GIGI BYTES-EDITION 26

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Importance of emergent literacy.

Emergent literacy is a crucial concept for preschoolers as it lays the foundation for future reading and writing skills. Creating a literacy-rich environment and engaging in effective strategies during a child's early years can have a profound impact on their overall communication skills, setting the stage for future success in reading and writing.

Storytelling and interactive conversations are particularly effective means of providing children with opportunities to expand their vocabulary, enhance sentence structure, and improve communication skills. The key components of emergent reading are vocabulary knowledge, decontextualized language skills, conventions of print, knowledge of letters, linguistic awareness, and phoneme-grapheme correspondence. Each of these elements contributes to a child's ability to engage with written language and lays the foundation for future reading and writing success. Additionally, emphasizing vocabulary knowledge is crucial, as it plays a significant role in emergent reading. Learner's experiences with writing and creating texts not only promote self-expression but also support the precursors to their later literacy development. Phonological awareness, another essential component, enables children to recognize and manipulate the sounds of spoken language. Activities like rhyming games and sound matching help develop these pre-reading skills, and research supports the idea that strong phonological awareness correlates with reading success. By promoting phonological awareness during the emergent literacy phase, educators empower children to decode words and derive meaning from text, enhancing their overall reading abilities.

Overall, emergent literacy is a holistic approach that addresses various aspects of a child's development, setting the stage for successful literacy acquisition in later years. Parents, caregivers, and educators play a vital role in providing rich and stimulating literacy experiences during the preschool years.

Swapnali Medhekar

Center Head

Kanakia Kids

Nursery

English

Tracing letters in the sand engages muscular memory while saying the names of uppercase and lowercase letters aids auditory learning. Recapitulation with phonic sounds and associated pictures reinforced the connection between letters and their sounds.

The matching activity involving associating letters with pictures encouraged cognitive connections. The purple activity, focusing on colouring a "Brinjal" outline with a purple crayon, not only reinforced the colour concept but also helped fine-tune fine motor skills. The emphasis on focusing on the picture showed an awareness of attention to detail, and understanding the colour used added an extra layer of learning.

Math

The introduction of the colour "Pink" through rhyme and flashcards added a multisensory aspect to colour learning. Completing a worksheet about pink helped reinforce comprehension, and the colour-sorting exercises, combined with recapitulation, enhanced students' ability to recognize and differentiate various hues.

Arithmetic focuses on fundamental concepts such as matching the number of items to a given number, up to the number nine. This interactive approach, where students number objects and match values, contributes to an enjoyable learning experience. The sequence of numbers from 1 to 10 is reinforced through various activities, including tracing numerals in the sand. This not only aids in numerical recognition but also lays the foundation for good writing skills.

Introducing shapes into the curriculum is beneficial, as understanding shapes helps children develop skills in comparison, sorting, organization, and categorization. The combination of painting freehand and replicating shapes provides a well-rounded approach to shape learning.

Theme

Pet animals are friendly, clean and used to being around people. The animals which can be considered pet animals are rabbits, birds, cats, dogs, fish, tortoises, etc, To promote understanding of basic needs and responsibilities in caring for pets this week using inquiry this topic was done. This helped our little learners gain a sense of responsibility, and learn how to take care of pets and give them unconditional love. Recap of transportation was done with sorting activity and placing of traffic signal light was done. For better understanding worksheet was done.

Jr.Kg

English

This week, learners explored the associated objects for the chosen letters f, b, z, j, x, y, and q. The associated objects' activity sparked a new level of curiosity among our little learners. They used new vocabulary to describe the picture in their own words. The learners enjoyed drawing objects for letters v,y,x,q,f,b,z, and w. The teacher introduced the letter j, and the learners wrote j in their notebooks. Recapitulation of blend words, formation of 2 letter words, and recapitulation of sight words were also practised where the learners arranged letters to form words. Dictation of letters was done to know their understanding of letters. Another fun activity was conducted based on vowels and consonants where learners identified and circled the vowels. The teacher always encourages the learners to explore the world of letters, enjoy the symphony of sounds, and cherish the connections between words and objects to enhance their linguistic skills.

Math

The learners reinforced their recitation and writing of numbers 1 - 40, alongwith representing them in tens and ones format,in their notebooks. The practice of writing number names 1-5 in correct formation is crucial for learners as it helps develop their fine motor skills and establishes a foundation for proper writing habits. Learners successfully recognized the shapes and their properties, demonstrating their ability to draw shapes such as squares, triangles, hexagons, and pentagons, and they colored them in their scrapbook. They also engaged in hands-on activity using clay and popsicles.

Theme

The transport-themed role-play not only brings smiles and laughter but also facilitates important learning moments. The learners were dressed in different modes of transport, and not only grasped the concept of movement but also developed a sense of cooperation as they navigated through their playful traffic scenario. The transport role play served as a bridge between entertainment and education.

During the origami session, each child was provided with colourful sheets of paper and guided through the step-by-step process of folding to create their very own paper cars. The activity captivated their attention and encouraged them to follow instructions, promoting focus and patience. As the learners crafted their paper cars, they also refined their hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness – essential skills for their early developmental stages.

Literacy Circle

A strong sense of well-being is built through literacy, as children who have mastered reading do better academically and have a more positive self-image. They develop into lifelong students. Additionally, it will inspire imagination, creativity, and curiosity. For this week's picture talk, the teacher introduced the new story "The Big Mess". Students pretend to be "travel tracers" This participatory approach fosters innovation and aids in establishing the groundwork for successful communication.

Sr.Kg

English

Recapitulation has proven to be beneficial to both the students and the teacher. It helps learners consolidate their learning, identify gaps in their understanding, and revise the concepts they have learned.

A recap of articles A and An, naming words, jumbled sentences, and picture comprehension was taken with various activities. This week's new topic- This and That was introduced with the activities, flashcards, and concrete objects. It helps in developing early language skills and understanding of relative positions. Later learners were introduced to describing words which helps to develop language and literacy. By learning to describe words they can explain things better or communicate their feelings well.

Math

Our little learners have been working hard on their number skills. They have been practising saying number names and have made great progress. It's amazing to see how confident they have become in counting and recognizing numbers. In addition to number names, our learners have also been diving into the world of subtraction. They have been learning how to take away objects and count what's left. It's been a hands-on and interactive experience for them, allowing them to develop problem-solving skills and a deeper understanding of subtraction.

Theme

The learners of Sr.kg have understood the process of communication and its effect on giving and receiving information. They have also learned about historical and theoretical developments in the field of communication. So to develop analytical, research, and organizational skills they made a ‘Z’ cart on the topic of communication and technology and also wrote the names of parts of the computer in their scrapbook. They also were able to share their gained knowledge on the uses and misuse on the same topic. Introduction to sources and uses of water and water cycle was also done so that learners can define water, explain the role of water for humans and plants and also discuss and explain the water cycle.

Literacy Circle

Literacy development begins early in life. It is the foundation for reading, writing, communicating and socialising. This week in literacy Dad and the kid's story reading was done, along with the recycling ( jumbled words) game was played to support early literacy development. Learners participated in the game in groups. This enhanced their reading comprehension and vocabulary skills.

STREAM

Nursery

During the STREAM session Nursery Learners will observe the plant’s growth and changes under different circumstances with sunlight, air & water and the other plants without any of these factors.

Jr Kg

During the STREAM session, Jr Kg Learners recognised different shapes while creating and decorating an elf. They understood how different elements are assembled to create an elf. Learners created an elf by using open-ended materials.

Sr kg

During the STREAM session Sr kg Learners learned about the concept of converting solids into liquid, learners observed changes in the shape of crayons due to hammering and heating. The teacher also discussed the importance of reusing the resources and its potential benefits to the environment.

Zumba

Zumba for Kids features the famous Zumba Fitness music, rhythms, and beats along with Zumba choreography broken into kid-friendly routines. Giving children an outlet to jump, dance, shake, and swing their hips, it's the perfect recipe for fitness fun. Zumba for Kids also adds age-appropriate games and activities, helping children gain coordination, self-confidence, overcome fears, learn about teamwork , this week for the learner’s Zumba warm-up followed by ‘Zumbazoka ‘ song with break down method with cool-down starches for the learner’s

Sports

Nursery-Cricket

Taught the kids how to play cricket, then called on two of them to demonstrate how to bowl and really catch the bat. Finally, asked the kids to play cricket as a group. enjoyed watching the cricket match.

Jr.Kg-Frisbee disc

When teaching the kids how to play frisbee discs, the teacher makes sure they understand both how to throw and catch the disc. After that, the teacher calls on each kid individually and takes the game straight from them. The way this game was played made some kid's dishes last longer than others, and everyone else danced while yelling the child's name. The kids had a great time playing this game together.

Sr.Kg -Skipping

The kids watch the teacher demonstrate how to jump a rope to the class first. After that, the kids were given 11 jumping numbers to learn, and then picked up the skipping and leaping in order according to those numbers. Youngsters will learn how to leap and engage in physical activity.

Music

Nursery

The learners started their class with the Wheels on the Bus song followed by a vocal and a body warm-up. After a warm-up, learners revised the transportation song by singing and then by singing with actions. Learners were also introduced to the animal song.

Jr.kg

Sr.kg

The class started with an introduction to rhythm instruments followed by a vocal and a body warm-up. After a warm-up, learners revised the communication song by singing and then by singing with actions.

Horticulture

Topic -Soil (Cocopeat)

Introducing children to the world of horticulture and the importance of soil, particularly cocopeat, can be a fascinating and hands-on experience. Introduce the term "cocopeat" and mention that it is a type of soil amendment. Cocopeat is a natural fibre extracted from coconut husks. The teacher showed the learner actual samples of cocopeat and regular soil. They were allowed to observe and feel the textures. They were encouraged to describe what they see and feel.

"How does cocopeat feel compared to regular soil?"

"Can you notice any differences between the two?"

Later the teacher explained how different types of soil can impact plant growth were discussed during the session.

Events

Event: Annual Sports Meet

A day filled with laughter, joy, and friendly competition.

On your marks, get set, go!

The air was filled with excitement and enthusiasm as our little learners participated in various activities and displayed their spirit of sportsmanship during the “Annual Sports Meet.” Various activities, such as Pompom display, Hoola Hoop, Sitting Exercise display, Ribbon display, March past, Ring and Flower display along with Theme races. Sr kg learners participated in ‘Theme – Avengers Arena’ to display their athlete talents with full energy and sportsmanship spirits. Sports Day promotes fitness, motor and social skills, and nurtures teamwork abilities in young children making this day a memorable experience for our little champions. Participants were cheered by their parents and teachers for their sports participation and medals and certificates were given to the winners. The event ended with smiles, cheers, and lots of energy!

PLAY GIVES CHILDREN A CHANCE TO PRACTICE WHAT THEY ARE LEARNING.