Early Learning - Parenting Hub

leading expert advice from Dibber International Preschools

Ten Beautiful Gifts to Give Your Child This Christmas

Christmas at Dibber is a season of wonder – where hearts open wide, twinkling lights shine bright, and each child’s joy becomes the most cherished gift of all. As parents begin the search for the perfect presents, it’s worth remembering that the most unforgettable gifts aren’t always the biggest or flashiest. They’re the ones steeped in care, imagination, and connection. “Children remember how we make them feel far more than what we put under the tree,” says Ursula Assis, Country Director of Dibber South Africa. “A gift that inspires, comforts, or encourages creativity can leave a deeper impact than anything wrapped in gold paper.” Here are ten thoughtful gift ideas that bring the spirit of Christmas alive –to delight little ones, encourage meaningful moments, and reflect the joy of South African summer holidays. 1. A Book That Opens New Worlds Stories are powerful gifts. They take children to places their feet cannot yet go – from magical forests to the shores. Choose homegrown favourites like Nal’ibali tales, Stories from the Kalahari, or The Adventures of Shaka Zulu. Books inspire curiosity and imagination – core traits nurtured at Dibber. 2. A Memory Jar Fill a decorated jar with handwritten notes: things you love about your child, fun ideas for holiday adventures, or memories from the past year. Children light up when they see their lives reflected back with joy. “It’s a beautiful way to strengthen connection and self-esteem,” says Assis. 3. Outdoor Adventure Gear In sunny South Africa, adventure awaits just beyond the front door. Wrap up a pair of kiddie binoculars, a magnifying glass, or a bug explorer kit, and plan a walk through your local nature reserve. When gifts become gateways to shared experiences, children remember them for life. 4. A Homemade Christmas Treat Box Celebrate the season with a box of sweet South African treats – think peppermint crisp tart balls, koeksisters, or milk tart cupcakes. Involve your little one in the baking, wrapping, or decorating. “Food made together tastes better – and builds those magical festive memories,” Assis smiles. 5. A Craft Kit for Creative Joy Gifting a child the tools to create is like gifting them a window into themselves. A craft kit – filled with beads, paints, or clay – encourages expression, fine motor skills, and confidence. Include patterns inspired by local designs or eco-friendly materials for extra learning. 6. A Family Experience Gift Why not gift a memory? Surprise your child with a family pass to Gold Reef City, the Two Oceans Aquarium, or a boat trip along Durban’s harbour. “When families explore together, they grow closer,” says Assis. “These shared experiences say ‘you matter’ more than any toy ever could.” 7. A Personalised Keepsake A gift made just for them – like a Christmas bauble with their name or a storybook featuring them as the main character – tells a child: You are special. These keepsakes often become treasures they carry through childhood and into adulthood. 8. A Musical Instrument From marimbas to mini djembes, a small instrument can awaken a world of rhythm and expression. Music builds coordination and emotional expression – and turns up the fun at any family braai! “Music unites generations – we’ve seen it time and again in our classrooms,” adds Assis. 9. A Gardening Kit Include tools, gloves, and seeds for sunflowers, basil, or even Spekboom – South Africa’s own carbon-cleaning plant. Children love watching something grow under their care, and the gift becomes a symbol of patience, pride, and environmental awareness. 10. A Gift That Gives Back Gifts that support a cause are perfect for instilling kindness. Choose a handcrafted toy made by a local artisan or donate a book to a literacy charity in your child’s name. These acts of giving teach empathy – and fill hearts with true holiday warmth. The Greatest Gift of All? Time and Togetherness Whether it’s wrapped in ribbon or woven into a memory, the most meaningful gifts are those that nurture children’s hearts and minds. “Christmas is a time to slow down, connect, and focus on what really matters,” says Assis. “At Dibber, we call this heart culture, where love, learning, and laughter lead the way.” This festive season, let your gifts reflect more than just joy, let them plant seeds of wonder, confidence, and love. Merry Christmas!

December 5, 2025

Reflecting on Parenting Goals: Seven Meaningful Ways to Reset Before the Holiday Season

As families prepare for South Africa’s big holiday season, Dibber International Preschools is encouraging parents to take a mindful pause and reflect on their parenting goals. According to Ursula Assis, Country Director of Dibber South Africa, creating space for reflection during this busy period can bring renewed balance, intention, and joy into family life. “Reflection isn’t about judging what we did right or wrong, it’s about recognising growth, reconnecting with what matters most, and creating the kind of home environment where both children and parents can thrive,” says Assis. “The holidays are a perfect opportunity to do this together as a family.” Below, Assis shares seven gentle yet practical techniques to guide parents as they reflect on their parenting journey before the new year begins. 1. Take Care of Yourself First A child’s emotional balance often mirrors that of their caregivers. When parents take time to rest and recharge, it positively influences the tone of the household. Whether it’s hiking scenic trails in Pretoria, enjoying a family picnic at Zoo Lake, or simply playing board games indoors, moments of calm connection help restore harmony. 2. Avoid Over-Planning While planning is helpful, over-scheduling family activities can create unnecessary stress. Assis advises parents to “allow for flexibility and spontaneous moments of joy.” Unstructured time often brings the most meaningful family connections. 3. Pause and Reflect Before the festive rush takes over, take a quiet moment to think about your year in parenting. Ask questions like, “When did I feel most connected to my child?” and “What challenges helped us grow?” This mindful reflection nurtures self-awareness and strengthens family bonds. 4. Celebrate Small Wins Not every success needs to be big. Noticing your child’s daily progress—like sharing a toy or learning a new word—builds confidence and gratitude. “Acknowledging these small victories boosts your child’s self-worth and reinforces positive parenting habits,” says Assis. 5. Listen to Your Child’s Perspective Children experience the world differently. Invite them to share their thoughts about the year – what made them happy, what they’d like to do more of. “Listening to your child’s perspective teaches empathy and makes them feel valued,” Assis notes. 6. Set Realistic Goals for the New Year Ambition is good—but so is balance. Instead of overwhelming children with lofty expectations, focus on achievable goals. “When children see consistent encouragement rather than pressure, they develop confidence and resilience,” says Assis. 7. Create New Family Traditions Turn reflection into a shared family ritual—like everyone sharing one thing they’re grateful for at the Christmas table or during a beach braai. These small acts foster connection, mindfulness, and appreciation that last long after the holidays end. “When we pause and reflect with love and curiosity,” Assis concludes, “we set the stage for more mindful parenting—and a happier, more harmonious start to the year ahead.”

November 25, 2025

Dibber Shares Practical Strategies to Address Year-End Fatigue for Parents and Preschoolers

As year-end fast approaches, Dibber International Preschools, a leading preschool provider, offers clear and practical strategies to help parents and their children manage the challenges of burnout. Parenting is a rewarding yet demanding role, and both parents and preschoolers can feel the strain of modern life’s demands. Dibber is committed to supporting families with actionable advice to promote balance and well-being. “Parenting is a fulfilling journey, but it can be challenging at times,” says Ursula Assis, Dibber Country Director. “At Dibber, we view ourselves as an extended family, partnering with parents to create a supportive environment where both children and caregivers can flourish.” Understanding Parental Burnout Parental burnout is an overwhelming state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion and can arise from financial stress, work-life balance challenges, lack of support, or unrealistic expectations. It’s a common issue, with 65% of working parents reporting burnout, according to recent surveys. Dibber encourages families to adopt practical strategies to regain energy and focus. Parental Burnout Strategies Dibber provides the following tips to help parents recharge: Supporting Preschoolers Through Burnout. Young children can also feel overwhelmed by busy schedules or high expectations. Dibber’s approach to preventing preschool burnout includes: “At Dibber, we strive to support families every step of the way,” adds Assis. “Our educators create a nurturing environment where children feel secure and parents feel supported. We’re more than a preschool—we’re a community that grows together.” Dibber invites parents to explore these strategies and connect with their local preschool community for support. For more information about Dibber’s programmes and family resources, visit https://www.dibber.co.za or follow Dibber on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

November 17, 2025

Helping Children Navigate Change: Dibber Shares Guidance for Smooth School Transitions

As the school year winds down across South Africa, parents often reflect on their child’s growth while preparing for the next phase of their learning journey. Transitions – from one class to another, or from preschool to Grade R – can bring a mix of excitement, nervousness, and uncertainty for young children. According to Ursula Assis, Country Director of Dibber International Preschools South Africa, helping children through these changes requires a balance of stability, empathy, and celebration. “Transitions are a natural part of growing up, and when handled with patience and consistency, they help children build confidence and adaptability,” says Assis. “At Dibber, we guide families to embrace change as an opportunity for growth rather than disruption.” Here are six simple yet effective ways parents and caregivers can support their children as the academic Year comes to a close: 1. Keep Routines Steady Children thrive on predictability, especially when everything else feels uncertain. Maintaining regular mealtimes, nap schedules, and bedtime routines provides a sense of security. “Simple routines like morning walks, watering the garden, or reading before bed offer structure and reassurance,” says Assis. 2. Celebrate the Season The South African summer brings sunshine, holidays, and togetherness. Families can mark the transition from school to vacation with meaningful rituals, such as a braai, a visit to grandparents, or a picnic in the park. Talking about upcoming holidays helps children connect change with something positive and familiar. 3. Reflect on the Year Together Encouraging reflection builds emotional awareness. Parents can ask gentle questions such as, “What was your favourite part of school?” or “What new things did you learn?” Creating a scrapbook or drawing favourite school memories makes this reflection visual and fun. “Acknowledging how far children have come fosters pride and resilience,” adds Assis. 4. Show Appreciation for Teachers A simple act of gratitude – like a handmade card, drawing, or small bunch of flowers -can mean the world to educators. “Expressing thanks teaches children empathy and appreciation,” says Assis. “It also strengthens the bond between families and educators, which is central to a child’s sense of belonging.” 5. Celebrate Achievements, Big and Small Recognising milestones, whether learning to count, tie shoelaces, or make a new friend, helps children feel capable and confident. Parents can create a ‘Proud Board’ at home, displaying drawings, photos, or small notes celebrating the Year’s successes. 6. Partner with Teachers for a Smooth Transition Before term-end, parents are encouraged to connect with teachers for feedback on both social and academic progress. “Teachers can highlight areas to support over the holidays,” says Assis. “This partnership ensures continuity and prepares children emotionally and developmentally for the next stage.” As the Year concludes, Dibber reminds parents that transitions are not just about change; they’re about growth, reflection, and connection. “When families slow down and engage meaningfully in this process,” concludes Assis, “children not only adjust more easily but carry forward the confidence and curiosity they need for lifelong learning.”

November 10, 2025

What Parents Should Look for in a Preschool: The Power of Play-Based Learning

“As the year draws to a close, parents face the significant decision of choosing the right preschool for their child in 2026. This choice lays the foundation for your child’s early learning journey, and it deserves careful thought. As a preschool educator, I believe parents should prioritise a nurturing, safe, and developmentally appropriate environment that fosters growth through play-based learning. Here’s what every parent should consider when selecting a preschool and why play-based learning is so vital at this stage. What parents want and need from a preschool “Parents of preschool-aged children share common priorities when choosing a school. Above all, they seek a safe and secure environment where their child feels cared for and protected. This includes a clean facility, vigilant supervision, and protocols that prioritise child safety. Equally important is a nurturing atmosphere with qualified, compassionate teachers who understand the unique needs of young learners. Parents also value a curriculum that balances fun with foundational skills, preparing children for future academic success while fostering their individuality. “Clear communication between the school and families, affordability, and a convenient location are practical considerations that ease the daily demands of parenting. Ultimately, parents want a preschool that aligns with their values and supports their child’s social, emotional, and intellectual growth. The Importance of Play-Based Learning “At the heart of an exceptional preschool experience lies play-based learning, a cornerstone of early childhood development. Play is not just fun; it’s how young children naturally explore, learn, and grow. Research, including studies from the American Academy of Pediatrics, underscores that play-based learning supports brain development, executive function, and long-term academic and social success far more effectively than overly academic approaches in the early years. “Through play, children develop cognitive skills by engaging in activities like building structures, solving puzzles, or pretending in imaginative scenarios, which introduce concepts like math, spatial awareness, and problem-solving. “Socially and emotionally, play teaches children to share, collaborate, and navigate conflicts, helping them build empathy and resilience. Physically, active play – whether climbing, drawing, or manipulating objects – hones motor skills and coordination. Language skills flourish as children engage in storytelling or conversations during play, laying the groundwork for literacy. “Most importantly, play fosters confidence and independence, allowing children to make choices, take risks, and learn from mistakes in a supportive setting. This joyful approach to learning sparks a lifelong love for discovery, ensuring children enter formal schooling with enthusiasm and curiosity. Choosing the right preschool “As you visit preschools this season, look for environments where play is central to the curriculum. Observe whether teachers encourage creativity and exploration, whether the space feels warm and inviting, and whether the school communicates openly about your child’s progress. Ask how the programme supports your child’s unique needs and fosters their social and emotional growth alongside early academics. A great preschool will feel like a second home for your child – a place where they are safe, valued, and inspired to grow through the magic of play. “Choosing a preschool is a deeply personal decision, but by focusing on safety, nurturing care, and the proven benefits of play-based learning, you can feel confident in setting your child on a path to thrive. Take the time to explore your options, trust your instincts, and choose a school that feels right for your family. Your child’s early years are a precious opportunity to build a strong foundation for their future”. Ursula Assis is the Country Director for Dibber International Preschools, with extensive experience in early childhood education.

November 1, 2025

Dibber Launches ‘Dibber Montessori’ in South Africa, Welcoming Five New Schools in October and Three More in 2026

Dibber International Preschools is proud to announce the acquisition of the LittleHill Montessori group of schools, marking a significant step in Dibber’s expansion and commitment to delivering world-class early childhood education in South Africa. From October 2025, the five LittleHill Montessori campuses — Polofields, Thaba, Kikuyu, Fynbos (Cape Town), and The Huntsman (Cape Town) — officially become part of the Dibber family, uniting under the Dibber name while maintaining a strong Montessori focus that families and educators have come to trust. In this transition, Dibber will build on the Montessori foundation, enriching it through Dibber’s Nordic pedagogy, an approach that celebrates emotional warmth, play-based learning, and the holistic development of every child. Together, this creates a learning experience that reflects global best practice while remaining deeply personal, nurturing, and rooted in the local community. “This is first and foremost about children and the daily experience they have at school. Families will recognise the same faces and the same warmth. What changes is the name on the gate and the additional strength behind the school,” says Ursula Assis, Managing Director of Dibber International Preschools South Africa. It reflects the practical approach being taken on campus, with teaching teams remaining in place and daily life continuing without disruption. The Montessori curriculum, meals, and fee structures remain unchanged. Starting in October, sites will carry the new identity, ‘Dibber Montessori,’ and the branch name. “Dibber’s heart culture is about relationships before routines. Montessori’s respect for the child fits naturally with that. Our role is to create spaces where children feel safe, seen, and ready to explore, while giving educators the support and tools to do their best work every day,” adds Assis. Estate partners and communities will also benefit from the transition. Dibber will assume school management while maintaining the existing staff teams, bringing the assurance of international best practice, ongoing staff development, and strong quality systems and compliance, all while preserving the caring, Montessori-inspired environment that families value. Dibber’s South African growth sits within a global context. The group operates more than 600 high-quality preschools across ten countries, consistently focusing on nurturing every child’s unique potential through warm relationships, purposeful play, and meaningful learning. “Parents have told us they want continuity for their children and clarity about what matters day to day. That is exactly what we are safeguarding here by ensuring familiar teachers, predictable routines, and a learning approach that honours every child, but now with the added resources of a global early learning family.” This evolution represents a thoughtful blend of Montessori’s respect for the child as an independent learner and Dibber’s conviction that every child is inherently valuable — a fusion that nurtures confidence, curiosity, and compassion through relationships, joyful play, and meaningful learning experiences, helping each child to grow with heart, purpose, and a lifelong love of learning. For more information about Dibber International Preschools and its approach to early childhood education, visit www.dibber.co.za.

October 28, 2025

Advice from the experts

Early Childhood Development: Building Blocks for Lifelong Learning

South Africa has the goal of universal access to a full range of early childhood development (ECD) services in ten years’ time. To meet this target, we will need more than 100 000 additional early learning teachers and 40 000 new venues for three- to five -year-olds alone, say education experts. South African children are surviving rather than thriving, it was agreed at the recent Trialogue Business in Society Virtual Conference. ‘Breaking Barriers to Quality Education’ was a key theme, with these sessions presented in partnership with Old Mutual on 13 October. Panellists Nicole Biondi (Strategic Head of marketing and communications at Innovation Edge), Justine Jowell (Programme Design Lead at SmartStart) and Megan Blair (CEO Earlybird Educare@Work) discussed how to accelerate access to, and drive the enrichment of, ECD. Moderated by Kanyisa Diamond, senior project manager at the Old Mutual Foundation, the session unpacked different early learning models. Participants considered which ECD interventions are most effective, and what needs to be done differently to achieve the goal of the National Development Plan (NDP): universal access to a full range of ECD services for all children aged 0-8 by 2030. The South African Early Childhood Review 2019 shows that we have made some progress in terms of ECD. Maternal and child mortality rates are on a downward trend, but we still struggle with nutrition (27% of children under five suffer from stunting), support for primary caregivers, and the stimulation of early learning. Models for social impact Justine Jowell of SmartStart said systems intervention is needed to close the provisioning gap. Some 1.2 million children aged three to four years are not attending an early learning programme, 900 000 of them from poor households. “To achieve universal access to quality early learning for all three- to five -year-olds, we need more than 100 000 additional early learning practitioners and 40 000 new venues. To reach these high numbers of excluded children, system capacity must be expanded. This needs to happen fast to bring children in sooner.” SmartStart is an example of a national early learning delivery platform that operates under a social franchise model. SmartStart currently includes 13 organisations (independent, locally based NPOs) across nine provinces in the country that form part of the SmartStart delivery platform (as franchisors), enabling SmartStart’s rapid acceleration of reach of new children in a locally relevant and responsive way. This model helps to create direct employment and support microenterprise development, especially for women. In the five years since set-up, this model has allowed SmartStart to reach more than 75 000 children, with nearly 4 000 active early learning social enterprises (franchisees) supported to run quality early learning programmes. Earlybird, a social enterprise, provides on-site educare services to companies that want to attract and retain top talent, particularly women. “There is a good deal of evidence that employer-sponsored educare improves productivity, reducing single-day leave-taking and enabling greater female labour force participation and progression,” said Blair. A portion of net income from the for-profit side of the business cross-subsidises the non-profit side, which funds young black women to set up Blue Door Educare Centres as entrepreneurs. These high-quality educare centres serve low-income environments and also partner with social housing developers, with a goal to bring quality learning to all young children. Innovation Edge, an innovation catalyst and social impact investor, believes in supporting early learning programmes and ensuring that caregivers get support to equip children for lifelong success. In one of their projects, they work with design and manufacturing company Barrows to print and distribute early learning materials to under-resourced communities, using blank production space available on existing client print runs. The posters and flash cards they create at minimal cost are distributed at their nine business hubs in each province of the country – and they provide more than 50 000 pieces of educational material to children in under-resourced areas each month. They have also partnered with Out There Media on the 3 Little Minutes mobile SMS campaign, which provides caregivers with data-free access to roughly three minutes of songs and stories located on a mobi-site. The campaign is delivered via the Mobucks™ platform, which links the mobile operator with businesses wanting to advertise to specific audience (thus content is sponsored). “The pilot was in English, but the next stage will include more languages,” said Biondi. “Content on the system is provided by Book Dash and Nal’ibali, and they do have content in various South African languages, in the form of songs and stories.” Biondi said that Innovation Edge is working with government on compiling data sets of national early child assessments to understand how literate, numerate and school-ready children may be. “We really want to get South Africa excited about how children enter school, because if we can shift the way they enter schools we can surely shift the way they are leaving school.” Effective interventions A snap poll during the session asked delegates which ECD interventions they think are the most effective. The majority (62%) said training teachers works best, followed by providing nutrition (12%) and providing equipment (12%). A further 6% listed helping with registration and 6% said building infrastructure was most effective. Blair pointed out that preventing exposure to violence is also an important factor, as toxic stress has a huge effect on development. Assuming nutrition and infrastructure are in place, training is the most effective way to improve child outcomes, she said. “There is broad agreement that in-service training is crucial – just-in-time pedagogical support – that involves meeting a teacher on a weekly or monthly basis and finding out what they are battling with.” She said this type of intervention is exponentially more effective than pre-service training. Biondi suggested that companies think about subsidising their employees’ children so they can receive quality educare, as well as considering parental leave. “Don’t just support external ECD providers. Look inside as well as outside,” she recommended.

December 9, 2020

Play Based Learning in the Heart of Bryanston

Why Play based learning? Simply put, children (and adults) learn through play, developing the whole child holistically. Play based learning is a type of early childhood education based on child-led and open-ended play. This provides a framework for learning where children can organise and make sense of the world around them. It is a voluntary and enjoyable activity with no purpose or end goal. If you are thinking ‘mud kitchens’ or fantasy play or finger painting, you are on the right track. Children engage in play on their own and explore different materials; they play with each other and use materials to represent other objects (symbolic play) which holds great value in developing imagination, cognitive skills and social competence. One of the elements of play based learning is it encourages the development of language skills. By interacting with their peers they develop their vocabulary and comprehension skills. The context of play allows this to happen in a natural way and learning is amplified as it is enjoyable and relevant to the child’s interests. Music and rhyme supports the development of pre-literacy skills such as listening skills and sound recognition, laying the foundations for reading and basic literacy. It also helps to develop their memorisation skills and their ability to differentiate sounds. The development of social and emotional skills is crucial to the development and learning of a child. Engagement in play is closely associated to the development of these skills as children share social experiences and play co-operative games. Think team work and cooperation, collaborative planning, expressing ideas. It develops a sense of belonging. Emotional competence and empathy are developed through play as they learn about feelings, emotions and motivation of others. Engaging in dramatized play demonstrates ways of caring and showing empathy. Fantasy play is a vehicle for a child to make sense of the world around them and to try to understand their emotions. It fosters creativity and imagination, traits that are vital in the modern world. Using their imagination, they are able to problem solve and find solutions to a variety of problems. This in turn develops a natural curiosity and improved potential for learning in later life. Imagination is all about symbols; laundry baskets become a car or a stick a sword and so on. Understanding symbols is key to reading and writing as letters are symbols. The same would apply to mathematical concepts and numbers. Playing in the mud kitchen or baking; imagine all the measuring and filling and emptying, too much or too little, how many, too thick or too thin, too big or too small and so on; Thus developing all the pre-maths skills. Basic scientific concepts are developed through play, for example, what happens when you stack block on top of another or balancing one side with the other to make it stand or what does the feather or a bird feel like or the shell of a tortoise. Physical development refers to both fine and gross motor development and how a child uses their body. Through play children build physical strength, coordination, balance, position of their bodies in space, fine motor coordination and manipulation, hand eye coordination and foot eye coordination. Running, jumping, climbing, swinging, ball games and so on. They get a healthy amount of exercise. Children are exposed to so many different tactile experiences through their play; The feeling of wood, sand, soft toys, water, paint and more. These sensory experiences are important for the development of the neural pathways and their sensory integration system. Art and play also include many sensory experiences. Creative activities which are process focused, have no rules to guide the children as there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to create thereby allowing them to express their ideas in a way they want to and they feel successful no matter what they make. During this process there is problem solving, sequential organising, logical thinking visual perceptual and many more skills being developed. “A considerable amount of research in the field of play-based learning is indicative of the profound importance of play on the overall development of a child. Playing helps the brain develop cognitive abilities, establish new neural connections, and make us more intelligent in multiple aspects at once. It improves the ability to perceive others emotional states and adapt to ever changing circumstances” It’s important that when a child gets to school they are comfortable in a school setting, comfortable engaging with other children and excited to learn. Emotional learning is as important, if not more, as academic skills learning. This is what they will acquire in a play-based program.

October 5, 2020

5 Hands-on learning activities to try with your toddler while you’re stuck at home

The global coronavirus pandemic and social distancing has most of us trading fancy-schmancy corporate gear for spit-up stained leggings, an almost-always reasonable boss for a pint-sized tyrant and nine-to-five working hours for a day that never.ever.ends.

July 24, 2020

Cleverdon Preschool

Our engaging and inspired teachers take a zoom class each morning at a set time where they cover brain gym/movement, theme related topics, songs, sensory activities, science experiments, baking, stories and fun activities, which develop the preschool skills. Further activities and videos are loaded onto the google classroom for each class which the parents and children can access.

May 29, 2020

Preparing for Big School: Practical exercises to do at home

One of the most memorable days of your child’s schooling career is most definitely the first day of Grade 1. This day comes with a combination of different emotions from excitement to uncertainty and the question most parents wonder about:

April 24, 2020

Play Sense takes successful online model and makes play-based curriculum accessible to parents

Parents who find themselves at home with children who are not in school are having to find interesting ways to keeping their children interested and entertained while continuing to work from home.

April 23, 2020

Build your child’s language skills with Mzanzi Kids

Being unable to be a part of the outside world has created a new trend #learnsomethingnew among adults and children, with most of these new skills being learned through technology. Technology has recently become many things in a household: an educator, a baby-sitter, a news source and quite simply, a view to the outside world.

April 20, 2020

Encouraging/Fostering Independence in a Child’s Early Years

Stand close by and observe the children solving their problems. This is how they begin to develop the skills and confidence to communicate calmly, honestly and politely with others.

October 25, 2019

The importance of music in preschool

Music has been made and enjoyed throughout history, it is a powerful and effective way to spread a message, tell a story or express your feelings.

September 16, 2019

Will your preschooler cope with the demands of school?

When your child turns 6 it usually means that it’s their last year in preschool. In a year, your child will need to start primary school, but how do you know that your child will cope with the formal demands of school? Or be able to function to his/her full potential? As a parent, you may have lots of questions about this new phase in your child’s life. You would want to know that your child is ready to start their learning journey. If your child is not ready, it could influence his/her academic performance.

August 28, 2019

The importance of age appropriate stimulation

There have been many studies that focus on the importance of infant stimulation. It is a well-known fact that impoverished environments, under stimulation and the lack of rich and varied experiences can impair children’s development in all areas. Thus, there are many projects that focus on helping these communities and giving them the tools through training and equipping them to be able to change the cycle. But what about over stimulation? It has been shown that environments that overwhelm children with stimulation beyond their current capacities interfere with the brain’s potential, much in the same way that under stimulation does. Our society has become increasingly focused on stimulation. Expensive early learning programs, competitiveness and early achieving have become the norm. We have so over scheduled our children with activities that they do not have time to simply be kids and play. We do not expect a 5 month old to walk or run, why do we then expect a 5 year old to read and write? Many children have not developed or practiced their creativity one should through boredom, as they have not had the chance to be bored. There is actually no evidence that any of this has yielded smarter, better, super babies. In fact, priming infants with stimulation that they are not ready for may cause them to withdraw, thereby threatening their interest in learning and creating conditions much like stimulus deprivation. In addition to this parents may become disappointed when despite the excessive stimulation, their children do not become little geniuses. This creates the danger that parents may view their children as failures at an early age. This in turn could result in infants being robbed of a healthy psychological start while also depriving parents of pleasurable and relaxing interactions with and participation in their children early years. The question this leaves us with is, what would the best conditions be? Let kids be kids. Do not put too much pressure on them or expect them to do things that are not age appropriate. The ideal is to provide age-appropriate moderate stimulation in a loving environment with lots of social interactions. This has proven to be much more beneficial than expensive toys and gadgets. The Skidz Clever Activity boxes provides a program focusing on this exact finding. Each set contains all the equipment needed to complete over 100 activities in each box. The age ranges are as follows: 0-6 months 6-12 months 12-18 months 18-24 months 2-5 years. For more info or to purchase your box go to www.skidz.co.za or follow us on facebook at www.facebook.com/skidzsa

July 15, 2019

Process Art and Early Childhood Development

Process art is all about the experience children have when they are creating. We encourage it at Toptots to enable the child to explore and be exposed to different mediums. Process art needs to be open ended and the child should be left alone to explore and create without any adult interference. Children learn through play and open-ended activities – this gives them the chance to explore and ask questions and see how things work. Process art is all about the actual process and not the end product.

July 1, 2019

How to choose Pre-Primary School

Choosing a school for your little one should not be a last minute, hasty decision. Start looking at least three months before you need to enter your child, if you are looking to place a baby. If you want your child to join a good school when they turn three, you should start looking at birth. This may seem ludicrous but the top Pre-Primary schools have waiting lists several years long! The first decision is whether to place your child in a school near home or near your place of work. Small children suffer from many little illnesses and most schools want a sick child to go home as soon as possible. Choose a school that is close enough for someone to fetch them promptly if they fall ill. No matter how loving the care at school, a sick child just wants the comfort of home. Choose a school whose hours suit your schedule. If the school closes at 5.30pm, you must be able to reach it with time to spare, regardless of the traffic. Does the school open early enough for you to get to work? You cannot leave a small child outside the gate and assume that someone will take responsibility! There are so many places of care to choose from at the moment that you may be bewildered by the choice. Take the time to visit the school unannounced. Check the security first, it should not be possible for you just to drive in. Are there cameras at the door and an entrance procedure? Next, how are you greeted and dealt with by the receptionist? This should be efficient, friendly and with an offer to show you the school, either then or by appointment. An appointment does not mean they have anything to hide; good schools have to allocate time and staff to deal with parents effectively. Is the reception clutter free and efficiently run? Are the admittance forms neatly printed and requesting sufficient background detail on your child? When you look around, watch the children. Under-fives should be playing freely and busily with clean, unbroken toys that are well displayed to enable choice, or engaged in activities that are stimulating creativity or enhancing number or literacy skills. There should be no worksheets or cloned art work. Is the classroom clean and attractive, with good natural light and ventilation? Is there sufficient space for the children? Crowded rooms lead to fights and stress. Has the teacher (who should be SACE registered) an assistant to manage bathroom visits, messes and to support play? Is there evidence of an overall theme that the children are investigating? Are there good quality books in a comfy spot for reading? Are the carpets and floors clean? Beware of schools that are too tidy and immaculate as this could mean that the equipment is for display, not the children’s use. Children should be aware of your presence but not clamouring for your attention. What is your language policy for your child? If they are to attend Primary school in a specific language, they will be at an advantage if their early years are spent in the same language. This does not mean that you should forsake your home language. Bi-lingual children have a cognitive advantage, but do not confuse your child by subjecting him/her to a constant mixture of languages. Choose a school that will help your child enter grade 1 with a strong vocabulary and comprehension, as well as an ability to engage in their intellectual education with understanding. What do you require in the way of meals? Not all schools serve breakfast, lunch and snacks and the price should reflect what is provided. Check out the kitchen, the kitchen staff and the certificates from the local authority indicating that the school is licenced to provide meals. Look at the menus. Is there sufficient variety and fresh fruit and vegetables? Ask about who feeds the little ones and how meals are conducted for the older ones. Are the children forced to eat their meals? Can the school cater for genuine allergies, (Not fussy eaters!) If your child is still a baby, check the policies on formulas, nappies, wet wipes etc. If the school supplies everything, it may be a little more expensive but well worth your while in terms of convenience. Look at the nappy changing areas, where everything should be neatly labelled and the area safe and well ventilated, with proper disposal facilities. Potty training areas should be bright and welcoming, with small toilets for children aged two plus. Are the baby rooms warm enough for the babies to play and crawl on the floor and not be kept in a cot all day. Who provides the cot linen and how often is it washed? There should be a nursing sister available for very young babies, as well as well-trained carers who will talk to and stimulate your child. The outdoor area should have grass, sand, water, shade and wheeled toys, as well as safe climbing and swinging equipment, appropriate for the different age groups. Children are stimulated by their environment so the garden should be attractive, bright and well supervised. Gross motor development underlies all other development at this age so there should be a minimum of an hour per morning and afternoon set aside for active, outdoor play. Last but not least, the atmosphere of the school should be welcoming and child friendly. Do not be swayed by the latest technological devices and lessons if the staff seem aloof and uncaring. With proper research your child should be happy and well stimulated in the chosen environment until it is time for Big School. Written By: Barbara Eaton (Academic Development Co-ordinator of ADvTECH Pre-Primary Schools)

June 18, 2019

New Research on the Importance of Learning through Play

The LEGO Foundation and Sesame Workshop Highlights the Importance of Learning through Play in Parent-Child Relationships in South Africa in Celebration of World Play Day The ‘Play Every Day’ program empowered caregivers to effectively guide children in learning through play in South Africa In celebration of World Play Day, the LEGO Foundation and Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organisation behind Takalani Sesame, announced the results of a multi-country research evaluation of Play Every Day, a program designed to shift parent and caregiver perceptions about the educational value of play and to encourage play that contributes to children’s early development and learning outcomes. The impact evaluation, conducted by an external evaluator, found significant changes in parents and caregivers’ perceptions of play and play-related behaviour, as well as improved confidence of parents and caregivers as play mentors for their children. Over the course of a 12-week intervention in low-resource communities in South Africa, India and Mexico, Sesame Workshop conducted weekly in-person play workshops or home visits, in addition to reminders utilising WhatsApp and other digital platforms and community events. The research in South Africa was conducted in IsiZulu, IsiXhosa and Sesotho in the communities of Orange Farm, Alexandra, Diepsloot and Braamfontein. Caregivers participating in the Play Every Day program in South Africa reported: Increased frequency of play by 15% Increased confidence as “play mentors” for their children through quality play time, with an increase of 18% Increased confidence using recycled materials such as plastic bottles, cans, and cardboard rolls as play objects, with an increase of 19% in South Africa An increase of 19% in the ability to make everyday activities playful An 11% increase in the link between pretend play as a foundation for academic learning The research findings will inform the upcoming Takalani Sesame ‘Learning Through Play’ Initiative, which will reach millions of children and caregivers across South Africa through television, digital media, and targeted community engagement. The findings will also inform a USD $100 Million Humanitarian Play Programto support children affected by the Rohingya and Syrian refugee crises. The Play Every Day program empowered caregivers and children to learn together, rather than in parallel, providing valuable insights for the development of caregiver-child programming. “With such a large portion of the South African population being in low-resource settings, this research is invaluable and will guide Takalani Sesame programs in South Africa. We continue to educate caregivers and teachers on the benefits that Learning through Play provides, as one of the most powerful ways for children to learn, develop and overcome setbacks,” said Innocent Nkata, Managing Director of Sesame Workshop South Africa. The facilitated workshops, implemented through local community partners, provided primary caregivers with content that is easy to replicate at home to improve caregiver confidence in playful learning techniques and provide new ideas for engagement with children, such as building toys with recycled materials and playing pretend using everyday household items. To ensure culturally relevant and effective interventions, the 12-week intervention was preceded by three pilot phases between November 2016 and May 2018 that tested a variety of play activities, materials, and methods of facilitation for each country. “The LEGO Foundation is working to build a future in which learning through play helps all children grow into creative, engaged, life-long learners. Parents and other primary caregivers are fundamental to this aim as they are children’s first teachers and playmates. We are excited about the positive results from the Play Every Day program. We hope that these insights will inspire and empower primary caregivers in in South Africa to harness the power of learning through play,” said Kerry Kassen, LEGO Foundation Initiatives Lead for South Africa. The findings have been announced as we celebrate World Play Day on 28 May. To mark this important day, Sesame Workshop and the LEGO Foundation are partnering with Cotlands and Kagiso Trust to host an event at the Multipurpose Centre in Sasolburg on 1 June 2019. Takalani Sesame Muppets Zuzu and Kami will join over 300 children to highlight this year’s World Play Day theme, “Play is a right.” The event will feature songs, dancing, and play activities for children. “We’re deeply committed to bringing learning experiences to children across South Africa through Takalani Sesame, and we too believe that play is a right for all children,” adds Mr. Nkata. “This World Play Day, we have a lot to celebrate; with the new research findings, we will be able to build upon our work to ensure that every child has access to positive, playful experiences.” Additional highlights from the Play Every Day impact evaluation can be found online here.

June 4, 2019

Capriccio! Arts Powered Schools – Learn@Home

Learn@Home, our school’s arts inspired online learning programme, has been specially devised to facilitate and integrate the holistic development of pre-school learners through a unique Play & Learn approach that mimics our school’s fun-filled arts powered curriculum presented on site.

May 26, 2019

The Value of Performance Arts in Healthy Child Development

Although some might view arts education as a luxury, creative expression is in fact a prime basic building block of healthy, well-rounded education in the early years. Learning to create & express is greatly beneficial to all children. Benefits of Performance Arts Motor skills: Many of the motions involved in dancing and gymnastics constitutes the foundation of gross motor development. It incorporates balance, weight distribution, strength, coordination and awareness of our bodies. And while these physical benefits are convincing in themselves, the mental and emotional effects of an environment where you are both challenged and encouraged, are of unparalleled value to a child’s development. Not many achievements are more rewarding to a child than learning and creating something, working hard and successfully mastering skills. Language, social & emotional development: Drama has long been used by childcare therapists; the benefits are countless. When exploring movement and emotion, children learn to appropriately express themselves with both verbal and non-verbal communication. This in turn gives them a head start when it comes to social interaction and interpersonal relationships. With poetry and speech, as teachers, we’re given the opportunity to lay a foundation for speech, the way it should be. During pretend play and improvisation, children learn about decision-making and responding to situations as they arise. They get the opportunity to broaden their vocabulary, improve articulation and intonation and develop breath control, to name just a few advantages; all of this whilst building self-confidence and healthy self-esteem. Visual, audio and cognitive development: Playing a musical instrument, drawing, sculpting, threading beads and painting all develop fine motor and visual-spatial skills, which are more important than ever in treating and avoiding sensory processing disorders, as well as holistically raising a well-rounded, expressive, creative and happy child. For more information on our school’s arts powered offerings, please contact Capriccio! Arts Powered Schools for more information, be it our extra-mural programs in the afternoons, or arts powered pre-school & primary education.

April 5, 2019

Creating a curious mind and fostering life-long learning by having a growth mind-set

You can teach a student a lesson for a day, but if you can teach him/her to learn by curiosity, he/she will continue the learning process as long as he/she lives – Clay P. Bedford Children are naturally curious. They are constantly exploring the world around them; constantly asking questions, and constantly wondering how things work. The question, therefore, is not how do we create a curious mind, but how do we nurture a child’s curiosity so that they have a continued passion for learning throughout their lives. Learning is about discovering how life works, and children are not afraid to ask the “How?” and “Why?” questions. A curious mind is a hidden force that drives learning, critical thinking, and reasoning. It’s about having an open and active mind. It puts the brain in a state that makes learning easier, more enjoyable, and longer-lasting. Stimulating a child’s curiosity impacts their learning and development for a lifetime. Curious children explore their environment, devour books and information, ask questions, investigate concepts, manipulates data, searches for meaning, connect with people and nature, and seek new learning experiences. So how do we nurture this curious mind? Model interest in the world, and teach them to be good observers When walking around wonder out loud about the things you see. The trees, the sky, etc. Follow the child’s lead Encourage their natural interests. Children learn so much more through activities that capture their attention and interest. Encourage them to ask questions Answer their questions simply and clearly, in a way, they will understand. Before answering though, first, ask them what their thoughts are. If you do not know the answer let them know that not knowing is also ok, and then model how they can go about finding the answers (eg. Internet, talking to someone, etc) Introduce your child to the library and foster a love for books and reading, whether it be story books or about rockets. Stimulate your child with open-ended questions that can’t be answered with only a “ye”, “no” or “fine”. Create an interesting environment, continuously rotate your supply of toys to keep things “fresh”. Redirect behaviour instead of discouraging it. For example, if they like pouring out water from their cup onto the floor from their highchair, move them to the floor or backyard with a bucket in front of them so they can continue experimenting with a water. This will also teach them problem-solving skills, creative and acceptable ways to do and get what they want. Allow time for open-ended activities Do not tell them what to do with materials like boxes, blocks, water, sand, etc; how to do it; or what it should look like in the end. Curiosity broadens a child’s mind, and a broader mind helps in the holistic development of the child. Curiosity should therefore never be suppressed or else it can have an adverse impact on a child’s early development. As John Holt says: “Children do not need to be made to learn” since they are already born with what Einstein called “the holy curiosity of inquiry”. By Lauren Holton, Teacher at Trinityhouse Northriding

March 11, 2019

Does your child have enough space to play?

Play for a child, prepares them for adulthood with all life’s delights and contests. What better way to learn as a child than to be given the chance to play freely in large areas? One of my best memories as a child was of running around the field at Pre-school with my friends in tow, the real excitement at finding new treasure troves, making up games, and the tangible fear we felt, like when we had to climb a high jungle gym or run away from a scary dinosaur! Being brought onto the playground, where we would get stuck in exploring all the new possibilities there for fun, games and imagination. What a treat! Because I was fortunate enough to have a home with a large garden, I remember how liberated I felt being free to meander around without my parents watching me all the time, and how nature became my learning ground. However, I would imagine that this is not the case for most children because of the way society has changed and with many of us now living in townhouse complexes, some with very limited space. Today’s children get so few opportunities to play freely, because we understandably fear for their safety, be it the road or “stranger danger.” My own interest in play and children’s development stems from my experience of working as a Teacher and Principal for the past 27 years, where I meet the most amazing children and their parents every day and fortunately are willing to help them with any issues, usually related to their development, emotions or behaviour. From my work, research, studies and experience, I have gained a good sense of what children need to develop to their full potentials. Not a lot has been written on the benefits of playgrounds, which is surprising given that our children spend so much time in them. Below are 7 good reasons why children should have space to play, based on different aspects of a child’s development: Social, Brain and Language Development Children of all ages develop their social skills on a playground through the creation of “games”, like catch or make-believe play, where the equipment is turned into something else (e.g. obstacle course, hospital, school, etc), where children give themselves roles and they work out the “rules of the game” in cooperation. Playgrounds provide an opportunity for children to practice their social skills, to come up with solutions to problems, and to learn self-control in working out their conflicts. Play also encourages language development, as children often talk aloud during their play (e.g. “Look at me going down the big slide!”), and the interaction with their peers allows them to express their thoughts and feelings and to develop their understanding and spoken skills. I’ve noticed that children who don’t even speak the same language can get on just fine during play! Physical Development and Good Physical Exercise As children progress, they are drawn to different systems of play which encourage their development, like rough and tumble play. Children naturally seek this form of play, which helps them to work out their physical space in the world, where their body begins and where it ends. This is crucial for the development of their motor skills and spatial awareness. It’s FUN! Large open spaces encourage your children to get out there and move! It’s so much fun and exhilarating for them! Playing is your child’s most natural form of expression, regardless of their age, and when they are engaged in it they forget everything else and really enjoy the moment. By Elizabeth Steenkamp, Principal of Junior Colleges Castillian

March 6, 2019

MYSCHOOL MYVILLAGE MYPLANET AND GROW PARTNER FOR QUALITY EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

The MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet community loyalty programme has launched a new partnership with the GROW with Educare Centres project to establish 21 high-quality early childhood development centres (ECD) in under-resourced communities of Cape Town and Gauteng over the next two years. With funding of almost R5 million, this is one of MySchool’s biggest commitments to a single project to date. GROW with Educare’s unique model takes a multi-faceted approach to solving the ECD crisis in South Africa in a sustainable and scalable way. The organisation is establishing a successful chain of ECD centres in under-resourced communities; managed by capable independent principals with trained, qualified teachers. GROW with Educare is bringing private school level ECD, as well as sustainable job creation, into communities where quality Educare is currently not accessible or affordable. “Through the use of best practice principles such as social franchising, ongoing mentorship and both business and personal development, GROW with Educare is progressively helping the women who run Educare centres move from a place of dependence to dignity,” says Tracey Chambers, CEO of GROW with Educare. The first five years of life is the most critical of all child development phases; with nutrition, care and opportunities for cognitive, physical, social and emotional learning laying the foundations for future adult behaviours and abilities. Deficits in ECD result in a lifetime of being disadvantaged. Worldwide, delivering quality ECD has been identified as a key strategy to break entrenched cycles of poverty and inequality. GROW uses a tool developed by the World Bank (the MELQO – Measuring Early Learning Quality Outcomes) to evaluate whether children in GROW schools are achieving internationally benchmarked milestones of development. “MySchool welcomes the opportunity to partner with GROW and see 21 new high quality GROW Educare Centres get off the ground over 2019 and 2020,” says Pieter Twine, MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet General Manager. “This is a project that brings together vital education and child care, as well as entrepreneurship, employment and sustainable community development. Each year, under-resourced pre-school centres in Gauteng and Cape Town will be transformed and brought into the thriving GROW brand community. There will be the upgrading of facilities to meet mandatory ECD standards; leadership, business and education training for the micro-franchisee; educational training for child caregivers; provision of outstanding educational resources through GROW Learning; a healthy, balanced nutrition programme, ongoing monitoring and evaluation, as well as active mentoring, and parent and community outreach. Each school will also start the process of registration with the Department of Social Development. It’s the kind of project that matters to MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet cardholders who can support GROW by simply nominating them as a beneficiary and then using their card every time they shop at our retail partners. GROW was established in 2013 to counteract the extreme lack of access to quality ECD in marginalised South African communities where there are hosts of working parents and pitifully few safe, quality childcare options available. Many GROW with Educare Centres have stemmed out of grass-roots, home-based care for very young children where the infrastructure is sub-standard, child caregivers are untrained, over-crowded classrooms are the norm and educational resources are severely limited. With its ‘education-in-a-box’ and ‘business-in-a-box’ concepts, GROW delivers a deep, ongoing intervention which results in well-supported inspirational centres of excellence that have positive ripple effects and help turn the tide against poverty and inequality in their communities. “GROW is delighted to join hands with MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet and become a cause that matters to the loyal cardholders,” says Chambers. “We are in an important phase of building an aspirational brand using the best principles of franchising to boost education in the country. This enables us to manage and maintain the standards in GROW Educare Centres while business owners are empowered to earn a decent salary and also offer others gainful employment. By the end of 2019, our impact will include almost 1900 learners across 77 classrooms in 52 schools in the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, and 218 jobs will be created.” To support GROW, add them as one of your MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet beneficiaries. If you don’t have a card, sign up for free at www.myschool.co.za or download the App and nominate GROW as one of three possible beneficiaries.

February 22, 2019

FROM PLAYSCHOOL TO BIG SCHOOL: HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD SUCCESSFULLY TRANSITION

Moving from pre-school into a formal schooling environment is a big step not only for young children, but also for their parents. Doubts and anxiety often accompany this major move, but parents should aim to ensure a conscious transition which addresses specific issues that may arise, so that their child starts their school career on a solid foundation, an expert says. “Some of the practical things can be very exciting – sorting out school uniforms and supplies, learning about the new routine, meeting the new teacher and exploring the new school grounds,” says Trudie Gilmore, General Manager at ADvTECH Junior Colleges. “However, the increased demands and unfamiliar environment can be daunting, and children need to be eased into the new situation. Additionally, parental expectations can cause unnecessary pressure at this young age,” she says. Gilmore says when embarking on this exciting new life chapter, parents and guardians should remember the following: ALLOW FOR MAKING MISTAKES The lesson is in the learning, not only the outcome, notes Gilmore. “At this age, parents should encourage their children to be more independent and, where possible, to think for themselves. Encourage your child to practise small ways to look after themselves such as dressing themselves, ensuring their bookbags are packed, and looking after their belongings. Encourage and praise them for trying, even when they don’t get it perfectly right.” PRACTISE PERSEVERANCE “It can be tremendously frustrating for young children if they are unable to complete a task to their satisfaction. Teach your child that when learning new things, it’s important that they keep on trying, even if they find things challenging. Don’t step in and ‘fix’ the situation, but rather guide, encourage and motivate.” PLAY NICELY Junior school is an important social milestone, and the time when children need to start working and engaging in meaningful play with their peers, even if they don’t automatically get along. Encourage your child to be inclusionary and kind, which will help them develop emotional maturity, as well as confidence. “You can also prepare together by acting out different situations with toys. Playing games that involve turns or rules, such as board games, are good for practising how to get along with others. This way, children can try out some of the skills they’ll need later to make friends.” ENCOURAGE CURIOSITY “Being interested and curious about the things around us is really important for learning. Encourage your child’s natural sense of curiosity by talking to them about things, people and places when you are out and about. New research has shown clear benefits for children whose parents engage them in productive conversation, that is, where each takes turns to listen and respond appropriately,” says Gilmore. “Listen to and answer their questions, nurture their love of reading – an exciting and empowering new skill – and look things up on the computer together. Try to see the world through your child’s eyes, and talk and wonder about the everyday things you see and hear.” Gilmore says parents must be prepared to help their children navigate and manage increased stress levels caused by more challenging schoolwork, homework, assessments, diversity within the school environment, after-school activities and possible bullying. “Ensure your child is able to respond to the challenges they will face every day, by limiting any additional pressure,” she says. “And remember, sleep is key. Children who get enough sleep are likely to be less short-tempered and better able to handle school stress. Also beware of piling on extra-mural activities. We’ve come to believe that busy equals happy, but over-scheduling means less free time and family time.” Our society is expecting more and more from children at younger ages, says Gilmore. “Our job as parents and guardians is to help them understand and respond appropriately to these demands, and develop their emotional intelligence to set them up for a successful and productive school career.”

February 15, 2019

Values in the Classroom

As technological advancements have swept through classrooms in the last decade, the way in which children are taught has changed, shifting towards a modernized approach. At Capriccio! Arts Powered Schools, we acknowledge the numerous benefits of technology in the classroom and create a pro-tech learning environment. We are however of the opinion that value-based learning should form an integral part of the foundation upon which children are educated. Our uniquely designed curriculum fosters the cognitive, emotional, physical, social and artistic development of little ones and young children. As such, our specialized enrichment programmes focus on preparing children for life by instilling within them important values, which form one of the cornerstones of our learners’ educational journey. Combining elements of Montessori, Reggio Emilio and Waldorf, we have developed a number of unique enrichment programmes aimed at: Instilling values like honesty, integrity and sincerity by means of story-telling, games, puppeteering and role play. Introducing grace, courtesy, etiquette and social skills, reinforcing learning through role play, stories, puppet theatre and other media. Preparing our children for life via practical lessons learnt from the Bible. Our Christian ethos provides a consistent foundation upon which is built to instil family values – Practical lessons from the Bible form part of equipping our learners for a meaningful life. For more information on our integrated, innovative and creative approach to providing wholesome and well-rounded pre-primary and primary education, visit: www.artspreschool.co.za.

February 7, 2019

Playing Smart

From the moment they can see, feel, smell and hear, your baby is learning. What can you do to help the process along and make sure your baby is getting just the right stimulation? Toptots Early Learning offers these wonderful tips. 0-3 months: At this age babies can’t grab or move toys around so their experience is through sight, touch and sound. Although mobiles will attract your baby’s attention they do get bored looking at the same thing each day, so choose one with interchangeable items or put a mirror where they can see it whilst on their tummy – great for looking at “the other baby” and developing neck muscles. Different rattles with different sounds also help to stimulate hearing, whilst at the same time making baby try and turn sideways to see where the sound’s coming from. Home-made ideas for the 0 – 3 month old: Encouraging babies to stay on their tummies isn’t easy but by half filling a 2 litre plastic bottle with water, adding some food colouring, glitter confetti, tinsel or anything brightly coloured and then sealing the lid with nail varnish, you will have a great new toy. This toy will keep baby amused for some time but also be helping to strengthen those neck muscles whilst he is on his tummy. 4-7 months: They’ve discovered their hands which, when covered with bright socks or a wrist rattle, can be great fun. They need different textures to try and grasp, so use soft toys and squeaker toys making a noise for them to reach for. Hold things in different positions for them, encouraging hand eye coordination and strengthening muscles. And don’t forget the old favourite – blowing bubbles which helps strengthen tiny eye muscles. Home-made ideas for the 4 – 7 month old: A helium balloon, filled with some rice and tied onto your baby’s foot not only makes a great noise but will encourage kicking. Please remember that balloons and their strings are a choking hazard, so if the balloon pops, please discard the pieces immediately. 8-12 months: Now baby is sitting and enjoying toys that he can manipulate. Babies love putting things in and out of containers and finding hidden objects. Cardboard, cloth or vinyl books with different textures make great toys as well for this age group. Who doesn’t remember the joy of a simple ball? Give baby balls of different shapes and sizes, soft and hard, even spiky, then roll the ball back and forth between you – learning to share starts with mum and dad. Large blocks are also a win as baby knocks down the tower you built, teaching them about cause and effect. Although they may not be able to completely master knob puzzles, they will be able to take the pieces out, which is a great fine motor skill. Although the thought of musical instruments may sound daunting a xylophone is great for learning different notes and associating them with different keys to develop good listening skills. Home-made ideas for the 8 – 12 month old: Give baby half a cup of frozen peas to play with. By picking them up one by one they’ll learn fine motor coordination and to eat by themselves. Become a magician with a cardboard paper towel tube by posting items down one end and to baby’s amazement showing how they come out the other end! 13 months – 2 years: At this stage they’re up and about, following you around, imitating your movements and looking for things to challenge their manipulatory abilities. They’re starting to talk and understand a lot more than they can say. Reading, maybe even the same story over and over, is a great source of joy for babies at this stage. Reading aloud to children stimulates their interest, their emotional development and their imagination. Remember readers are not born, they are made! Stacking rings and nesting beakers help dexterity and spatial visualisation, teaching them about size. Push and pull toys, carts with rigid handles to load and unload are great and sorting buckets with basic shapes will teach shape recognition, encouraging hand eye coordination. This is also the time to encourage imagination. Tea sets for boys and girls, dolls, brooms and mops. Babies don’t know about gender and it’s important not to stereotype them at this age. They see daddy making coffee and want to play with a tea set or dad holding a baby and want to imitate that as well. Boys with sisters get the chance to experiment with dolls but generally we don’t buy dolls for our sons – whereas we wouldn’t think twice about buying a car for our daughter… Tunnels make wonderful birthday gifts bringing hours of fun to the mobile toddler and wooden blocks, as against plastic interlocking ones, take a lot of manipulation whilst learning to stack them. Home-made ideas for the 13 – 24 month old: Using an old formula tin, cut a circular hole in the lid, add some practice golf balls with holes in and you’ve got a shape sorter. Then try squares and triangles, varying the shapes as they get older. 3 – 5 years: A child of this age is testing his independence, control of language and learning new skills every day. They need to be watched constantly as they have no sense of caution or fear. Dressing up clothes encourages imagination. Paint, play dough, stamping and stickers are great creative hits at this age. Puzzles, preferably to match their interests, like trucks maybe, will encourage them to build it. Playing and sharing activities is important now so make sure there’s ample play dates. Dolls houses and garages are wonderful gifts amusing them for hours on end. A love of nature, collecting bugs and looking at butterflies and animals can be encouraged with books. Home-made ideas for the 3 – 5 year old: Don’t forget to re-enact nursery rhymes like Humpty Dumpty and all the other old

December 14, 2018

12345…maths for your toddler!

If you always thought that mathematics only revolved around numbers, think again! “There is a myriad of concepts that can help to prepare your child for school related mathematics,” says Liz Senior, Founder of Clamber Club and Occupational Therapist. “Pre-arithmetic readiness includes memory and sequencing abilities, the ability to understand shape, form and volume,” explains Liz. “It requires the child’s understanding of size, position, length and quantity,” she adds. Montessori found that learning about numbers requires 3 stages: The ability to sort objects into sets. Before your child can identify for example, 3 cars as being part of the same `set’, he needs to understand why they belong together. To do this, he needs to recognise the properties that cars have in common. The ability to match or pair one set of objects with another set. For example, there is one bead in this set and one shell in that set. Give the child another bead and another shell and see if he can match them together with the first set into pairs. This means that he will have 2 beads, and two shells. The ability to compare. A child needs to understand that two stones are less than 3 stones, and that 4 stones are greater than 3. Once he can do this, he can put things in an `order’. Liz shares with us a few activities that will give you some ideas of `mathematic fun’ on a daily basis. Use them as the opportunity arises, remembering where possible to talk about what you are doing, as the physical experience and the verbal reinforcement can help to consolidate many basic concepts. As you go, provide your child with opportunities to touch things, move them around, compare them, to climb over, through, under and on top. Allow and encourage him to experiment! Numbers Rhymes such as “1, 2 buckle my shoe,” or “12345 once I caught a fish alive” can be sung with your child even before he has a concept of the words. This verbalisation helps your child to memorise the names of numbers, particularly those from one to ten. Songs, finger exercises and rhymes with rhythmical number verbalisations all help to establish basic `rote’ counting and provide an introduction to numbers. Gradually your child will learn to count objects and understand the meaning of two or three. Quantity When you talk to your child, include quantity in your conversation – He has “lots” of books, and I have only a “few.” He has “more” hair than you have. You have “less than” him. Put different amounts of cereal in two bowls. Discuss which one has the most cereal and which one has the least. Which one would he prefer? Position and sequence When walking around together, try walking in a row. Who is in front, who is in the middle and who is last? Who is behind who? Swop positions and encourage your child to say where he is – in the middle, at the back or in the front. This game, once played on a physical level, can also be played using dollies and teddies or building blocks Understanding position and sequence is essential to understanding numbers and mathematics. For example, which number comes before number 5? or which number comes after seven? Length Take out some playdough and make roly poly worms together. Make long worms and short worms. Which worm is the longest and which is the shortest? Look in the mirror together and compare heights. Who is the tallest, who is the shortest? Size Collect some cardboard boxes – shoe boxes, apple boxes, fridge boxes, and cereal boxes. Ask your child to put objects in the biggest box, the smallest box. See how many objects do you have to put in the box until it is full. Which box can he fit into? For the older child, put boxes in a row from biggest to smallest. Mix beads together of different size. Show your child how to sort the beads by size into different containers. Start off with only 2 sizes and then add as your child becomes more adept. (The ability to sort into sets is a basic mathematic requirement) Shape Shapes described in mathematical terms are everywhere. Diameters, circumferences, to the square of, measurement of space – all relate to shape. Look out for square and rectangular boxes (cereal boxes, tea boxes, shoe boxes) circles (bowls, bottles, balls) and triangles (Toblerone chocolate!) Point them out to your child, discuss the shapes. Go on a shape hunt in the kitchen. Put some containers with different shape and size lids out for your child to match. Mass Look for heavy and light objects to experiment with. A bag of stones can be heavy, and you need to be strong to carry them. A balloon is light and can be hit up in the air. Explore the same concept in the bath with floating objects and sinking objects. Which object is the heaviest and which the lightest? Guess which one will float or sink. Volume Put some Tupperware containers into the sandpit to play with. Make some full of sand and leave some empty. How much sand will fit in the bucket until it is full? The same concept can be used in many ways. Your cup is full and now that you’ve drunk the water it’s empty. Show your child how to pack things in and out of boxes. Thickness Baking activities are wonderful for describing many of these concepts! Squash the dough until you have a thin layer or make a thick layer instead. Make thick biscuits and thin biscuits, big biscuits and small biscuits – and of course, count the biscuits! Cut a thick slice of bread and a thin slice of bread, look at a thick book that has many pages or a thin book. Discuss the thickest and the thinnest. Fractions Use the idea of fractions in your daily activities. Cut the bread in half, or into

November 30, 2018

How to prepare a child for an older sibling

Expecting the arrival of your second child is an exciting event, but this may not be so for your older child, especially those between two and six years old. Start by telling your older child about the arrival of his or her new sibling. Use age-appropriate language and pictures to explain how the baby is growing so the connection can be made from about the 5th month of your pregnancy. Encourage your child to talk to and sing to your bump. Explain that the baby will not be a playmate right away and will sleep and feed most of the time but can also cry a lot because that is a baby’s only means of communication. It is important that children and parents learn together about what it means have a new sibling in the family. Let your child take part in the preparations, but constantly talk about all the excitement and preparation you made for his/her arrival. Get out the family photos and talk about how you had to feed, change, rock and cuddle him/her. Be honest about how tired you sometimes felt and that you may get tired again and not be able to play so many games together, but just for a while. When the new baby arrives allow your child to visit you and the baby in hospital. Do not hold the baby during this time until you have given undivided attention to the older child. Introduce them and allow the child to gently stroke and maybe even hold the baby with you. Now is the time to talk about how careful you must be with a small baby. Very young children could be upset, simply because their routine has been disrupted and Mom is in bed in a strange place. For them, do not put too much emphasis on the baby but spend the visit cuddling and talking. Regardless of your older child’s age, make sure that he or she gets individual attention when the new baby arrives home. (Do not arrive with the baby in your arms!) Remember to include him or her in photographs or videos you take of the baby. Sometimes children will act out with arrival of a sibling. Praise positive behaviour and give love, understanding and assurance rather than corrective discipline. They may have toilet training accidents, want to drink from a bottle or ask for a dummy. These are normal reactions that require tolerance during regressive episodes. If you make no fuss and little comment, the phase will soon pass. No one goes to big school with a dummy! Encourage your older child to be gentle with the baby and include them in activities that involve the baby such as bathing, changing and dressing. Encourage singing and talking to the baby. Babies are usually fascinated by older children. Praise him or her when they are helpful and always try and plan one on one time with them, so they feel equally important and cared for Help your child develop a sense of why they are a valuable member of the family by focusing on what they can do, and the baby can’t. Tell them that each member of the family is important for what they bring to the unit and the family needs each person for it to be whole. Raising your child to accept and adapt to new conditions within the households will assist them in future changes that may be challenging. Raising resilient and collaborative children is a priority in our world. Written by: Academic Development Coordinator of ADvTECH Schools Division, Barbra Eaton And Bev O’Shea, Principal at Junior College Preschools Tiny Town.

July 2, 2018

Arts Powered Learning: choosing a pre-school that fosters creative thinking and a life-long love of learning

Who Are We? Capriccio! Arts Powered Pre-School is a registered Montessori inspired ECD independent school in Milnerton. The Italian wordcapriccio has two interpretations: A lively piece of music; short and free in form. A painting or work of art representing a fantasy or a mixture of real and imaginary features. Both of the above interpretations are representative of our approach to education in the early years, which is designed to harness the full benefits of early exposure to the arts. At Capriccio! our focus is on nurturing each child’s cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and artistic development in a loving, creative and holistic learning environment. We are passionate about the role of art in education and recognise the power it has in instilling within little ones a life-long love of learning. What Are the Benefits of Arts Powered Learning? Studies have shown that exposure to arts education from a young age accelerates positive brain development. Art in all its various forms – music, drama, dance and visual art, has an infinite capacity to affect both the brain and the body, acting as a unifying force that supports and enhances cognitive, physical, emotional, and social skills in young children. Ainissa Ramirez once said, “Creativity is the secret sauce to science, technology, engineering and math.” Exposing young learners to arts powered education creates an open learning environment that fosters curiosity and encourages creative thinking and problem solving. These are transferable skills that are essential to building a strong foundation in other learning areas. We believe that children possess an innate property for appreciation and enjoyment of the arts. By engaging this appreciation from a young age, little ones are provided with a means by which to express themselves, which allows them to progress, self-actualise and foster healthy self-esteem throughout their lives. Our Approach to Arts Powered, Montessori Inspired Learning At Capriccio! the expressive needs and individual developmental abilities of each of our little ones are taken into account. By incorporating arts-driven learning and Montessori principals into our curriculum we create a learning environment which provides each child the opportunity to flourish at their own pace. Montessori is a child centred philosophy of education, which recognises that each child has the innate eagerness to acquire knowledge and a deep love of learning. In keeping with this philosophy, we are focused on following the individual child and acknowledging his or her ability to direct their own learning journey in a carefully prepared learning environment. We have incorporated the traditional Montessori areas of learning such as, practical life, education of the senses, literacy, numeracy and arithmetic, knowledge and understanding of the world, creativity, and outdoor learning, into our methodology and materials. As Sydney Gurewitz Clemens said, “Art has the role in education of helping children become like themselves instead of more like everyone else.” It is our belief that art has intrinsic value in giving each child the freedom of self-discovery throughout their learning journey. For more information on our philosophy and approach please visit our website:www.artspreschool.co.za

June 26, 2018

Play is crucial for early child development

Only 29 percent of South African children have access to safe, child-appropriate play areas in their communities, this according UNICEF, but a local organisation – Play Africa is championing for this change countrywide. Gretchen Wilson-Prangley, CEO of Play Africa – a social enterprise organisation driving inclusive public learning for the country’s most vulnerable says play is “exceedingly important” for children of all ages and an integral part of early learning and healthy social development. “Neuroscience has confirmed that the first few years of a child’s life is crucial for early learning. And play forms part of early learning and is far more valuable than we realise,” she says. Wilson-Prangley says play sparks imagination, enhances creativity and problem solving capacities, promotes teamwork and helps to instil empathy and compassion for others. “I believe in the importance of helping to advance children’s basic rights and this includes the right to play,” she says. And since many South African children lack toys and other learning materials that can help stimulate a range of child-initiated, open-ended activities which bolster cognitive, physical, social and emotional development, Wilson-Prangley explains that her organisation seeks to promote one single message – there is no cost to play. Their workshops encourage parents and children to make use of everyday materials when playing. “We demonstrate just how to transform everyday items into play materials using the imagination. Few people know that you’re able to make a robot or a rocket ship using clean milk containers, or a car out of empty loo paper rolls. What’s important is the process and the imagination and creativity it stimulates,” she says. Further, she says play is a “good way to engage” and helps children make use of their imagination; she also describes it as “pleasurable and enjoyable”. “Playing overall gives children an opportunity to stretch their thinking and imagination, it also invites repeated active engagement which is highly beneficial for children of all ages,” Wilson-Prangley says.

January 19, 2018

Some games are good for cognitive development – experts say

Certain toys and games play an integral part in a child’s cognitive development and one of the best ways to nurture a young brain is through play – it challenges thinking and the ability to process information. The body as an “architect of the brain” Parenting expert Nikki Bush explains that the body is an “architect of the brain” during childhood and in order to best understand the world around them, children need to be exposed to a range of scenarios to ensure the brain remains stimulated. She says that school, home and the outdoor environments are important; and so are toys and games with educational value, like Lego, and arts and crafts. Engaging in conversation with both adults and children is also a “big advantage” and encourages interaction and open communication. Different stages; different needs “Children go through different stages of development that all play a role in their ultimate cognitive development. Different environments, different people and different toys with value help to stimulate the young mind and assists children to interpret new information accurately,” Bush says. And a young brain learns easily, she explains that during childhood the brain is “extremely plastic and elastic” and with the result, learning is much easier for young children than older people. “Ever hear the saying that a child’s brain is like a sponge? That’s because it’s 100 percent correct, much learning happens when they’re young as they’re able to absorb information and understand things quite easily,” she says. Phases of learning: Concrete Semi-concrete Abstract The concrete learning phase is most important, Bush says no images on screens or in a book can substitute the real thing, “real trumps everything in early learning”. The Child Development Team at Toy Kingdom South Africa says stocking toys that are good for cognitive development is high on its priority list. The range of Hape products, along with Lego are just few developmental toys on the store’s shelves. “Children thrive on three-dimensional learning. And the concrete phase allows a child to interact with a real object with their bodies. They are able to feel that an apple is round, see its colour, taste and smell it,” she says. Bush says children should be able to internalise and experience with their bodies for an ultimate memorable learning experience.

November 14, 2017

Early School Years Crucial for Cultivating Emotional Intelligence in a Child

Of the twelve years that children spend at school, the foundation phase – years one through four – are the most critical for cementing the long-term potential of children and enabling them to become successful adults, an education expert says. “It goes without saying that academic excellence is important, but developing children’s emotional intelligence may literally make the difference between success and failure in their lives,” says Chris Van Niekerk, head at Founders Hill College, part of Africa’s largest private education provider, ADvTECH. He says that when undertaking the important task of investigating schooling options, parents and guardians should consider more than the academic or sporting achievements and track record of a school, and also enquire about a school’s approach to instilling vital life skills. “Nurturing emotional intelligence should be considered as important as teaching children to read, write and do arithmetic – if not more – and schools, parents and communities have a duty to ensure this fundamental life skill is not left by the wayside,” he says. Van Niekerk says the younger the age at which children acquire these insights and skills, the better. “It’s in years one to four that children learn to love learning; learn about a world that challenges and rewards; and learn what makes them who they are: unique human beings who hold a wealth of potential and who can do anything they put their hearts and minds into. “It is during these years that these skills become part of the child’s character and personality: guiding their decisions, helping them make sense of the world, and being the foundation of their relationships with others. Starting with five-year-olds is the best place to start.” Emotional intelligence can be described as a set of softer skills that help children grow up to become “likeable”, successful human beings who can accept that not everybody in the world is going to be like you, agree with you or think like you. More than this, it’s understanding that this diversity is not only good and desirable, but to be celebrated and embraced. “It’s learning how to give and take: to compromise and to negotiate. It’s learning to relate to others: to empathise and communicate your own feelings in a situation. It’s learning to listen to what other people say, and how to speak your own mind. It’s acquiring the skills and the confidence to articulate your feelings and ideas, and it’s learning to identify what it is, exactly, that makes you respond the way you do to people and situations around you. Critically, it’s learning how to manage those feelings, instead of letting them manage you.” Van Niekerk says that emotional intelligence skills aren’t ones that can be taught in lesson slots on the timetable. Instead, they should form part of all interactions, whether they be during academic, social or physical activities. Additionally, provision should be made for assisting children who show signs of needing early intervention to reach emotional intelligence milestones. “Success cannot only be measured academically and professionally. It is measured by the quality of our relationships, and by our ability to lead meaningful, effective lives,” he says.

November 9, 2017

Why is early childhood education so important?

By… Chantelle Anderson – Head Directress and Owner at Montessori Nosipho pre-school As an early childhood educator I often come across concerned parents who ask the question, when is the right time for my child to start school? There are many things to consider when answering this very important question. Maria Montessori believed that children pass through different stages throughout their development when they have a sensitivity to learn a specific skill, hence she came up with the term ‘sensitive periods’. Children are in their sensitive period for many things between birth and 6 years of age so it is important to make sure that when they enter into each stage that their needs are met and they are stimulated correctly and sufficiently in order for them to develop in all the ways necessary, cognitively, intellectually, socially, emotional and physically. Different sensitive periods include, sensitive period for order, language, movement, refinement of senses, grace and courtesy, numbers, just to name but a few. A child’s sensitive period for language is between birth and 6 years, actually believe it or not from 7 months in utero to 6 years old. The prenatal influence on language is important as this will allow a child to start making sounds and speaking small simple words at the age of 7-8 months to being able to communicate with 3-4 words sentences by 3 years of age. In saying this, this is an important part of a child’s life, as they need to be able to use words or language in order to communicate, a vital part in our everyday lives. I have heard concerns from many parents that because their child isn’t of speaking age, it is atomically assumed that they cannot attend school because they cannot communicate. This is not the case at all as children will only learn faster and be more advanced being around children of their similar age and having the stimulating environments influence on them, especially in a Montessori environment were children are encouraged to develop through many different ways and experiences, so why can’t they be at school? Why can’t they listen to their older siblings or school peers speak and teaching them how to do so in turn? Children will often copy a child of similar age better than that of a much older sibling or parent so school would give them the best opportunity for this. Another important sensitive period that cannot be missed and certainly won’t be tented to being at home stuck in front of the T.V or not having an adequate environment to help them through this stage or to help the child develop is the sensitive period for movement. A child may learn to crawl, walk and run in their home environment but in the unfortunate event that a child lives in a home environment where they don’t have a garden or play area how will a child learn other necessary skills or how will they meet their sensitive period for movement (birth to 4 years). An early childhood setting will help them by meeting their needs by providing the child with playground equipment that the child can learn to manipulate, and activities that encourage a lot of movement, for example something simple like fetching their snack from their bag, or walking to the bathroom to wash their hands, or tucking in their chair after working at a table, or simply packing away a book they have read, an activity they have done or even toys they have played with. In turn doing all these very simple activities will not only meet their need for movement but will also help develop the child in other ways, fine and gross motor skills, independence, concentration and so on. They are all so closely linked and without the completion of once stage of development another cannot start. My favourite sensitive period that I love watching children work through and explore is their sensitive period for refinement of senses. A child is fascinated with their sensorial experiences such as weight, smell, touch, taste, and sounds, enabling them to make sensory discriminations. A Montessori environment provides the early child with the ability to explore all of these with specifically designed apparatus, such as taste bottles, the sound bottles, the Montessori bells, the baric tablets and touch tablets etc. In a home environment a child will no doubt be exposed to some of these, for example smelling what mom is cooking for the children, walking around the house feeling the different surfaces they walk on, listening to the different sounds they hear, car driving past, a bird, the wind etc, but why should a child be limited to these experiences only when they can have so much more at their fingertips while they are at school. As an example in our Montessori classroom, we provide the children with a nature table, giving them the chance to not only explore the outdoors while looking for something to put on it, but to touch and feel different weights and roughness of items, or feeding the fish in the fish tank, and often with a surprised look on their face when they find out the texture of the fish food, or when their fingers accidentally touch the water and they realise its warmer than they thought. At art time getting the feeling of paint on their hands, or gluey fingers, of the surprising sounds when they cut different textured paper or draw with different crayons, chalk, pencils and charcoal, or the noise of tearing tissue paper, the list is endless. It is so vitally important that a child is given the opportunity to develop with the correct environment around them, think back to your childhood, some of my best memories are with the group of friends I met at my pre-school and how we endured this new thing of ‘going to school’ together but had so much fun in doing so, working through our different stages of our childhood and growing together rather

October 19, 2017

The Vital Years: How to Enrich your Child’s Learning Ability from Birth Until the Age of Eight

Research has shown that we develop most of our ability to learn in the first 8 years of life, especially the first 4. This doesn’t mean that you absorb more knowledge, but that you build more neuro pathways (the main learning pathways of the brain) in this time, than throughout the rest of your life. This is why early childhood development and age appropriate stimulation is so important. Researcher Dr Phil Silva from New Zealand highlights the importance of early stimulation. “It doesn’t mean that the other years are unimportant, but our research has shown that children who have a slow start during the first three years are likely to experience problems right through childhood and into adolescence.” There are 6 main pathways into the brain by which we learn, our 5 senses, sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell, and the sixth step is through what we physically do. This means a baby will learn to crawl by physically crawling. Every day is a learning experience and the more a child is allowed to explore the world the more neuro pathways are built and the more he can learn during his lifetime. Through stimulating a child’s brain, more interacting connections are formed in the brain. The more connections there are the easier it is to learn. What a child does physically in the first few years of life, plays a major part in how well he or she will develop other abilities. Some examples. Developing the brainstem: Activities such as grasping, crawling, pushing, reaching and turning leads to hand-eye coordination and pre-writing abilities. Developing the cerebellum (balancing): Activities such as spinning, swinging, rolling, listening and dancing leads to bicycle riding, reading skills and fine motor coordination. Developing the emotional brain: Activities such as cuddling and playing together leads to love, security and confidence. Developing the thinking brain (cortex): Activities such as stacking toys, puzzles and patterning leads to math, problem solving, spelling and memory. It seems like most countries have their educational priorities completely wrong, as most spend under 10% of their education budget on these forming years. SKidz Clever Activity Boxes has set a curriculum of fun filled activities to bridge this gap. The curriculum is written primarily for babies and toddlers that stay at home with mommy or a nanny, but it has also been used by schools and day mothers. All the equipment is supplied with the manual which gives direction regarding what activities to do each day and what areas of development are being stimulated through those activities. Children learn through exploration, games and play and this is what we have focused on. You can order your age specific box from www.skidz.co.za/shop

July 15, 2017

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