The Connexion | Clever Play - Teacher's Training

Clever Play - Teacher's Training

Clever Play is a fun-filled workshop on how to make the most of the impressionable pre-school years. These years are very important because they are physiologically, emotionally, socially and mentally the critical time to develop the brain and body.

Did you know? At the age of 12 months, a baby has the most brain cells he will ever have. Thereafter, unused brain cells die at a rate of approximately 10 000 a day. The number of cells are not as important as the number of connections between cells.

How to make connections between brain cells?
You already know that a young, healthy child is born with a curiosity to explore, find out and learn about his body, people and things in his environment - that is why he never sits still! He was born to learn, because learning means making connections between cells! It is for these reasons that the early years are the ideal time for a child to learn how to learn in a fun and stress free way whilst playfully preparing for "big school"

What does play mean?
Play means that a child "discover learns" by finding things out for himself. The opposite of play is when a child is told and directed how to do things. Telling a child what to do is so much quicker than allowing him to discover for himself, but a child has only 6 years to learn a few basic skills - he has all the time in the world! Letting a child discover for himself gives confidence because he tells himself, "I can learn and feel clever about it". Showing, telling and instructing a child teaches him, "You don't know, you need me to teach you", which could make him feel less confident and less clever.

The young child needs you whether you are a mommy, teacher or child-minder, because Feuerstein says to be a happy and clever, a child needs a caring adult that unlocks the world. Piaget says a child also needs fixed anchors (constancy) to learn and develop - that constancy is you unlocking the world with care! What the child will know, think and feel depends on you. You are the one that will choose the experiences he will learn from. What you do not offer, the child will not know.

Be a child again and experience what 'hard work' playing really is. Learn how to create a variety of experiences so that the child can "discover learn" through physical play, emotional play, social play and mental play. Once you have completed Clever Play, you will be equipped to unlock the world to a child with a head full of knowledge and a heart full of confidence.

NOW, LETS GET READY TO PLAY THE WAY TO BRILLIANCE

Discover how to stimulate the pre-school child to playfully become ready in the 8 facets of formal learning:

Gross motor skills and body awareness

Gross Motor Movements pertain to the movement and control of the large muscles of the body relating to walking, kicking, throwing, jumping, climbing and catching. Gross means BIG and motor means MOVEMENT.

Fine Motor Movements pertain to the movement and control of the small muscles of the body relating to painting, drawing, cutting, baking and puzzle building.

Speech and language skills

Speech skills and language skills differ: Speech is the ability to combine sounds in order to form words, while language is the comprehension and correct use of those words.

Imaginative and creative skills

Fantasy is to give free reign to the imagination without logic or rules and to dream dreams. Creativity is to make plans and to do things in a new manner. Fantasy and creativity give the child confidence to think and then to implement his new plan or tell another about the plan. The hands and the mouth are on the same neurological loop, so it stands to reason that creative skills would develop the child’s ability to express himself effectively.

Emotional and social skills

Emotional and social development forms the foundation of the child’s need to belong and be accepted. A feeling of confidence and independence is a direct result of well-developed physical skills and a positive awareness of his body.

Pre-writing and pre-spelling skills

Writing is more than putting letters on a line. It involves perceptual skills, hand-eye co-ordination, fine motor control, creative thinking, reasoning and later the ability to decode the letters of the alphabet.

Pre-reading skills

Writing is talking on paper and reading is being talked to on paper.

Initially reading is a child’s interpretation of his drawings to his parent/s or caregiver. “Reading” pictures often results in the child telling differing stories each time. Initially it is not important that the story stays the same, it is important that the child thinks, recreates his thoughts on paper and recalls his thinking.

Math and numeracy

Maths and numeracy are everyday skills that the child will need throughout life. Maths is one of the most ‘feared’ subjects, but a compulsory subject in the new curriculum. As with spelling and reading, one of the most fundamental problems in maths is the lack of concrete experiences to build a solid foundation for more abstract concepts.

All children can do maths as long as the basic pre-maths skills are sufficiently developed.

Thinking and problem solving skills

A child’s ability to think helps him to organise or arrange what he sees, touches, tastes, hears and smells, so that he can understand the world better and solve problems in daily life