The Pre-Primary Program

THE PRE-PRIMARY update

THE PRE-PRIMARY PROGRAM

The Pre-primary Program is a play-based program that supports development in young children. It is based on the Nova Scotia Early Learning Curriculum Framework. The Framework’s Image of the Child sees children as curious, creative, full of potential, capable and confident.

The Pre-primary Program knows that 4-year olds learn best through play. Play is very important for children. Play engages young children and promotes learning in all areas of their development: physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, and communication skills and general knowledge. Play develops children’s creativity and problem-solving, and it also prepares children for school learning later on.

Over the next few weeks, we will focus on activities and games that you can do with your 4-year-old and other siblings to help their learning and have some fun!

HOW DO WE BRING THE OUTDOORS IN?

This week let’s talk about bringing the outdoors in. The Pre-primary Programs spends time outside every day but sometimes there are reasons we can’t go outside, so how can we bring the outside in? Let’s think about the ways we can give children a change in space, still allow them to learn about the world around them and give them the chance to relax and recharge. Read on to learn about some of the fun things we do outside but can bring inside to try.

BEFORE WE GO PLAY!

Before we play let’s make sure rules, boundaries and expectations are in place. Remember that rules and expectations are easier to follow if children are involved in setting them.

INVOLVE YOUR CHILD IN THIS CONVERSATION.

• Ask them how we can keep ourselves safe

• What are the boundaries for our play

• What do we need to consider when playing in different spaces

DID YOU KNOW ALL THESE GAMES ARE GREAT WAYS TO HELP

YOUR CHILD LEARN THE SKILLS THAT HELP THEM WITH MATH

AND READING LATER?

• Sort objects based on colour.

• Rhyme words as you play.

• Count objects.

• Sing, sing, sing. Your child thinks you are the best person in the world – they

won’t know if a song is made up!

• Talk about things that are far away and close by.

HOW DO WE DO IT ALL?

Working from home and watching our children play can be difficult at times. Keep in mind those play experiences that need more supervision may be best planned for when you have a break — such as when you have your morning and/or afternoon break or when you have your lunchtime. Remember breaks are important for you too, it allows us to recharge our brains and bodies.

SCAVENGER HUNT

Create a list of things for children to find. Start with big obvious things and then add some trickier items (smaller, harder to find things). Here are some ideas for your list:

• a coat

• a plant

• something blue

• a toy

• a photo of me

• add something to your list that you can see out the window

• leave a few blank spots on the list for your child to add interesting things that they find inside

Get your child to help with the list. Maybe they can make some of the words or mark off the items as you find them.

CREATION STATION

Children love to create. Let’s bring in things from the garden and outdoors for children to create with. Bring in pebbles, feathers, leaves, herbs and twigs, add plastic containers, glue, tape and whatever else they can create with, such as old pot planters, egg cartons and plastic recyclables. If you are comfortable add some dirt and/or sand and old baking trays and cake pans. Children create all day long at Pre-Primary and then watch you create dinner when they get home. Your child can show you what they like to do as they create, “cook” or make their potions. Children can spend minutes or hours here.

As you play, talk to them about where the things you are creating with have come from, are some of them from living things, are some recyclable and what were the used for before? Children will measure, sort and classify things as they play, such as outside and inside things. They might ask questions about where things live, how to make cakes and why/what things smell like? It’s okay to not know the answer to all questions, when you get stumped ask your child, ‘how do you think we will find that out?’

PICNIC TIME

Create a new space for a picnic. All you need is a blanket, bath towel or sleeping bag to sit on while eating. Add some of their soft toys and plants, if you can, set up a picnic date that they can have with a loved one virtually, or try to find an outdoors sound music track so they can hear birds chirping and the wind blowing. Some fun picnic food ideas are:

• Fruits and Vegetables • Cheese and Crackers • Yogurt • Sandwiches • Whatever you have on hand to eat.

THERE IS SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT WHEN PLANNING

FOR AND HAVING A PICNIC:

• What should we have for a picnic? Where inside can we have a picnic, what do we need to move? What do we need to sit on? How many snacks do we need?

• Your child is used to helping prepare snack at Pre-primary - they can help organize the paper towel for napkins or get spoons for yogurt.

• And don’t forget about clean up — we do that at Pre-primary too.

WATER PLAY

We love water play in Pre-primary. Water play inside may sometimes be challenging, if you have any large plastic containers, they make great water trays, if not, let’s not forget the bathtub! Possibly an excellent end of the day play experience where children can get clean at the same time.

YOU JUST NEED A COUPLE THINGS TO HAVE SOME WATER FUN:

• Large buckets or plastic bins • Measuring spoons and cups • Bathtub toys such as boats, and rubber duckies • Plastic cups

SO MUCH FUN IN POURING, FILLING, AND SCOOPING WATER. AND SO MUCH YOU CAN TALK ABOUT!

“I wonder how many scoops to fill this bucket?” “Can you find the orange scoop?”

Just be sure to have lots of towels on hand to clean up any spilled water.

REMEMBER

Remember, these everyday activities help your child learn: pouring water with scoops is math, discussing what you will pack for the picnic is language development, and your child preparing potions for you in the creation station is developing their confidence.

Each experience also allows some connection to the outdoors whether it be a pebble, plant, conversation about where things came from or developing an understanding of our world.

WHAT IF I HAVE A DECK OR BALCONY THAT IS SAFE TO ACCESS?

Maybe you have a deck or balcony to play on. Some of these play experiences could be done there, where we can listen to the world, the birds as they sing, the sounds of a babbling brook or trees moving and the whistle of the wind.

Keep safety in mind when you are on balconies. Please always stay with your child on a balcony to ensure they are safe