Children of this age range like to know what comes next and learn really quickly to follow routines, gradually adapting to the ‘social rules’ that go with them. They begin to show characteristics such as leadership and sensitivity.
Claridge School helps children of this age to know what comes next and socialize to understand the ‘social rules’ that will enable them to become useful citizens of Nigeria. We teach the children to respond to the expectations of the staff, show consideration for others and have the ability to share their thought and ideas with the adults. The children are taught to make independent choices within the play activities.
We teach the pupils to help to clear the toys after learning activities and do so efficiently by stacking and handling the toys with care.
The children respond well to the expectations of the staff, they show consideration for others and have the ability to share their thought and ideas with the adults. The children make independent choices within the activities, many show sustained levels of concentration in their play. They also help to clear the toys and do so efficiently by learning to use the language associated with direction and position, they know where the materials are kept and handle them with care.
They have a large conservatory room where they spend quite a lot of their time with table top work, group time, ‘messy’ play etc. there is also a home corner which changes its theme every term e.g. home, shop, garage. A small area which is carpeted is used for Montessori learning, story time, music and movement, computer and television (with limited viewing).
In this class we provide every possibility for self help skills and independence. For example, during painting they learn to know that they need to have an apron, paper, paint pots and brushes to carry out their work. They help to clear up after they have finished. Group time is planned so as incorporate the early years curriculum. The children start to have name recognition and letter recognition. They learn pencil control and how to sit together for story time, which is interactive.
By using a wide range of Montessori equipments in a play capacity, the children build their confident ready for when they use this equipment for ‘real’. Sorting by colours, size and shape help towards mathematical skills.
In this group, the children learn to further develop the skills that they have learnt in nursery 1 and they also learn skills that introduce them to the six basic areas of learning in the early years.
These basic areas that provide important foundation for future learning are:
– Personal/Social – covers skills such as dressing/ undressing without help, working alone or in groups and being confident in new situations
– Language/Literacy – covers speaking and listening as well as basic writing symbols
– Numeracy – covers counting, number recognition, mathematical language and expressions, shapes and positional language (front, behind etc)
– Knowledge and understanding of the world – covers science, geography, history, design/technology and ICT at their level.
– Creative Development – covers music, art and craft.
– Physical development – covers games and gymnastics.
Ladybird learn–to–read scheme is used for reading. This scheme has a strong emphasis on developing a love for reading and also builds reading skills with the use of phonics. The goal of the mathematics program is to enable children to use mathematics through exploration, discovery, thinking and solving problems.
Through observing our children we realize when they are ready to move on to further stages of learning. Regular observation ensures that we recognize achievement, assess our own work and identify individual needs.
The curriculum for this class is designed to develop the essential reading skills, mathematical skills, problem solving, deductive reasoning and analytical thinking skills in readiness for the Elementary section.
While the essence of preparing the children for the Elementary section is important, we do not forget that the children learn more from play at this age. The staffs encourage this and make sure that the children feel safe, happy and secure in their environment, which makes for good all round development.