left to right, to enjoy reading and to concentrate on
reading. Write down key words, to remember, to share words with other
friends, and lots more. Organise your reading books as such that they are
capable of reading them and understanding them. Children are able to
learn to read when an adult, such as the parent or teacher, is involved in
teaching them.
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Learning through books
Parents and teachers can teach children a lot from books. Reading a lot
to a child can develop his vocabulary as well as teach him about his
surroundings. Children can gain pleasure from reading books as most of
them read as a hobby and a lot is gained from this. Children can learn
how to speak properly, how to tell the time, learn how to count, to do art,
maths, science, safety hints, animals, plants, nature and about
themselves.
One can learn how to hold a book when reading it. There is a wide
variety of books but it is good to read books that concern that specific
age group only. There are books that have information on certain
projects that you may need. The library is the answer for all these kinds
of books and they are arranged according to the name of the author and
not according to the title.
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Reading makes children confident after they have completed a book.
Knowing what they have read about is most important. They can learn to
respect one another, use new words all the time and to express their
feelings if necessary.
They can discover new phrases, sounds and meanings too.
Getting a child interested in books can help his future ability so
that he can learn about shapes, sizes of objects, colours and
being able to recognise with visual discrimination, simple shapes
that can be asked about. This prepares them to recognise simple
letters and words in reading regularly. Children can learn short
and long stories, rhymes and poems and also be able to read
pictures. They will also be able to see the similarities of smaller
items. Stories can be told and children can understand them
better. Ask children to explain to the class about the stories they
have read.
Helping children to learn through books
Children learn to think and listen to the story that has been told to them.
A world of ideas and thoughts open up to children. They want to learn to
read for themselves. They improve their own making of sentences and
their way of speaking. This is what helps children to write their own
stories. Books help children to use their imagination.
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Allow children to act the scenes from the stories for their teachers at pre-
school. After the story has been told and the acts of the play have been
done, allow them to tell parts of the story to refresh their memories.
They can tell you the story in the right order too. Ask children to tell you
about a certain incident in the story.
Ask questions about the story. For example - what happened to the little
boy? What colour was the little girl's hair? Did she behave herself at
dinner? Did they enjoy the story? Children can pretend to be the bad fox
in the story.
They can go outside the classroom and act scenes of the story.
They should be able to tell the story more than once. Reading aloud to
children allows them to understand and listen to the pronunciation of
words. A child that spends free-time reading has more chance of success
than the one who does not read at all. Children read pictures long before
books. You then hear your child using descriptive words which you have
never heard before.
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A child has to perform scenes from a story to actually understand the
meaning of it. If you, as the parent, are walking around the house,
explain to your child the reason for this. In this way he will have many
clear concepts based on his experiences. Some children start to read at an
early age and some don't. A child should not be forced to read. One that
does not learn to read at an early age is a child that will lack skills and
concepts. Encourage him to talk by asking him to point out items in a
book. You can follow this by discussing the habits of a particular animal,
for example, birds live in trees, and dogs live in kennels and so on.
Show pictures of the story to your child and question him about it. Ask
him these questions in the middle of the story and see how his
concentration has been. Children can learn a lot from rhymes. Nursery
and number rhymes are learnt from books. Learn about the different
cultures from books, cultures that people made in our community. By
questioning children about the parts of the stories, they can learn
different sounds, action and effects of words and sentences.
Children could get books on the past history of their town that they live
in. They could learn the history of the place they live in and maybe solve
some mysteries.
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Get to know about other languages and nations of the world. How are
other religions different from each other? You can perform disguises of
other nationalities and look different from yourself. One can learn how
different songs are sung in different languages. It can be very exciting
when children disguise themselves as bears in a story and also anything
that is unique.
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Chapter Five
Story time
Children at pre-school can already differentiate reality and fantasy
stories. They are able to enjoy humorous and fantasy stories. When
telling your child a story, be comfortable and tell a story for that age
group. Children love to be read to. Books for pre-schoolers should not be
too long as they can get bored. Always complete the story so the child
knows what type of ending it has. A parent should not be tired of reading
the same story to their child for more than once if he wants to. In this
way a child can become familiar with the words in the book. Story
telling promotes the ability of your child to concentrate and they can
experience emotional security. By mathematical concepts being
introduced into the story, children can learn mathematical concepts
informally.
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Their language becomes developed. By using and pronouncing words in
the correct ways, your child gets new ideas, new words, new ways of
thinking, of creating and his vocabulary is improved at the same time.
There should be a board next to you. You can write a few key words on
it and draw some pictures of the story on the board too. A child should
not be rushed to read and understand words of a story or any other form
of learning. Story telling increases their vocabulary, they see different
pictures and learn the moral of a story and get to like reading even more.
Kinds of stories for young children
Story telling is an ancient art for men and women. They become aware
of the outer world. Every day contacts with children's librarians are
essential, as they give talks to children of books with short or long
stories. Through story telling children listen to the language spoken and
it gives them new ideas and concepts in reading.
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Before and after reading, a child's imagination is enriched and
stimulated, as stories of a long time ago make children think of the olden
days and of how people used to live in those times.
Story tellers should ask children if they are familiar with the story or not.
The story should be told in the simplest way, so as not to confuse the
young children. Stories, that has numbers and rhymes, stories that have
a twist in the tale, suspense or fairy tales, could be interesting for young
children. They should not be told stories that have too much action as it
can make them want for action all of the time.
Organising our story time
Telling stories to young children requires time, patience and enthusiasm.
Stories of fantasy, fairy tales or even realistic ones, can be told. Stories
with delightful pictures are good for pre-schoolers and those that have
too much action should not be told to too often. Poetry can also be read
to children during their story time. Story time should not exceed a
certain limit of time.
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Once you have completed a story, do not let the children get bored by
being too monotonous about the story telling. Ask them questions about
the story, make it interesting and they will find it more exciting because
there is fun in having debates or competitions amongst children in their
classrooms, especially at a pre-school age. There should not be too many
heroic tales or else children would only want to listen to or read books
with heroic tales. The same types of stories can be boring for pre-
schoolers so tell a different tale each time. Pre-schoolers are usually
skilful users of oral language.
When a child wants to read he should be able to associate printed
language with spoken language as this requires his knowledge in sounds
and letters. Children can be encouraged to act plays of the story that
they have been told. Reading poetry is a good idea.
Children can sing to it and it's something different as the words end with
the same sound.
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Learning poetry will teach children that we all share some common
experiences too; poetry can stimulate the development of memorization
skills. Acting out poetry can be fun and beneficial in drama and speech
activity for children. When children are allowed to act out plays or
scenes of a story or from poetry, it encourages them to develop creativity
and positive self-concept, and to improve their language spoken.
They think more creatively and they explore their imagination more.
Discussions can be had after acting out scenes of stories or poetry even
rhymes too. This relaxes your child and keeps him focused on the
subject he is involved with.
Learning through stories
Children can make puppets of each scene of a story and this can be a
way of learning through stories. Taped stories can be listened to by
children and teachers.
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Children can learn through stories by borrowing books from the library,
from friends, relatives, by reading each other's books without the
interference of anyone, and they can learn to read different kinds of
stories and learn new ways of reading.
There should be programmes for each child or each group and children
in groups can perform scenes from stories with their puppets. They can
practice with puppets to make their story seem real. Expressions of
sentences can be practiced often to get one to enjoy the story more.
A librarian can adapt stories for creative dramatics and choral speech
and children can play games or folk dances which are a lot of fun. Plays
can be recorded and dramatized at a later time. Writing of poetry and
short stories, displays of hobbies or artwork can be done; the same can
be done with rhymes. Use of films can improve your child's learning
through stories. Story videos are also what children can learn from.
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Children love stories as well as adults if it concerns them, but here the
aim is to learn something through telling stories. Children can listen to
stories at bedtime, or even in the day, or at pre-school. Labelling of
objects around the house could get your child to read the words he is
familiar with. Realistic stories are what children like when they are about
4-5 years old. Some humour can cheer them too.
Learning about culture and different languages can come from reading
different kinds of books.
Children could read stories of different languages with the help of a
teacher, a parent or adult, depending on how capable he is of reading it.
Children could read stories and learn lots from it.
They could learn about how one can use different vocabulary and when
and how pronouns, verbs, descriptive words, commas, semi-colons, full
stops, question marks, inverted commas at the beginning and the ending
of a sentence, when one should use the brackets, the apostrophe, the
hyphen, the colons and many more. One could learn about the four
seasons.
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Why are the seasons different from one to the other, months of
the year, and days of the week, the public holidays, and the time
on a clock, numbers, and rhymes and about the happenings
around us? There is so much that can be learnt from books.
Children should be encouraged to feel free to question teachers
or their parents about the stories or the books that's been read to
them.
Helping children learn through stories
Assemblies
A number of children in class can dress-up and perform acts from
rhymes, stories, poetry and realistic stories. Children can be put into
groups to act these scenes together. Use the children that are able to
animate stories. They can join in stories with actions and sound effects.
Each character can say or do different things like, for instance, one can
imitate Dad snoring, coughing or sneezing, screeching of tyres, hooters
of cars, animal sounds like a dog barking, cats meowing, birds chirping,
an owl hooting, a crow making its loud noises like caw-caw, and many
more. It could be sounds of insects, bees buzzing, crickets or a fly.
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These sounds can be made by everyone. Part of family history can be
shared with the class. Celebrations of different cultures can be recreated
by children. Doing things like this can be limitless. Children can learn
about different breeds of dogs, from books. They can learn about hunting
dogs, police dogs, guide dogs for the blind and about dogs that are man's
best friend.
Questions can be asked about books. What kind of a book should one
read? Is this book a colourful one? Am I going to learn anything from
this book? Are books good for ones reading? Should I read a book of my
level of education only? There is a lot that one asks about books.
Reading stories to your child, while he has his eyes shut and imagining it
happening can encourage your child to read often.
Children can also learn from books about one being affectionate to
another, in this way they learn to be affectionate to their family, friends
and their pets too. They learn to love one another and know how to feel
for someone when one is sad. Learning to be good to one another as well
as learning how to prevent diseases.
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Children can learn so much through stories, also by being amongst other
children. Discuss stories as often as you can as this can get children
familiar with the acts and sounds of the word spoken. By doing this
often, children get used to talking with expression.
When looking for books in the library it should be done with the
supervision of an adult, so children don't get books that are not of their
age group. Children can talk of their own stories or experiences. It can
be debateable and also very much of a unique process. Have open
discussions often. This expands the child's knowledge, learning of new
words and phrases. It also makes children interested in the different
kinds of books of their knowledge and understanding.
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Chapter Six
Music for young children
Music has been introduced to babies from the time they were born, and
for centuries mothers have sung lullabies to them to help them sleep.
Babies are lulled by this soft music. Children learning music at pre-
school can increase an awareness of the value of music in society.
Knowledge of music is important for children's experiences of it. They
can learn music of all cultures, or a specific culture that they are growing
into. Music should be an integral part of a daily programme. It should be
a feature in the children's daily activities. Any time of day can be of
singing and dancing for children. Children are always active and
involved in music in their totality by means of observation.
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They can sing songs of nursery rhymes, number rhymes, lullabies, songs
of nature, songs at Sunday School, they can clap their hands, stamp their
feet, turn around and so on. Singing can be full of excitement if children
are in the mood for it.
They can sing and dance and even listen to their kinds of music.
Music comes naturally to children and adults must encourage them in the
art. It must not be forced but, nevertheless, they must be introduced to it.
It is not necessary for you to know how to read music to children or how
to play music, because children's lives are filled with music, they even
have musical toys when babies. Lullabies are just a part of helping
babies go to sleep. Children going to pre-school or till an older age of
about 8 years experience changes in their growth rate. It slows down
markedly. Young children experience music when playing games like
hide and seek or singing games, this makes their bodies move with
rhythm.
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Children can get used to music by playing musical activities. Getting up
and moving about, like dancing, marching and jumping etc. Making and
playing sounds and by using instruments that can be made by oneself
means that one can make lots of music oneself. Children should not play
with musical instruments for a long period as this can lead to tiredness
and also one can get bored.
The main aim is to enjoy the music. Through participation it should be a
joy, a success and a pleasure for children. They should be acquainted
with different varieties of music. Children responding to clapping of
hands and making rhymes from musical instruments can learn a lot about
music. This is done to express the moods music can get you into and for
a child to see how music can have an effect on body movements.
Musical activities
Get children to play a musical instrument such as bells, drums, triangle,
piano and others will be able to identify the sounds of each. They can
make high or low notes on the keyboard of the piano. Music can be
made from old cans. One can put some shells or small stones inside a
can and by shaking the cans one can make different kinds of music.
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Empty cans can be banged together to make music. One can be empty
and the other can be filled with sand to make a different sound.
You can take two cool drink bottles and, with adult supervision, by
knocking them together you can make a tune. When blowing into a flute
one can play lovely tunes. If you have a mouth organ you can hear tunes
of most of the songs you hear on a radio. One can listen to songs of
nature, listen to the birds singing, birds whistling, vehicles hooting, the
starting of an engine, a helicopter and an owl hooting at night.
Fill three or four glasses of the same size with varying amounts of water.
Tip a drop of food colouring into each, to show your child how colours
dilute according to the amount of water added. Line the glasses so that
the glass holding the least water is on the right. Each glass will make a
different sound when tapped with a teaspoon and you can encourage
your child to compose a tune.
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You will need to supervise your child closely, however, to ensure that he
taps the glasses carefully. Music can be made with any form of
instrument. Music encourages dreams and fantasies for children or
adults and it echoes your mood and makes you want to dance. Children
should be introduced to music at an early age. As they grow they will
enjoy it. There is lots of music that one can listen to like reggae, folk,
jazz, classical, opera, etc. A rhyme or a lullaby can be sung at bedtime,
for example.
'Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above the
world so high, like a diamond in the sky', or 'Rock-a-bye baby, in the
tree top, when the wind blows, the cradle will rock, when the bough
breaks, the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all'.
Children listening to sounds and learning to distinguish between them is
an excellent excuse. Children can be taught by parents or teachers on
how to use a xylophone or a recorder.
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They can practice with a music teacher to get it right. Music can be
introduced in different rhymes, music of other cultures and past
centuries.
Organising music for young children
To allow your child to experience new features of music you can provide
new ideas and play when it is someone's birthday. Children can help
with baking a cake and sing "Happy birthday" songs. Singing and
playing of instruments, songs on the occasion of Christmas, books that
have nursery rhymes are children's favourite books and they can also
sing these rhymes in a form of song. "Old MacDonald's Farm" is a
children's song and they can use certain instruments for this kind of
music. Books with short stories and lullabies can have an effect on songs
too.
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Make musical instruments with sandpaper blocks, drums, ankle bells,
earrings that have bells and beads that can be put inside a container for
the making of some music. The use of a guitar can make excellent
music.
Music is common amongst young children's lives, making of sounds,
chants, rhymes and rhythm. Adults must enjoy themselves with children
so they can see the enjoyment in music. When you are happy and
enjoying music you show a lot of interest. Children should be presented
with a combination of songs. Instruments can be used while listening to
music.
Marbles can be put into a container to hear loud sounds of music and
these sounds are like the banging of drums. Songs are on tapes, radios,
compact discs, on television and in ones own mind. Songs on tapes can
be listened to when one has free time.
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Allow children to get into groups and you the teacher can play games
that have songs and you can sing aloud and play the game, depending on
where the activity is taking place, it could be at school or at home. In
church on Sundays children can sing bible songs, which can be very
interesting.
By children learning the different instruments and the sounds they make,
can encourage and give them the freedom they need to learn the music
that they want to learn. Mime and music is when you mix mime with
upbeat music. These children can do with an adult, they can do whatever
music or movements they want to do. Music allows children to become
active and energetic. In this way pre-schoolers are able to express
themselves in a very natural way. Creative movement activities are good
for children, but you have to consider certain objectives.
Children are to be relaxed during music, they have to experience new
ideas and express new feelings as it improves their co-ordination.
Movement activities such as running, jumping, hopping on one foot,
climbing onto stairs and up trees is mostly what a pre-schooler does
when he has reached that stage of his life. Teachers must plan
movement activities for children to help develop and strengthen their
muscles.
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Children going to pre-school are fully developed mentally and
physically, so by having activities for children quite often, it can
improve them mentally and also develop and strengthen their muscles.
Children must be taught how to listen to music. Observing is directly
related to the child's ability. Music invites the child to explore
intellectually.
Children learn new concepts too. During a music lesson at pre-school,
teachers should provide children with different musical instruments.
Worksheets could be made of music tunes and children should be taught
how to read these notes. Many children relate to music in a different
way.
Teachers have to provide a variety of music because children's tastes
can be changeable. Music can be played in the classroom, at home, on
the street or in the park. Children can sing in groups or by themselves.
They should not be shy to sing and acting singing competitions out when
in groups, or being asked to do so, can make them more outgoing and
less withdrawn.
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Learning through music
The ideas that children can learn through music are the unique tunes that
children can make and how the tunes on the instruments differ, for
instance, the banjo, guitar, xylophone, trumpet, bells triangle, drums and
flute.
Body movements to music
They build up their muscles in the process and can also learn music of
different languages too.
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Children learn how to handle instruments and it can enrich their
lives and give them positive feelings about themselves, as well as
about others around them. Learning about different sounds, soft,
loud, near or far can also be music of a kind. Some sounds last
for a certain period of time while others go on for a long time.
Listening to music for children is good for them as it can give them
a broad spectrum to experience or learn through music.
Helping children learn through music
Help children to listen to different varieties of music. Allow children to
give you the actual music they like to listen to.. Young children should
be granted opportunities to experiment with music. Have a music corner
at home, the library or the classroom. Show pictures of musical
instruments to children to get them familiar with the different kinds of
instruments that we have.
Dress in fancy clothing, they can have a lot of fun doing this. Sing songs
in the classroom; learn to dress like other nationalities when dancing to
that kind of music.
Start to sing in a school choir and you will enjoy it.
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If you like, you can listen to the music of a certain singer or even go to
the concert. Make puppet dancers with puppets. Children can have turns
in dancing for dances; puppets can even be dressed up for that specific
dance. Listeners can comment on the players' music. To develop
patience children can clap their hands and sing together. It is best to be
relaxed when allowing children to sing so they can be aware of their
voices and movements.
Children learn readily when their music lessons are made lively,
interesting and enjoyable. Singing notes like doh-ray-me-fah-soh-lah-te-
doh. They should sing with an open mouth and a relaxed jaw and should
sing complete and simple songs. Music can be heard on the radio, tapes,
seen on television and live shows or concerts can be seen.
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You can even make your own music. Don't ignore music, it can be fun to
know and learn through it. A child can dance in front of a mirror to see
his facial expressions and movements clearly. Questions can be asked
about music too. What interesting or different dance steps can you do
with your partner? Do you enjoy dancing? What kind of music do you
dance to? Children have no pattern of movements for practising or
perfecting their steps. They discover new ways of movement to dancing
and use their muscles all the time, especially when doing active things.
Rhythm instruments give young children an opportunity for self-
expression and the young ones get satisfaction from these sounds.
Ballads, old traditional songs, nursery rhymes etc are a few of the
thousands that your child can learn from.
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When music is taught to a pre-schooler it should be done by speaking
clearly and distinctly. Make sure that children have an understanding of
the song played to them, even when they are singing it. Songs with
repetition of melodies and words are what they usually find easy and
enjoyable to learn from. Children can participate in a song that makes
them feel happy. Choruses can be sung beautifully. They can hum to
songs and experience different feelings too.
Allow children to fill in words at the ending of a song while they
complete it on their own. They should be able to have their own choices
of music to listen or sing to. There is no competition in teaching children
to sing, it depends on the child's voice. Songs should be taught to
children only if they are familiar with it. Some children are too shy to
sing in groups and prefer to sing alone. A child that wants to sing can do
it all the time.
Eye contact in singing is most effective like eye teaching or talking. This
allows your child to learn to have eye contact with people. Children can
experience music by dramatising a song and listening to the words
carefully and then acting it out. Music videos, pictures and instruments,
as well as the help of adult music, can also be experienced.
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Children can listen to clocks for music. During exercise one needs
music and games can be played to music. One game is to ask children to
walk around a table while the music is playing, and to stop the music
suddenly, whereby they must stop dead still and stand like statues.
This kind of game can be played over and over. Children become more
advanced in music and their knowledge of other languages improves.
They can learn the music of other languages too. These can differ from
the language they are learning at the moment. It could differ from
English, Chinese, Indian, Afrikaans, Zulu, Spanish, Croatian, etc. Songs
for Christmas can be sung.
Pre-schoolers can dress up as Santa Claus or during a circus
entertainment one can dress up as a clown and act and make tunes that
are played while the clown does his tricks. Music is most enjoyable to us
and many people enjoy listening to it as one can feel relaxed when
listening to the music one actually likes. It is good for pre-schoolers to
listen to music at their age as it gives them pleasure and excitement.
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Chapter Seven
A Time to know your child
Babies First Books
The first books for young children, are books with simple narrative
lines, that allows a child to point to one picture after another.
Acknowledging the picture, and, sharing books at this age is very
important.
To recognise objects in a book as the growth of good books for
babies and toddlers are simple. Early exposure, to books, and
plenty of time for talk and enjoyment of the story appear to be key
factors in a child’s mind of learning.
Though, children shouldn’t be introduced to books too early, there
is the need to do it by your child wanting to. The human body is
attached to various sound patterns, almost from the movement of
birth. In time the body begins to develop and comprehend skills
as your child attaches meaning to the sounds audible around.
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Talking to your child at this point is important an the special
language of words are essential. During this time in learning,
parents label objects in picture books, even before the baby can
speak.
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Child Care
When you are unable to afford child care, you got to do it by
yourself. Child care, is very expensive, and, when both parents
are working, it can be a hard task.
Being a parent, is a tough decision, but we are faced with many
responsibilities. When you have children as working parents, the
work should be shared between the both of you.
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To avoid frustration, or disagreements, make easy planning.
Work alternate shifts, so that one of you, get to stay with the
children at all times, so your child will have someone, to talk to if
necessary.
When dad works the morning shift, mom can take care of the
children, and vice verse. Simple things like, helping around the
house, and taking care of your children in that time, can save you
the cost of having to pay for child care.
Though it is very important for parents to spend time with their
children, parents still got to work to provide for their families.
Parents, must show love and concern for their children, and, one
another to make sure their children are happy, and, that their
relationship, as a husband and a wife, does not fall apart.
Development of Reading
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Physical development, at an early age, children, begin to
experience communication and understanding of reading.
Babies, now, hear better than decades ago. Newborns, share
more response to patterned rhythmic sounds, then to
continuous tunes. Child development, begins with recognising,
and accepting the uniqueness of childhood. They have their own
interests needs and capabilities, this all changes over-time.
Cognitive Development, children are active participants in their
own learning. A child’s mind is different as they develop, their
thinking changes as they move toward adulthood. Infants and
toddlers learn through co-ordination. By the end of their first
year most children enjoy the action or genre of rhymes of fairy
tales. At the time of preschool to kindergarten, children learn
to present the world symbolically, through language drawing.
Thinking is based on direct experience and perception of the
present moment.
Language
development, this is a pattern of early language, learning moves
from infant babbling and cooing, to the use of single words.
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Around age two children use two-word utterances, and the
ability is developed, to change inflection intonation, or word
order to expand their range of meaning.
Verbal development, a participation, with an adult is an
important element in a young child’s experience with language
development. This development, proceeds at a phenomenal
pace during the preschool years. By this time children, should
be able to express their thoughts in much longer sentences,
combining ideas, or embed one idea within another. By the age
of four, they would gain structure of grammar, or whatever
language they are familiar with. Words are explored and
improved as children learn, chanting, and playing with language,
and gaining confidence in the process.
Personal development, every aspect of a child’s growth is
intertwined with every other. Learning is affected by emotional
responses. or social relationships. and value orientation.
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This is how personality develops, they need to feel they, are
loved and understood, the feeling of being members of a group,
of significance, growing and achieving toward independence.
Self-actualization, might take a lifetime, or may never be
achieved, but, the concept that the individual is more positive,
and then personality shows.
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Parent and Child
Many parents, feel they know all about their babies when they are
born. This can be true, but, sometimes, not so.
When your child is born, it is important for you as a parent, to be
there at all times. There, are many issues about your child that
you need to know. Take care of him/her, know when and why,
your your child needs comforting, but most of all show love and
affection. Treat your your baby well, pay attention to all the little
cries, and, when there is happiness in your child’s eyes, or if
there is something wrong when crying continuously. During the
first six years of your child’s life, it is crucial for you to learn more
about your toddler.
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At times you feel., you can’t do it, but, with patience, it can be
done easily. One of the most important time for you, as a parent
and for your toddler is to, learn more about your child, and, it
works both ways. Let your child know, that the environment you
live in is safe, and that there is warmth as well.
Parent and child bonding, and, having fun together, is one of an
important issue, for your child. Try not to let your child feel
neglected. Let your child know his parents more than a stranger, a
neighbour or the carer.
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Picture Books
Any book with a picture-book format, can be included, as a child’s
entertainment. It could be an alphabetic book, a counting, a first,
or a concept book. In these books, the pictures should be
accurate and synchronised with the text.
A book that tells the picturesque story, the message is conveyed
equally, through two media, this is by picture and word. In a well-
designed book, in which the total format reflects the meaning of
the story, both the illustrations and the text should bear the
burden of narration. Pictures, help tell the story creatively, by
showing action, and expressions of the characters.
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Creative meaning and picture books, are with illustrations, and,
helps readers anticipate the story. This also, creates the basic
mood of the story, and, the style of the artists work should be
elusive. Lines, too, can, convey meaning to a story, diagonal
lines, suggest action and movement. Modern publication
techniques, make it much easier and, less expensive to publish
full colour books. Colourful books, encourage children to enjoy
reading their stories.
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