20 Weeks Grade 0/R: A Collection of Creative Activities, Developmental Play, Music, Movement Rhymes, Songs, and Stories for Grade 0/R

By Sjaan Buchel

The book comprises a collection of creative ideas and activities; developmental play; music and movement; rhymes, songs, and stories for grade 0/R (preschool children). Every creative activity in this collection is aimed at helping the child to grow into a well-adjusted, happy human being, to prepare him or her for the challenge of formal schooling.

All activities are theme related and are there not only for the enjoyment thereof but serves as a skills development agent at the same time. The activities aim to prepare the child to cope better in the primary school phase as well as later in life. Every creative activity should be seen as an informal learning tool, which should never cause stress for the learners but should help them understand themselves and their world better.

The book is meant for use by nursery school teachers, parents of preschool children, and students.

The series covers twenty weeks and twenty themes. This book includes the first four themes:
Week 1: Me and my school
Week 2: This is me
Week 3: My senses
Week 4: Looking after myself

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Nov 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504993166

Sjaan Buchel

Dr. A. J. (Sjaan) Buchel is a retired teacher/lecturer. She currently lives in Abu Dhabi in the UAE with her husband, Dr. Elwin Buchel. They have six children, all living in South Africa, and two grandchildren. Their youngest son is adopted. The writing of this book is the culmination of a project that stretches back to the early nineties, when the first preliminary collection of creative ideas and a study guide for in-service training of preprimary school teachers saw the light. Putting together a complete preschool learning program has been a lifelong ambition, and since 1992, several versions of the program has been written and rewritten. Twenty themes were put together, selected and reselected, written, changed, and rewritten. Sjaan Buchel is the author of a number of other educational textbooks and holds a doctorate in educational management. Qualifications include as follows: BSc University of Pretoria: zoology and entomology (majors) Transvaal higher education diploma (biology and science) NKP (Normal College Pretoria) Higher education diploma pre. prim. postgraduate UNISA (University of South Afriaca) BEd (bachelor of education) UNISA MEd (master of education in educational psychology) UNISA DEd (education managementthe leadership role of the principal in dealing with the impact of HIV/AIDS in South African schools) UNISA ICDL computer course German language course A1.1

Book preview

© 2015 Sjaan Buchel. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/09/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-9318-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-9317-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-9316-6 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Week 1: Me and my School

Week 2: This Is Me

Week 3: My Senses

Week 4: Looking after Myself

Preface

Writing this book of creative ideas and school-readiness lessons for pre-primary and junior school learners is the result of years of contact with young children and their artistic, mental, and physical development. I am charmed by children’s natural ability to spontaneously create wonderful art when given the material and opportunity to do so. Their astounding physical and mental abilities and play activities led to my lifelong interest in and involvement with small children and their growth towards adulthood.

Over the years, I put together a collection of themes and ideas for promoting children’s creative abilities and thinking, as well as their physical and emotional development. Some ideas worked; others did not. Some ideas work for certain children and not for others, and some work for everyone. Many of these ideas I shared with or learned from fellow pre-primary schoolteachers; most are my own ideas. All the ideas were adapted to suit the learners’ needs and also to the available materials.

The ideas in this book are exactly that: ideas only. There is no right or wrong way to do anything. Creativity is open-ended; it forms an integral part of the personality of the person creating an artwork, game, or anything new. Therefore the ideas in this book must be adjusted and explored to suit the moment, such as it might be. Every idea has to be adapted to suit the availability of materials, the group’s/individual child’s learning needs, their teacher’s creative ability, their surroundings (life world), their level of development, and their physical and emotional needs.

Each one of these ideas can be changed – they are guidelines, not prescriptions. Prescriptive teaching, particularly in art, language development, and free play, destroys creativity and creative thinking because it does not allow for individual creative exploration. Creative thinking, not only in art but also in all spheres of life, forms the highest level of cognitive development, namely problem-solving thinking patterns. Allowing children to explore their creative ideas through the media of free but guided art, play, and language development helps them develop creative thinking patterns.

This book is dedicated to all my friends and colleagues who shared their ideas with me, and in particular to all the children whom I’ve taught, and who taught me to see life through their eyes with their clear and honest perceptions of the world. Their artistic play and verbal expression gave us a direct glimpse into their joys and sorrows, which opens the mind to a plethora of new concepts and a new understanding of the world we live in.

Every one of the lessons is aimed at school readiness, but the creative activities and developmental-play activities are also suitable for use in junior primary school classes. My hope is that this book will bring joy and happiness to all who use it, and in particular that it will help the little ones, for whom it was written, to explore their world successfully and prepare them for the challenge of growing up.

Sjaan Buchel

1

Aims and Objectives

The following general and specific learning objectives are pursued in the presentation of this informal early learning programme for grade R/0.

Numeracy: mathematical concepts

Learning to count, formulate concepts of how much and how many

Calculations

Money concept

Size

Shape

Distance (close and far)

Speed

Temperature

Percentage

Fractions: half, quarter, etc.

Science: physical and biological concepts

Measuring

Mixtures

Temperature: hot, cold

Seasons

Animals

Plants

Colour, colour mix

Cooking

Cutting – changing shapes

Texture

Scientific observation

Scientific thinking

Problem solving

Life skills

Self-respect, respect for others

Sense of security: self-reliance, positive self-concept, self-confidence,

Task completion

Patience, endurance

Problem solving and creative thinking

Tolerance, working in a group

Working individually

Cleanliness, neatness, positive body image

Healthy eating habits

Staying safe: looking after self, taking care of self and others

Lateral thinking

Economic sense

Language skills (literacy)

Vocabulary: mother tongue, second language

Expression and self-expression

Hearing and listening skills

Opinion forming

Knowledge improvement

Diction

NB: All thought processes are conducted via language skills – the ability to understand language and to express thought processes in writing or verbally.

Pre-reading and writing skills

Painting, drawing (recognition of shape, form, symbols)

Cutting with scissors (fine muscle control)

Names

Learning simple words and love for books

Physical development: muscle control

Large muscle control: developmental play and action songs (necessary for development of spatial relations), laterality, body image, pre-reading and writing exercises.

Small muscle control: artwork, cutting and pasting, drawing, tearing paper, stringing beads, etc. Essential as pre-reading and writing exercises.

Physical development: laterality

Concept of left and right, two sides of the body. This is important for reading and writing skills.

Physical development: spatial relations

One’s position in space: above, below, in front of, behind, at the back, on top, underneath, beside, to the left, to the right. Correct spatial concepts are important for the development of reading and writing skills as well as scientific and mathematical concepts.

Perceptual training

Apart from perceptual training activities in the book, a separate book with special perceptual training exercises is included as part of the programme for learners to practice their skills. These are informal and set not to cause any form of stress for the learner, but rather they are meant to be fun activities.

Daily programme

2

Week 1: Me and my school

Theme: me and my School

Topic: going to school

Weekly timetable

Monday

Theme: my school and me

Early morning ring

Language development (literacy): learning names

Time: 15 minutes

Venue: story carpet

Aim: The purpose of this activity is to promote the following skills in learners:

Life skills

Everybody has a name.

Self-image: this is me and that is you – my name and your name.

Self-confidence and self-reliance

Teach them the importance of going to school.

Develop in them a sense of security and belonging in school: my school and my house and my people at my school.

The difference between school and house

Concentration

Patience

Self-respect and respect for others

Socializing

Listening skills

School discipline

Scientific/mathematical concepts

Comparisons: my school and my house (big and small)

Numeracy

Numbers of learners and teachers

How many family members?

How many friends?

Language development

Pre-reading exercise: recognition of symbols and words/names

Chatting

Vocabulary

Knowledge improvement

Verbal expression and self-expression

Hearing and listening skills

Concepts: school, home, house, parents, teachers, friends

Interest table and parent poster

Parent poster depicting everybody and everything involved with the school

007_a_biancabayot.jpg

Apparatus

Name tags and symbols for every learner in the class

Symbol chart with the names of each learner next to his/her symbol

008_a_biancabayot.jpg

NB: Symbol chart must be large and clear so that learners can learn to recognize their own names and symbols without difficulty. Place at a level where learners can easily ‘read’ the chart.

Introduce the creative activity at the end of the ring; invite learners to participate.

Discussion: Everyone and everything in the school has a name.

Introduce yourself to the learners.

Ask each learner to introduce himself or herself:

‘My name is Teacher. What is your name?’

‘Annie! That is a nice name!’

‘And what is your name?’

‘Bongani! That is a strong name for a boy!’

Give every learner a turn to give her/his name.

Show the class the symbol chart.

Give each learner a name tag with his/her name written neatly next to his/her symbol.

Show their symbols on all their school items: lockers, towels, notebooks, mattresses, etc.

Make sure they understand that the symbols are not replacements for their names. The symbols are simply a form of identification for their own space and belongings in the school.

Ask questions:

‘Annie, is that the correct way to say your name?’

‘Bongani, what does your mommy call you at home?’

‘Bongi? Would you like us to call you Bongi or Bongani?’

‘What is your mother’s name?’

‘What is your father’s name?’

End with a song or a rhyme.

Calling the Kids

Hallo!

Where are you?

Here I am!

And you?

Hallo!

Are you there, [learner’s name]?

Yes, I am,

Over here,

And I’m waiting for you

Because you are such a dear!

Theme: Me and my school

Creative activity topic: going to school

Baking: sandwiches for school

Time: 10-15 minutes per group of 6-8 learners until each one had a turn

Venue: Creative corner in the classroom (Open plan classroom/playroom)

Aim: The purpose of this activity is