Which age group?
We use average ages, and these may differ depending on the individual child. We try to consider each child’s specific personality and needs.
Toddler group: 2- to 3-year-olds
Playgroup: 3- to 4-year-olds
Kindergarten: 5- and 6-year-olds, some turning 7
Kindergarten usually lasts two years. The younger children are the “moon children” in their first year, and then progress to being “sun children” the next year.
Grade R is incorporated into Kindergarten.
For Class 1 the child needs to turn 7 before around the middle of the year, but we do school-readiness assessments and will always meet with the parents about school-readiness.
How many days a week?
Toddler and Playgroup can have fewer days per week, as long as there’s a regular routine on a weekly basis.
For Kindergarten, 5 days a week is recommended.
What are the hours?
About 4 hours per day for Kindergarten: 8.15 to 12.15.
Although the starting time is flexible, it is beneficial to the whole class, if the children arrive at more or less the same time. The more every single child can be included in the activities right from the start, the more the child will settle into the carefully planned rhythm and routine of the day. It makes them feel accepted into the group, as they have not missed out on anything. They also feel more safe and secure.Which age group?
We use average ages, and these may differ depending on the individual child. We try to consider each child’s specific personality and needs.
Toddler group: 2- to 3-year-olds
Playgroup: 3- to 4-year-olds
Kindergarten: 5- and 6-year-olds, some turning 7
Kindergarten usually lasts two years. The younger children are the “moon children” in their first year, and then progress to being “sun children” the next year.
Grade R is incorporated into Kindergarten.
For Class 1 the child needs to turn 7 before around the middle of the year, but we do school-readiness assessments and will always meet with the parents about school-readiness.
How many days a week?
Toddler and Playgroup can have fewer days per week, as long as there’s a regular routine on a weekly basis.
For Kindergarten, 5 days a week is recommended.
What are the hours?
About 4 hours per day for Kindergarten: 8.15 to 12.15.
Although the starting time is flexible, it is beneficial to the whole class, if the children arrive at more or less the same time. The more every single child can be included in the activities right from the start, the more the child will settle into the carefully planned rhythm and routine of the day. It makes them feel accepted into the group, as they have not missed out on anything. They also feel more safe and secure.
What are the aims and activities in the day?
The Kindergarten teacher aims to make the class as homely, inviting and beautiful as possible, for a smooth transition from home to the school setting. The child learns mostly through imitating what the teacher does. The teacher’s actions need to be worthy of the child imitating her, so that the children feel the goodness of being.
The children also learn through repetition, routine and rhythm. The teacher aims to create an environment where children develop their capacity for movement, balance and rhythm. The classroom needs to be a space where they learn through teacher-led activities and free play, simultaneously developing their senses. The children are nurtured and grow on all levels by touching the world and being touched by it.
What is the flow of the day?
There is a distinct rhythmical quality to each morning, with movement consisting of contraction and expansion, this can be compared to the rhythm of our breathing:
Creative play is expansion – enabling the child to breathe out.
Circle time is contraction – enabling the child to breathe in.
Outdoor play is expansion – enabling the child to breathe out.
Story time is contraction – enabling the child to breathe in.
The times of expansion are marked by child-initiated activity and make up the longer span of time at this stage of the child’s development.
The moments of contraction are teacher-led, when the child imitates the teacher. In this way, the child’s experiences are brought into a healthy balance. Then the child does not remain too long in self-expression, nor does the child remain too long within the restriction of communal moments.
Regular rhythm is reassuring.
The rhythm soon becomes a habit, removing the need for instruction and direction. The child literally “goes with the flow”.
The transitions times between each part also allow for finding ways to flow from one activity to the other with ease, keeping a flow going.
Here’s an example of how a typical rhythm may flow:
8.15 – 9.00 Creative play including daily activities like handwork
9.00 – 9.30 Fruit time with handing washing before and after
9.30 – 10.00 Tidy-up time and Circle time
10.00 – 10.30 Wash hands and Snack-time
10.30 – 11.30 Outdoor play and hand washing after
11.30 – 12.00 Daily activity like drawing, painting, modelling and handwork
12.00 – 12.15 Story time
12.15 Home time or Aftercare time