Our Trainers deliver the 16 Modules over a two year period to Groups of up to 25 nursery school teachers at a time. The sessions are held every four to eight weeks usually in community halls. In between Module sessions the Trainers run support groups and undertake class visits.
The Modules are designed to last 90 minutes and be interactive and good fun. They show teachers how to structure their week, organise their classrooms and interact with the children. They explain how play activities enhance a child’s development – and how to make educational aids and toys from locally-available recyclable materials.
The first eight Modules show teachers how to structure their week, organise their classrooms and how to make play the centre of everything they do. The goal is to help children to develop social skills, audio and visual perception, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, language and simple arithmetic.
The second set of eight Modules reinforce these key teaching messages but also address the importance of activity centres, personal hygiene, nature, safety and wellness, gender and inclusion and preparation for school.
The eight basic Modules focus on helping the teachers organize and stimulate the children in their classrooms.
Introduction and making books
Making books from shop posters to start a reading corner.
Planning - classroom and curriculum
Planning - classroom and curriculum
Communication and working with parents
Communication with children and parents and introducing the parent workshops.
Language and communication
Developing language and communication through play activities.
Perceptual skills - auditory
Developing auditory perception and auditory memory.
Perceptual Skills - Visual
Developing visual perception & visual memory.
Activities to develop these in the classroom.
Body image, space and movement
Parts of the body, gross and fine motor skill development and movement activities.
Inclusion and classroom management
Being an inclusive nursery school and classroom management including behaviour management
The eight Advanced Modules reinforce key messages in particular the importance of the activity centres, advice on age appropriate learning, hygiene, and environmental education.
Our latest Modules are aimed at the Teacher Development – looking at Safety and Wellness and Gender and Inclusion issues.
In addition we have two Modules that are addressing the needs of the older children in nursery schools who proceed directly to formal schooling.
Activity areas in the classroom
Further development of activity learning areas.
Developmentally appropriate learning
Matching the activities and learning opportunities to the age and development of each child.
Hygiene
Developing hygienic hand washing techniques and the use of a “tippy tappy” system where appropriate.
Environmental education
Helping children to develop an understanding and love of the environment, through stories and practical activities.
Safety and Wellness
Keeping staff and Children safe.
Ideas surrounding nurturing and teaching children to know their rights, be heard, and stay safe.
Gender and Inclusion
To help children understand their bodies and the rights that they have over them.
To become a safe space for children to share vulnerable information.
Preparation for School 1
To develop more complex activities for the older children who will go to Pre-Primary, or even straight into Grade 1, through fostering a love of play, exploration and learning and by developing essential physical, social and cognitive skills through imaginative play and activities.
Preparation for School 2
To develop thinking skills.
To provide activities and tools for the Teacher to use to monitor Children's progress towards essential skills.
