How Do I Teach at Home?

Although having your child enrolled in a high quality kindergarten or school setting is best recommended to support your child’s academic growth and social development there may be times when your child is not able to attend school. This may be due to school closure, illness, or other unavoidable circumstances. During the period your child is not able to attend school it is important to keep the routine as consistent as possible,and to try to keep up with their learning and curriculum goals as much as possible. Even if you have never had to “teach at home” there are some simple guidelines that help you to keep your child learning while they are away from school. 1. Set Clear Learning Goals 2. Create a Structured Routine 3. Use Active Learning Strategies 4. Foster Independent Learning 5. Monitor Progress and Provide Feedback 6. Make Learning Fun 7. Encourage Socialization 8. Additional Tips:

From Scribbles to Sentences: How Writing Skills Develop in Kindergarten

By: Teacher Ravisara Writing is an exciting journey that begins with the simplest of marks on paper. In kindergarten, children move from scribbles to structured sentences through a combination of fine motor development, imagination, and practice. Understanding how these skills develop can help parents support their child’s growth both at home and at school. The Stages of Writing Development Children progress through various stages of writing: Each stage is a valuable part of their development, and parents and teachers can nurture these skills through fun, engaging activities. In the classroom, we provide plenty of opportunities for children to practice writing in playful ways: You don’t need fancy materials to encourage writing at home. Simple, everyday activities can make a big difference. Writing in kindergarten is about progress, not perfection. Celebrate every stage, from scribbles to sentences. Offer positive feedback and encourage your child to express their ideas through writing. With consistent practice at home and at school, your child will develop strong writing skills that will set them up for future success.

Play in Your Child’s Development

by Teacher Nancy D. Sivilai Why is play important for children?  Although, play is often misunderstood as killing time or a free activity with no product to display for parents.   Good play will result in development of social, emotional, physical, intellectual and language benefits for your child.  It has shown that it strengthens skills and deepens understanding of concepts.  It gives your child opportunities to explore, experiment, create and imagine.   In Social development,  play is the means of developing a healthy personality.  Play provides the opportunity to express thoughts and ideas and to try out ways of behaving and feeling.  It will provide your child a safe avenue to express positive and negative emotions.  Play allows your child to be powerful and in control, or to play out frustrations and anger or disappointments.  Your child gets to translate his/her feelings and thoughts into action and be in control to make own choices. In Physical development,   your child will use his/her physical body to run, climb, or swing, and is exercising and strengthening  small muscles as well as large body muscles.  Outside play encourages physical activity, cooperation, and turn taking as your child learns to play together and help each other. In Intellectual Development, through unpressured play, your child can invent new solutions, come up with unique ideas and different approaches even if they are pretend.  Your child learns to be a leader and follower.  Your child learns to give and take.  Your child learns to be less bossy, less meek, less shy.  To be a contributor, to cooperate and to be flexible.  Play encourages your child to be a friend. In Language  skills,  play stretches vocabulary by proving opportunities to use new words, talk to playmates, or listen to another’s language and point of view. Briefly put, play gives your child opportunities to express thoughts and ideas.  Your child will try out skills, create, explore, plan, and discover problems and try out solutions.  In addition,  your child will expand his/her attention as he/she stays on task and remains attentive to activities of his/her choices.  Play does not create pressure or tension that is commonly associated with more structured learning approaches.  Play is one of the most important times in your child’s day. In today’s world of balancing work and home, you may find it hard to have quality time with your child.  It is essential  to make the best use of time with your child.  Your child needs time with you to relax and play.  Playing you’re your child will build a lasting bond.  Playing with your child can also be a stress reducer when overworked.    Laughing and relaxing are important for everyone.  You might play ball, go for a walk, read a story, sing along or play instrument, build with blocks or legos.  Playtime also provides opportunities to talk about any concerns and share your values and increase your communication with your child.  I suggest you say to your child,  “Let’s play and have fun!”

The Benefits of Play-Based learning in Early Years

Play is an essential part of every child’s learning. When children are playing, they are building their knowledge, skills and attitudes for lifelong learning. A play-based learning environment encourages talking, reading, thinking and writing. Through this, children see literacy and numeracy as part of their everyday experience. Children learn best in a hands-on and engaging environment, which play ultimately provides. Every play opportunity that a child encounters can offer meaningful and essential learning experiences, helping them make sense of the world around them. The benefits of play-based learning are wide-ranging, offering children the opportunity to explore, experiment, and interact with the world around them in a way that fosters curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking. Here are some benefits of play-based learning:  To sum up, there are several advantages to play-based learning that promote young children’s overall development. Play-based learning establishes the foundation for lifetime learning and wellbeing by fostering the development of cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and language skills. It encourages kids to interact with the world in imaginative, practical ways that promote curiosity, teamwork, and problem-solving.

Social development in children 

Social development in early childhood is an important part of a child’s overall health and well-being. Cognitive and emotional development are strongly related to social development, and these developmental milestones and indicators collectively lay the foundation for forming interpersonal connections which involves children’s ability to interact with others and regulate their own behaviour. However, the ability to interact with others and behave in various social situations accordingly isn’t something kids are naturally born with. It’s something they are taught and learn over time.  Here’s how you can support the development of these skills at home:  In conclusion, learning to share and communicate, to building friendships and developing empathy are some of the core social development skills in children. Parents can create a positive and supportive environment to encourage healthy social interactions for children.

The Importance of Outdoor Play in Early Years

By Teacher Chantal Playing outdoors is a vital part of early childhood development. Children learn by investigating their surroundings and creating meaning from their encounters. When children are allowed to take charge of their own play, learning flourishes. Outdoor play provides children with opportunities to stay active, healthy and happy through play. Children require a variety of unstructured play opportunities to develop life skills and maintain good physical and mental health. Playgrounds are the perfect place to engage in unstructured play and are crucial for children’s development because children develop skills through play and exploration. Outdoor play is essential for promoting growth since the first five years of life are particularly crucial for brain development and laying the groundwork for subsequent learning and behavior. The following are benefits of outdoor play in early years: Children should be encouraged to spend time playing outside and taking in the beauty of nature. The following are examples of how outdoor play can be encouraged: Overall outdoor play is crucial in early childhood development. It lays the foundation for healthy habits and social skills and should be encouraged by parents and teachers.

What is the importance of sharing ?

Children need to learn how to share, because they need to know how to make and keep friends and play cooperatively. Sharing teaches children about compromise and fairness. They need to learn that if we give a little to others, we can get some of what we want too. A key part in getting along with others is sharing, so it becomes important when children start having friends, going to other children’s houses and when going to school.  Sharing is important for several reasons: Children learn through watching others. When they see good role models that share, they will pick that up and know how to share with others. Children need opportunities to learn about and practise sharing.  Some examples to practise sharing: Although it is important to share, they need to know that it is OK for children to know that there are some things they do not have to share. When a friend is visiting you, you can put your toys away that you do not want to share with them. Overall, sharing lays the foundation for healthy relationships and positive interactions throughout their lives. 

The Importance of Sharing Holidays with your Students. 

By: Teacher Ravisara When planning holiday activities in the classroom, it’s important to take a thoughtful and inclusive approach that honours diverse backgrounds, traditions, and family beliefs. By teaching students about holidays from various cultures and belief systems, teachers and parents help foster empathy and a deeper understanding of different people and perspectives. Most holiday celebrations across cultures emphasise traditions, history, and the reasons a community cares for one another. Introducing children to holidays from different cultures helps them recognize that, despite our differences, we share many commonalities, such as: Parents can enhance the discussion of holidays with their children by reading multicultural holiday books. A key benefit of sharing these books with your children is the opportunity to explain your own beliefs and traditions while addressing their questions. Even better, if you’re unfamiliar with the holiday, you can learn alongside your child. Here are some great books to begin with: Teaching children to appreciate the cultural traditions of others is essential for fostering healthy emotions and social connections. Parents, students, and  teachers can nurture cultural sensitivity by explaining holidays to students and helping them understand why people celebrate in different ways.

How Children Develop Language and Reading

by Nancy Sivilai How Language Develops   Language begins early in life, a baby will pick up the sounds of people in his immediate family and community.  By six months old,  a baby will usually imitate speech intonations, so it sounds as if baby is saying something understandable.  During  the first year most babies have picked up the  most significant language sounds  in their environment.  A baby in Germany will pick up the language sounds of the German language,  a baby in Mexico the language sounds of the Mexican language,  A Thai baby the Thai sounds.    As soon as this ability is acquired they will begin to string them together to make words.   Once they can speak, children will put the words together to match the grammatical rules of their language. They will be motivated to increase their vocabulary and will ask the name of things.  By the time they are in preschool, most children are able to speak their native language.  They did not learn by being drilled in sounds and grammar.  They learned by being immersed in their native language.  By hearing and using language in their home environment. As a parent, it is important to speak to your child in the language you want to him/her to develop.  Many opportunities to learn language happen daily, as you guide your child to eat, dress, wash up, pick up toys or play games.  Childhood is a time when language can be developed quickly and fluently.  I would encourage  development of more than one language as you child will be smarter because the brain is having to make more connections.  Children who are fluent in their mother tongue will most likely  be fluent in the next language.   Reading It used to be accepted that oral language development  came before written language development However, learning to read and talk happens at the same time.  Babies begin to read as sound books and print become a part of their lives. We do not leave children alone to learn to read, we give them assistance just like when they learned to talk.  In developing reading, we model phonic sounds and participate in oral  interactions at the child’s current level ability.   Young children work hard to identify letters.  Children develop reading skills in English as they learn phonics through fun interactive  reading and writing activities.  Children will learn phonics from songs and stories and rhymes which are meaningful to them.  They learn the names and sounds of letters in their own names and other words that are important to them.  Using phonics is one of several necessary reading skills.  Children who are read to at home learn phonics faster.  Reading activities should include story time with  age appropriate books.   Learning to read and learning to write are inseparable.  That is our goal for each child to speak, read and write.  As a parent, take time to read to your child and with your child.  Your child will be learning phonics and doing guided reading at school.  As a parent you can support your child by taking time to review alphabets in their environment in signs, books, boxes, etc and maintain a reading habit with your child as it best works in your family schedule.   May you enjoy watching your child’s language and literacy development as you read, sing songs, play and have fun with your child.

New School Year – New Teacher!

Whether you are going to a new school or returning to your old school chances are you will have a new teacher each year. Children and families build strong relationships with their teachers over the period of a school year and there is often a sense of need or want to stay with that teacher or keep everything the same as it was last year. However, as in real life, we need to prepare and support young children to be able to learn from  and work with different personalities. Here are some tips on starting the school year with a new teacher. Every teacher is different. As with many professions, there are of course stereotypes but not every teacher looks and sounds the same!  Every teacher is different so don’t go in with an expectation or you may be disappointed. Also do not expect that this teacher is going to do  all the same things or everything the same way the previous teacher did. New teachers are good for your child.  Your child will have a range of different teachers throughout their learning journey and they will all have different teaching styles and approaches. This is great for your child as they will find out what works for them and it also helps to keep their learning fresh. The common theme with all of your child’s teachers is that they will all want what is best for your child. Try to trust in their knowledge and work together to support your child.  Assume positive intentions.  If you question or disagree with a teacher’s decision or judgement, approach the teacher with the understanding that they almost always make decisions based upon what they believe is best for your child. Remarkably, your child’s teacher almost certainly loves your child, especially in early years where teachers spend  all day long with their students. You can disagree with a teacher’s decision, of course, but always approach the situation with patience, grace, and a willingness to listen. Talk to your teacher. If at any time you have questions or concerns regarding your child’s learning or development the best person to talk to is your child’s teacher. Keep in mind that drop off and pick up times are best reserved for general and short conversations. Anything sensitive or of concern should be discussed in private and at  a time your teacher is not busy engaging with all the other families of the class. Send your teacher a message or ask the school office to help set up a private meeting to be held outside of teaching hours. Getting settled into the new school year and building a relationship with the new teacher doesn’t happen overnight. It may take several weeks, a month or longer  for this to happen so be patient and supportive through the process.  And remember – early years teachers are a special breed – they become teachers because they love children and are committed to providing the best education and care for them.