Enrichment Exercises for "I Have Toes!"

ENRICHMENT EXERCISES FOR "I HAVE TOES!":

VALUES ~ SELF AWARENESS & ACCEPTANCE OF OTHERS

 

1.    Self-concept: One of the first steps in healthy emotional development is for your child to develop self - awareness.

~ As you read the story-book point out your child’s own little toes, nose, shin, chin, etc.                                   ~ Talk about people you know and discuss their knees,   noses, bellies, or hair.

2.   Self-esteem: Sources of self-esteem are both internal (the child experiences pleasure at having accomplished a task), and external (positive feedback from parents who recognize the child’s achievement.)

~ Ask your child to point at the toes on page 0, the rose and the nose on page 2, the knees on page 4, and so on. Let her repeat the words, and show her that you are pleased at her achievement.

3.   Body awareness: Play a game with your child like “Simon Says” and see if she can mimic your actions.     ~ As you say: “Simon says, ‘Put your hands on your head’”, do the action as well. (Go through all the body parts so that your child learns all their names.)

4.   Awareness of others: Go through the family album and point out grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and friends. Talk about them, their relationship to your child and about things they do; e.g. “This is Uncle Albert, he is a policeman.” Or “This is your cousin Barney; remember when he came to your birthday party?”

5.   Differences: Compare the pictures of people in this book. Talk about the colours of their clothing, their hair styles, their facial expressions, their ages and sizes.

6. Fantasy and reality:

~ Look at the picture on page 16. Ask: are pigs really green and red and purple?

~ Look at the picture on page 18. Ask: Do trees have hair? What is green and hangs down? (Leaves.)           Do trees have brown toes? (Roots.)

7. Pronunciation:

~ Play a game with your child and repeat all the rhyming words in the story. Listen carefully to hear if your child is pronouncing the words correctly. DO NOT CORRECT your child, just say the words again and allow her to practise.

Enrichment Exercises for "Trains and Boats and Planes"

ENRICHMENT EXERCISES FOR "TRAINS AND BOATS AND PLANES":

1. Theme: TRAVEL

2. Values:

ž  Sense of Adventure

ž  Responsibility

ž  Unconditional love

ž  Acceptance

3. Related topics:

ž  Traffic Safety

ž  Types of transport

ž  Movement

ž  Traffic Sounds

4. To promote sorting skills and the understanding of

    types of movement:

ž  Look in your toy box for things that MOVE.

ž  Sort out all your toys with wheels on for traveling on land:

(Do you have toy cars, trains, trucks, prams, bicycles?)

ž  Sort out all your toys that are designed to fly:

(Do you have airplanes, helicopters, or parachutes to toss in the air?)

ž  Perhaps you have a Frisbee?  See how it glides when you throw it?

ž                        Do you have other toys that twirl in the wind, like a windmill on a stick?

ž  Sort out all your toys that float on water:

(What about all your favourite bath toys?)

ž  Have you ever floated a paper boat in a puddle of rain?

5. To promote recognition of the main character in the  

    story as well as the perception of position:

ž  Who is the little person you see on each page?  Could it be you?

ž  Where is the little person when the train goes past?

ž  Where is he when the motorcycle goes speeding by?

ž  Where is he when the airplane flies overhead?

ž  Who is in the basket of the hot air balloon?

ž  Who is in the helicopter?

ž  Where is our little person when the boats and ships sail by?

6. To reinforce traffic safety:

    (Look at the picture on page 17.)

ž  Who is standing at the robot?

ž  Why do they hold hands?

ž  Can you name the colours of the traffic lights?

ž  Which colour is at the top?

ž  Which colour is in the middle?

ž  Which colour is at the bottom?

ž  Can you make up a song about the traffic lights?  Here are the words, now you make up a tune:

                   “Green means go,

              Yellow means slow

              and red means stop.”

7. To promote oral and language skills:

ž  Who is waving to our little character from the big truck?

ž  What is the big truck carrying?

ž  Where is he going with such a heavy load?

ž  What is a harbor?

ž  Where will the ships take their load?

ž  AND FINALLY!  Who is this on the bicycle?

Enrichment Exercises for "The Goofy Gosling"

Enrichment Exercises for "The Goofy Gosling"

1.    VALUES = Tenacity, determination, persistence.

2.   LANGUAGE & COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

What are the names of the babies of these creatures’? (Complete the sentences.)

·        A baby Goose is a ----------

·        A baby Duck is a ---------

·        A baby Chicken is a ---------

·        A baby Pig is a --------

·        A baby Sheep is a ---------

·        A baby Cow is a ---------

·        A baby Horse is a ---------

·        A baby Butterfly is a ---------

·        A baby Frog is a ---------

3.   CREATURE HUNT

Go out and search for creatures. If you can go to a farmyard, a children’s petting zoo, a park with a river or lake ~ even better! Look at the animals and birds, insects and reptiles. Discover what they feel like, what they eat, where they live, how they smell. Discuss all these senses and enjoy!

4.   COLOUR RECOGNITION

Go through the book again and look for:

·        A yellow duckling

·        A green caterpillar

·        A blue river

·        A white lamb

·        A brown calf

·        A pink pig

·        A brown tadpole

·        A red flower

·        An orange sun

(Look closely at the pictures and find other animals.)

5.   ANIMAL NOISES

What noises do these animals make? Do the actions too!

* A dog -----             * A cat -----

* A duck -----            * A pig -----

* A sheep ------         * A snake -----

* A cow ------            * A cricket -----

* A horse ------         * A hen -----

* A monkey ------      * A goat ------

* A lion ------            * A donkey ------

* An elephant -------  * A wolf -----

* A frog ------           * A whale ------

* A peacock -------    * A hyena ------

* A cockerel ------     * A goose ------

This month (MAY) we are offering our readers a very special treat:

Hello there!

Brrrrrr! I hope you are wrapping up warm on these lovely Autumn mornings! Your children will be bundled up when you drop them at school, but as the day warms up they will be shedding clothes – so make sure you have marked all their bits and pieces with their names! It makes claiming those cast-off scarves, hats, gloves and jerseys so much easier. (You may even want to mark your child’s shoes and socks, kids love going barefoot, even in the coldest weather!)

This month (MAY) we are offering our readers a very special treat: a FREE educational game for your child to enjoy, a FREE Story book to read when snuggled up ready for bed, and a FREE parenting book. All you have to do is, by replying to this e-mail, order one (or more) of the following:

1.     The “TWINKLE” STORY BOOK and the matching “CULTURES” ACTIVITY BOOK.

·         FREE: EDUCATIONAL BOARD GAME – “TO THE MOON!”

·         FREE: LITTLE BOOK OF INSPIRATION – TWINKLE

·         FREE: STORY BOOK = “PUZZLING PICNIC”

2.  The “FOREST FEAST” STORY BOOK and matching “CELEBRATIONS” ACTIVITY BOOK.

·         FREE: EDUCATIONAL BOARDGAME – “FOREST TIC-TAC-TOE”.

·         FREE: LITTLE BOOK OF INSPIRATION - FOREST FEAST.

·         FREE: STORY BOOK = “JENNY AT THE SEASIDE”.

3.  The “GOOFY GOSLING” STORY BOOK and matching “ANIMALS” ACTIVITY BOOK.

·       FREE: EDUCATIONAL CARD GAMES ~ ANIMAL SNAP & MEMORY

·       FREE: ‘LITTLE BOOK OF INSPIRATION’~ THE GOOFY GOSLING

·       FREE: STORY BOOK = “TRAINS & BOATS & PLANES”

PLUS ~ WE WILL GIVE YOU A FURTHER DISCOUNT!

CHOOSE ANY ONE OF THE SETS ABOVE (1, 2 OR 3) FOR ONLY R98; CHOOSE ANY TWO FOR ONLY R89 EACH; OR CHOOSE ALL THREE FOR ONLY R79 EACH!

Reply now with your choice - we will send your invoice within 24hours, and either post or deliver your books and free gifts to your door within 24 hours of confirmation of payment.

For more DETAILS of our members-only offer, see our Catalogue at: http://www.beyondpotentialkids.co.za/Downloads/Catalogue.pdf

Thank you to those of you who participated in our Art Survey!

The winner of a hamper full of Children’s Books and Art & Craft materials is: Denise Eggberry!  We will be contacting you today to arrange delivery of your hamper! Congratulations!

Enjoy the attached newsletter!

Yours in enriched education!

Getting to Grips with Learning Difficulties

Getting to Grips with Learning Difficulties

What is a learning disability? As the name suggests, a person with a learning difficulty has trouble taking in information and learning. So what does this really mean in practice? Research and experience has shown that people with learning disabilities often struggle in a few core areas and learning processes which we need in order to learn efficiently.

Below is a list of skills and behaviours that may indicate inefficient learning and which can impact on children's learning experiences.

GROSS MOTOR.

Children who have poor gross motor skills may: ·         Trip over a lot, appear “accident prone”, frequently bumping into things, ·         Have no sense of danger or not scared of heights, be impulsive, Appear floppy and awkward when performing movement activities, Have poor balance, Have difficulty learning new motor tasks (often dislikes outdoor activities)

FINE MOTOR. Children with poor fine motor skills may: Have an immature pencil grip and drawing skills, Dislike eye-hand coordination tasks, Have poor, messy handwriting, and write slowly, Have difficulty using scissors, Perform poorly at fine manipulative tasks, Have difficulty mastering new fine motor tasks, Tire easily when performing fine motor tasks, particularly pencil skills

VISUAL PERCEPTION. (This is our brain's ability to interpret what we see.)

Children with visual perception difficulties may: Reverse letters e.g. b/d in writing tasks Lack concentration with visual tasks Have difficulty copying from blackboard Be poor readers and / or spellers Have difficulty with puzzles and block designs Have difficulty finding their place on page, or on the blackboard Have poor visual memory

READING AND WRITING.

Children who have difficulties in these areas may: ·         Find difficulty in reading and / or poor concentration ·         Find it difficult to formulate and organise ideas to write them down ·         Have messy handwriting ·         Be able to explain ideas verbally, but struggle in being able to write ideas down.

BEHAVIOURAL.

Children with behavioural problems may Have poor self esteem Lack the ability to concentrate Not mix well with peers. May prefer                                                                                                      playing with younger children Show immature social behaviour Be either aggressive / shy and timid/                                                                                                     disruptive at school
ORGANISATION. Children who lack organisational skills may: Be generally disorganised, Struggle to get themselves ready on time, Have difficulty getting things organized at school e.g. getting out pencils, paper, glue and the right book for a classroom activity.
CONCENTRATION AND ATTENTION. Children who lack these skills may ·         Have a short attention span ·         Tend to be impulsive and not think things through ·         Struggle to concentrate in class and easily become distracted ·         Struggle to listen to instructions and follow them through ·         Have difficulty completing daily routines e.g. starting and finishing getting dressed.
SELF-CARE. Children who find it difficult to look after their own needs may Have difficulties dressing themselves Struggle with using utensils to feed themselves (i.e. knife and fork) Be messy eaters Depend on others to assist with self-care tasks at an age older than normal Be slow to perform all self-care tasks
AUDITORY. Children with hearing sensitivities may Struggle to concentrate on the task at hand when there is other noise Be oversensitive to loud sounds e.g. vacuum cleaner, TV too loud Be bothered by sounds unnoticed by others e.g. fan or air conditioner. Generally children are deemed to have a learning difficulty if they struggle in a number of the above areas. If you suspect a child you know has a learning difficulty, a comprehensive assessment by professionals will give you a good idea of the best way to assist the child’s learning.