|
Page 5 of 5
Each day we learn a new French word that relates to the topic we are studying. A special “weather person” helps us record the weather. We look at the calendar as well, learning about the months of the year, and the days of the week. The concept of time is a difficult one, but with many repetitions, it begins to make sense. We also sing a goodbye song when we go home and sing about the day that we will come back to school. They soon learn what days of the week are school days.
The play period after circle time is math and language oriented. While the children are singing in the circle, the activities and centres are changed. These activities include visual discrimination, sorting, matching, sequencing tasks, and listening centre, among others. Children again are free to choose activities that appeal to them. Some will prefer to sit at a table with a toy, some may prefer paper and pencil tasks, while others may need to play on the floor or do other activities that allow them to move around. We provide a variety of activities accommodating these different learning styles, but all have a math and language component. Teachers are available for individual help or group activities.
We finish each day with story time. Two teachers read the stories. This is the one time that teachers assign the children to a group. Children vary in their ability to sit through a story. The children who can deal with more language will have a longer story, while the others enjoy a picture book or puppet story.
The last task each day is to prepare for home. The children will be dressed in their outside clothes, with their artwork in their bags, when we open the door for dismissal.
Positive self-esteem comes from making decisions and having others respect those decisions. It comes from expressing ideas through art and language and sharing those ideas with others who are interested. It also comes from discovering that you are a unique and interesting person, and that you know how to learn. Positive self-esteem is the most valuable asset a child can have entering school, and is a very positive indicator of academic success ahead.
|
