Getting Ready For School
Getting Ready For School
You are most welcome to adapt, translate and modify any parts of this book without requesting permission from the authors or publishers. The materials, including the illustrations, are all copyright free and we hope that you will use them whenever you need to.
Child-to-Child Trust
Many of the ideas in this guide were adapted from Getting Ready for School: Fun Activities for Caregivers and Children. Hayes,K. Landers,C. and Dombro, A., International Step by Step Association (ISSA), Budapest, Hungary, 2006.
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What .is .the .Getting .Ready .for .School .Programme? . . . . . . . . How .can .you .help? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
v v v
What .is .inside .the .guide? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi How .are .group .sessions .organized? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii . Set .1: .Here .I .Am: .All .About .Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Set .2: .Talking .About .Pictures: .Wheres .the .Mouse? . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Set .3: .Looking .and .Listening: .Learning .with .Larry . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Set .4: .Caring .and .Sharing: .Amy .and .Her .Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 . Set .5: .Solving .Problems: .Those .Hungry .Goats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Summary: .On .the .Road .to .School .Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Introduction
What is the Getting Ready for School Programme? Do you know how important you are to young children? Children learn from watching and listening to you. They are learning from you all the time. When you talk, play and have fun together, you are helping children develop important skills.
The Getting Ready for School programme is designed to help you help little children develop the skills needed to do well in school. This Getting Ready for School guide is full of fun learning ideas for young children. As you do them together, you will discover many interesting things about how young children think and learn. You are very important in helping them to learn. How you can help? All children who will start school next year will participate in the programme As a Young Facilitator, your role is to help one, or several young children, get ready by playing the games and activities in this book Each child will have a folder full of interesting things to read, and games to play Facilitators and young children will meet regularly as a group Your teachers will help you to prepare the activities
It is important for you to play the games and talk with your young child outside of the group meetings. Young children love to repeat things many times. This is how they learn best.
What is inside the guide? The guide contains many interesting activities. There are activities that help children tell and retell stories, make puppets, draw and colour, and recognize letters in their name. There are also activities for helping children learn numbers, count, name different shapes, and compare size.
There are five Activity Sets. Within each Activity Set, there are seven sessions. Each Activity Set is organized in the same way. It tells you what materials you will need and how to use them.
The little symbols on this page will guide you. You will find:
Literacy activities
Number activities
i
Introduction
Session 7 is a time to review what you have learned together. You will know this when you see the review symbol:
How are group sessions organized? Your teachers will help you organize the materials and facilitate the sessions. This is how the group sessions are organized. Materials Needed Warm up Review: what did we learn last session? New learning activities Activities to do together at home
You will have lots of opportunities to work in pairs and in groups with children. The most important thing is to enjoy the activities and have fun together whilst learning together.
Introduction
ii
Set
1
Here I Am: All About Me
The .activities .in .Set .One .are . . organized .into .seven .sessions .
Here .all .some .of .the .activities . you .will .do .together .
A .Book .About .Me . My .First .Word .Book My .body .song; .Pairs .and .ones Numbers .15; .Finger .rhyme . Family .stories; .More .new .words Numbers .110; .Matching .numbers .and .objects What .did .we .learn? .Show .and .Tell
Session 1:
A Book About Me
Materials .needed: .Pencils; .crayons; .A .Book . About .Me .
1. A Book About Me
Find the Book About Me. Let your friend draw a picture of themselves on the front page in the box. Little children are just learning how to hold a crayon. Anything they draw is a good beginning! Write the childs name under the picture. Talk about the letters in the childs name. How many letters are there? Are some letters the same? Write your name under the childs. How are your names alike? How are they different? Talk about your ages. Help your friend to circle the number for their age. Let them colour their hair and eyes. Write the colour in the space provided. Spend time just getting to know each other. Find out something special about each other.
All About Me
11
A book out me ab
Session 2:
2. Alphabet song
Ask the child, Do you know an alphabet song? Lets try to learn this one. We can sing it together. Sing it again. This time, point to the letters as you sing. Ask your friend to find the letters in his/her name. Make sure to have fun!
All About Me
13
My first w o rd b o o k
]]]]]]]
Alphabet Song
]]]]]]]]]]
]]]]]]]
]]]]]]]]]]
Session 3:
Here I am!
Materials .needed: .Pencils; .crayons; .two .small . blank .cards; .My .First .Word .Book; .Parts .of .the . body .
1. New words
Review the first letter of your friends name. Help them to add two new names to their word book. Talk about the first letter of these names. What sounds does each name begin with? Ask the child to think of three other favourite object words (book, flower, hat). Add these words to the word book. Help your friend to draw a picture of each new word. This will help them remember.
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All About Me
All About Me
17
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes. Eyes and ears and mouth and nose. Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes. Eyes and ears and mouth and nose.
Session 4:
Numbers 15
Materials .needed: .Things .to .count .(pebbles, . bottle .tops, .beans, .seeds); .dot .cards; .body . rhyme; .alphabet .book .
1. Finger song
How many fingers do you see? (Show one finger, two fingers and three fingers). Lets learn a fun song about numbers. Sing the song. As you sing together, point one finger to the ceiling. Repeat until all five fingers are pointing to the ceiling.
All About Me
19
2. Matching numbers 15
Cut out the number and dot cards from 15. (Give children time to cut out the cards. This will help them develop the skills they need for writing later in school.) Look at the 15 dot cards. Find some beans or other small objects. Look at the 1 dot card. Place one bean on the dot. Match the dot card with the number 1 card. Now take the 2 dot card and do the same thing. Repeat this activity using each dot card. Put beans or other small objects according to the number of dots.
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All About Me
2 1
4 5
One little finger, one little finger, one little finger, Tap, tap, tap, Point it to the ceiling, point it to the floor, And put it in your lap. Two little fingers, two little fingers, two little fingers, Tap, tap, tap, Point them to the ceiling , point them to the floor, And put them in your laps. Three little fingers, three little fingers, three little fingers, Tap, tap, tap, Point them to the ceiling, point them to the floor, And put them in your laps. Four little fingers, four little fingers, four little fingers, Tap, tap, tap, Point them to the ceiling, point them to the floor, And put them in your laps. Five little fingers, five little fingers, five little fingers, Tap, tap, tap, Point them to the ceiling, point them to the floor, And put them in your laps.
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
Session 5:
My Family
Materials .needed: .Crayons; .pencils; .A .Book . About .Me .
1. Family pictures
Find the Book About Me. Ask your friend to draw a picture of their family. You can also help them to draw a picture of their house. Count the number of people in the picture. Write the number below the picture. Talk about your families. Ask the child, How many brothers do you have? How many sisters do you have? You can also tell them a little about your family too. Ask your friend, Do you have more brothers or do you have more sisters? How many more? (If this is difficult you can help the child by counting with beans or shells.) Lets add some new names in your word book. Talk about the names. Do any begin with the same letter? What name has the most letters? What name has the fewest letters?
A book about me
All About Me
23
2. Family stories
Ask your friend to tell you a happy or funny story about their family. Write down the story for your friend. Ask them to draw a picture illustrating the story. Write down their words under the picture.
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All About Me
Session 6:
Numbers 610
Materials .needed: .Objects .for .counting . (beans/bottle .tops/pebbles); .number .and . dot .cards .15; .number .and .dot .cards .610; . scissors . .
All About Me
25
Remember children need lots of practice learning about numbers. Play these games together as often as you can.
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All About Me
6 7 8 9
6 7 8 9
10 10
Session 7:
2. Sharing pictures
Sit in a circle. Let each child show their favourite picture to the group. Ask them to tell the group what they like most about their picture.
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All About Me
Set
2
Talking About Pictures: Where is the Mouse?
Here .are .some .of .the .activities . you .will .do .together .using .the . materials .in .Set .2 . .A .Mouse .and . . a .Cat . . .
Session 1
Mouse .Picture .Story; . .Telling .and .retelling .stories; . Solving .the .problem . Pictures .and .words; .Fun .with . .rhymes; . . More .new .words
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Session 5
Session 6
Session 7
Session 1:
1. Reading pictures
Find the picture story of the Mouse Family. Look at the pictures together. Talk about each one. Help your friend to make up a story about what he sees. Here are some questions you can ask to get him started: Who is in the mouse hole? Why does the big mouse look out of the hole? What does the mouse bring back to the hole? Why does the cat reach into the mouse hole? How do the mice feel as they eat the cheese?
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Session 2:
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35
One, two, three, four, five, Once I caught a mouse alive. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Then I let it go again. Why did you let it go? Because it bit my finger so. Which finger did it bite? The little finger on the right! Ouch! Pain. Ouch! Pain. I wont catch a mouse again!
Session 3:
Numbers 110
Materials .needed: .Mouse .Family .rhyme; . Mouse .Family .book; .number .and .dot .cards . 15 .and .610; .scissors . .
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1 2
Learning together at home
Play the dot game many times with friends. Can you and your friend think of any other ways to play the game? Sing the Mouse Family rhyme again. Can you and your child make up another silly rhyme?
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Session 4:
39
2. My Mouse Book
Using his own words, ask your friend to tell you the story again. You might help him by asking? What is happening in the first picture? What happened next? How did the story end? Let your child choose his favourite colours to colour the pictures. You can show him how to fold it into a book. It will be very beautiful.
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In the Countryside
Session 5:
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2. New words
Lets look at the word book. Choose some words from your story. Add these to the word book. Help your friend to say the first letter of each word. Where does it go? (Mouse on the page with the letter M.) You can select some words from the rhyme and add them to your word book. You can also add names of your friends in the word book.
My first w o rd b o o k
43
Session 6:
44
45
Session 7:
1. My favourite activity
Lets think about all the fun activities we did these last few weeks. Look at the folder together. Remember the Mouse Family stories, the rhymes, the activities to do with numbers and shapes, and the word book. What number game did you like the most? What was your favourite story? Ask him what he would like to show the other children. Help them think about how they would like to present what you did together. For example, talk about the title of your story or new words that rhyme. You can show your favourite picture or even sing a silly rhyme.
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Set
3
Looking and Listening: Learning with Larry
Session 1
Read .Larry .the .Locust; .Telling .and .retelling .stories; . what .comes .first Word .sounds; .Days .of .the .week; .action .rhyme; .activity . pictures .
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Whats .around .us; .Stop,look .and .listen; .Road .safety; . Drawing .pictures
Session 5
Session 6
Session 7
What .did .we .do? .My .favourite .picture; .Show .and .tell
Session 1:
1. Lets read
Before you read the story of Larry the Locust spend some time talking together about the cover. What do you think this story is about? Look at some of the pictures and let your child tell you what she sees. Read the story together. As you read, let the child ask questions or make comments. You can read it again. Run your finger along the words as you read them. Children love to follow and look at the words. Try asking some questions about the story. Here are some suggestions. What did you like about the story? How does the story begin? What happened when Larry ate too much? How did the story end?
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2. Group reading
Read the story again, this time with all the children sitting in a circle. Make the story come alive using your voice and body as you read. Talk about what Larry ate on different days. (You can make and show pictures of the different foods to help remind the children.) Why did Larry eat so much? What did you learn from Larry?
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Session 2:
54
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On Monday we . . . . . . . . On Tuesday we . . . . . . . .
On Wednesday we . . . .
On Thursday we . . . . . . . .
On Friday we . . . . . . . .
On Saturday we . . . . . . . .
On Sunday we . . . . . . . .
........................
Session 3:
Making Groups
Materials .needed: .Objects .such .as .spoons, . buttons, .pebbles, .twigs, .leaves, .feathers, .etc .
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59
Session 4:
60
2. Being safe
This activity will help children learn how to be safe when walking to school. Talk about getting to the school today. Did you have to cross any roads? Have a discussion about the best way to get to the programme. Where are the safest places to cross the street? Stop, look and listen are three important safety rules. Find three blank cards. Write one rule on each of the 3 cards. Talk about each one. Remember being safe is being smart. Continue to talk about other ways to stay safe. Talk about crossing roads and paths, cars or animals or carts, holes in the ground, rubbish. Remember being safe is being smart.
top s
Look
Listen
Learning together at home
Talk about your walk. What did you see? What did you hear? Tell your friend what you liked best about your walk. Ask her what she remembers most about the walk. Help her to draw a picture of her house. What is in front of her house? What is next to her house? What is behind her house? Ask her to add some of these things to her picture.
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Session 5:
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Session 6:
65
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Session 7:
1. My favourite picture
Help children go through their folders and remember the activities done so far. Ask them to select one of their drawings that they would like to share with their friends and the teacher. Help them prepare what they would like to say about their picture. You too can talk about what you learned from this activity.
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Set
4
Caring and Sharing: Amy and Her Friends
These .are .the .activities . you .will .do .together .in . Set .4:
Amy .the .Elephant; .Listening .to .and .talking .about . stories; .A .puppet .show; .What .is .a .friend? .
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Session 5
Little .Red .Hen; .Listening .to .and .talking .about .stories; . . Puppet .storytelling
Session 6
Session 7
Review; .What .did .we .do? .Show .and .tell; .Making .bread .
Session 1:
1. Another story
Look at the cover of the story. Ask your friend, What do you think this story is about? Talk a little about elephants. Have you ever seen an elephant? Where do they live? What do they like to eat? Read the story and let your friend follow along with you. Talk about the story. Here are some questions you could ask: Did you enjoy the story? Why? What is the story about? What did you like about the story? What did the animals give her? What made Amy sad? What made Amy happy? What did Amys friends teach her? Read the story together again. Look carefully at the names of different animals. Can he recognize the first letter of some of these words?
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2. A puppet show
Find the card with pictures of the animals from the story. Let your friend cut out the animals. He may need some help. Next, find the card that has pictures of different parts of the body. Do you have some twigs? Try to make a small slit in the top of each one. Slide an animal card into each twig. The puppets are getting ready. How many children do you need for your puppet show? Let each one choose a stick puppet. What did your animal give to Amy? Let the children retell the story using the puppets. Some children might like to tell the story in a different way. Listen to the interesting and funny things your friend tells you. Make sure Amy has all her parts back. Use the clips to help you attach them.
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Session 2:
1. A puppet show
Find the puppets you made last time. Lets have another puppet show. What animal would you like to be this time? What did Amys animal friends teach her? Look at the story again. This time lets look for the words for all of Amys animal friends. Help your friend to write these new words in his word book. Help him to figure out the right place for each new word. Where does elephant go? There are lots of ways to talk about these new words. Here are some suggestions. How many new words did you add to your word book? Which word is the longest? Look for the letter e. How many words can you find that have the letter e? What is your favourite new word? Do any of the words have the same letters?
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One elephant began to play out on a spiders web one day, He had such enormous fun; he called for another elephant to come. Two elephants began to play out on a spiders web one day, They had such enormous fun; they called for another elephant to come. Three elephants began to play out on a spiders web one day, They had such enormous fun; they called for another elephant to come. Four elephants began to play out on a spiders web one day, They had such enormous fun; they called for another elephant to come. Five elephants began to play out on a spiders web one day, They carried such enormous weight, They crashed and they fell down straight
CRASH!
Session 3:
Try drawing these patterns in your childs notebook. This is a good way to remember what you did.
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Session 4:
Try this with other numbers. For example, 15 is the same as one group of 10 and five ones. Practise this activity several times. If your child finds this difficult, practise counting objects from 110.
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1. A counting game
Ask children to find the card with numbers 1120 and cut them out. Mix and place the cards face down. Ask the child to pick up one card. Talk about the number. How many ones are needed to add to a group of 11 objects? Using counting objects, help the child to count out the number of objects needed. Continue playing until all the cards have been turned over.
11
Learning together at home
Play the counting game many times. Let your friend learn the numbers from 120 by counting lots of things around you. It helps him to see and touch the objects as he counts. Help him to draw number picture cards in his exercise book.
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11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Session 5:
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85
Session 6:
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2. Word building
What three new words did you learn from this story? Add these new words to the word book. Can your child tell you what letter each word begins with? Let him draw pictures of each new word.
t y firs k M o d bo wor
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Session 7:
1. Lets review
Review all the activities that you did together. Ask your friend if he would like to review something one more time. Is there anything that was a little difficult? How about numbers 1120, finding patterns, or new words about bread?
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Set
5
Soling Problems: Those Hungry Goats
Here .are .the .activities . you .will .do .together .in . Set .5
Reading .and .Talking .about .the .Three .Hungry .Goats; . Solving .problems; .Finding .new .words
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Learning .to .measure; .What .is .biggest? .What .is .tallest? . Family .drawings Hexagon .Spinner; .Spinning .and .counting .game; . Numbers .120 . Add .them .up; .Simple .addition; .Counting .riddles; . Numbers .and .symbols . How .many .left? .Simple .subtraction; .Numbers, .pictures . and .symbols . Lets .Celebrate; .Show .and .Tell .party; .We .Are .Ready . Certificates
Session 4
Session 5
Session 6
Session 7
Session 1.
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2. Solving Problems
What is the problem that the goats are trying to solve? How did they solve it? Can you think of another way that the goats could have solved this problem? What do you do when you have a problem to solve? Who helps you to find the right solution?
96
Session 2:
98
2. An Action Rhyme
Rhymes are fun and easy to remember. Lets learn a new rhyme about goats. It goes like this. Listen carefully. Say it again, point to the words on the card. Let your child follow along with you. Say the rhyme again. This time she will want to say some of it together with you. How many goats are there in this rhyme? Ask your friend if she hears any words that sound the same? What are they? Can you think of any other words that rhyme with words in the story? Here are some actions that go with the rhyme. Each finger represents a goat, starting with the thumb. Show the thumb first, then the next finger as you say the rhyme. When you say the last words, bleat, bleat, bleat, tickle your friend under the arm.
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2 1
4 5
This little goat went to market, This little goat stayed in the basket, This little goat had green grass, This little goat stayed in his class, This little goat cried, Bleat, bleat, bleat, All the way to his little seat.
Session 3:
102
103
Session 4:
Counting Goats
Materials .needed: .Game .board; .hexagon . spinner; .number .and .dots .cards; .things .to . count .(pebbles, .seeds .or .buttons); .scissors; . hexagon .picture; .small .twig .
1. Making a spinner?
A hexagon is a shape that has six sides. Find the hexagon figure. This hexagon will be made into a game spinner with 3 numbers. Help your friend to cut out the hexagon. Make a hole in the middle. Then insert a small smooth twig in the middle. Can it spin?
104
105
Session 5:
Lets see how many we have altogether. Count them together. Try again with another riddle. Auntie went to the market and bought three tomatoes and two oranges. Ask your child to make two piles (three bottle caps for 3 tomatoes and two for 2 oranges). Pointing to the bottle caps ask your child to count the things Auntie bought. Play again. This time ask your child to make up a riddle. Begin with, I am going to the market to buy . . . Help your friend to imagine buying things and adding them up. Have fun!
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108
4 7 10 4 7 10 2 5 8 = 2 5 8 = 3 6 9 + 3 6 9 + 1 1
+ _ _ _ = =
Session 6:
110
Keep practising this game. Use the number and symbol cards to help your child find the answers to these questions: When you give me three, how many are left? When you give me one, how many are left? Little children need lots of number practice! Some children need more time than others. Each child learns in their own way and at their own speed.
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Remember! .Our .next .session .is .graduation .party . . Review .all .the .things .you .have .learned .together . .What . was .your .childs .favourite .activity . .a .story, .drawing, . word .book, .number .riddle? .Select .one .special .activity . . Get Ready .to .present .this .during .the .celebration . .
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Session 7:
1. Preparations
Review the special activity you have chosen to present during the Show and Tell. Get ready to present your project to the invited friends and family. You should both be very proud.
113
Here .is .a .list .of .all .the .skills .children .have .developed .through .the . Get .Ready .for .School .program . .The .time .you .shared .together .has . been .so .important . .You .have .helped .children .to .develop .many . important .skills .they .will .need .to .do .well .in .school . .They .have . developed .an .interest .in .books .and .stories . .They .understand .how . numbers .are .used .in .every .day .routines . .They .have .developed . important .skills .needed .to .understand .and .get .along .with . other .children . .They .have .danced .to .new .songs .and .rhymes .and . practiced .ways .to .keep .safe . .
You .have .played .an .important .role .in .helping .young .children .get . on .the .path .to .school .success . .You .are .indeed .very .important .in . helping .them .to .learn .
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Summary
story .
Creates .new .ending . Retells .a .familiar .story . Sings .songs .and .rhymes Knows .some .letters Reads .some .words . Writes .own .name . Expresses .ideas .though .
numbers .1120
Recognizes .and .names .
shapes
Sorts .objects .by .size .and .
shape
Measures .and .compares .
drawings
crayons
Moves .to .different .patterns .
materials
Shows .confidence .and .
and .rhythms .
Acts .out .stories .through .
pride
Makes .choices Understands .others .
puppets .
Participates .in .games Performs .simple .routines .
feelings
Listens .to .and .follows .
independently
Follows .safety .rules .
directions .
Works .happily .in .a .group Presents .work .to .group
Summary
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