The preschool years

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The pre-school years Primary schoolMaking
the link....
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All they do is just play!!!!!

• Play is central to and touches all aspects of
  a young childs development. Its importance
  cannot be overemphasised.

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Subjects

• English Music
  S.P.H.E
• Maths Art
  P.E
• Irish Drama
  S.E.S.E
• www.curriculumonline.ie

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English
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• Oral Language

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Oral language

• The language curriculum emphasises developing
  listening and speaking skills in preparation for
  beginning of reading and writing.
• It is essential for the social development of
  children. Children need language to perform
  common social functions- introducing oneself to
  others, greeting others and saying goodbye,
  giving and receiving messages, interacting with
  others and negotiating.
• It is also necessary for their emotional
  development. They need language to express their
  thoughts and feelings.

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• Developing Language Skills

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Language Play

• Play provides an ideal opportunity for children
  to use language, build their vocabulary and to
  acquire a variety of linguistic skills. Dont
  economise with language.
• In developing language skills children should be
  encouraged to
• Listen Explain Tell
• Talk Question Retell
• Ask open ended questions.
• Too often we only speak to children to give
  instructions.

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Language, language, language....

• Act out roles. Children love to pretend that they
  are nurses, doctors, teachers, astronauts,
  shopkeepers etc, etc. Opportunity for introducing
  new language here is endless..
• Memory games put out three objects e.g animals.
  Name them. Take one away. Whos missing?
  Opportunity here for counting and discussion.
• Who am I ? I direct traffic etc. What am I? Make
  up stories. Odd one out and why? e.g apple,
  orange, aeroplane.
• Story time. Repeat stories again again..
  Predict what will happen. What was your favourite
  part? Draw talk. Retell the story. Allow
  children to handle the books. Parent/ child in
  role.
• Rhymes riddles are a great way of encouraging
  language development.

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• Reading

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Reading

• Children are enabled to
• Listen to, enjoy and respond to stories, nursery
  rhymes, poems and songs.
• Become familiar with a wide range of
  environmental print.
• Learn to recognise and name the letters of the
  alphabet. Emphasis on the lower case in junior
  infants.
• Develop an awareness of letter sound
  relationships and to fuse the sounds of letters
  into words.
• Build up a sight vocabulary of common words and
  start reading graded reading books.

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• Preparation for reading

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Preparation for reading.

• Language, language and more language....
• Singing and saying the alphabet. Point to each
  letter. Lower case. Allow children to handle
  magnetic letters, soft letters etc..
• Story time encourages a love of books and creates
  an interest in reading.
• Pay attention to the mechanics of reading i.e.
  Holding a book, turning the page, let your finger
  go under the words as you read from left to
  right.

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• Let them repeat what happened in the story. This
  will help build their vocabulary.
• Reading is essentially about recognising similar,
  written and individual sounds and rhymes, the
  more highly developed childrens ears are the
  better e.g Humpty Dumpty they learn wall and
  fall rhyme. N.B. Matching games.
• Provide children with an opportunity to handle
  books..

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Writing
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Writing

• Children are enabled to
• Develop a satisfactory grip of writing elements
  pencil, crayon.
• Learn to form individual lower case letters.
• Understand the left, right orientation of
  writing.
• Copy letters and write words as part of class
  activities.
• Write his or her name.

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Preparation for writing
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• Primary schools do not expect children to be
  able to write when they come to school. It is far
  more important that small children have had
  plenty of opportunity to build up the control in
  their hands. When the teacher begins to teach
  formal writing children with well developed
  muscles will learn to write with ease.

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Preparation for writing

• The assembly and pulling apart of construction
  toys.
• Playing with dolls dressing undressing. (
  Buttons, laces zips)
• Manipulating pliable materials such as playdough
  and marla. ( Pushing, pulling rolling)
• Scribbling using thick crayons.

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• Painting.
• Use old magazines and catalogues to tear and
  stick or to cut and stick. Link with language
  development..
• Outdoor play climbing, swinging, sand play and
  water ( stirring pouring) , and other
  playground equipment

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Maths
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Maths

• Content for Junior infants
• Early mathematical activities including
  matching, classifying, comparing and ordering.
• Number including counting (1-10), comparing (
  sets of 1-5) and ordering (1-5). Read and write
  numerals 1-5, combine sets of objects, totals to
  5.
• Algebra including copying and adding to
  patterns of colour, shape, size and number.
• Measurement including working with length,
  weight, capacity, time and money.
• Shape and space including working with 2-D and
  3-D shapes.
• Data- including sorting objects and understanding
  and making charts and graphs.

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Preparation for maths

• Early mathematical activities
• Matching - snap, matching pairs of objects in one
  to one correspondence e.g socks, a box of random
  objects!
• Classifying - putting similar objects in groups
  e.g same colour, shape, texture, animals, birds
  etc.
• Comparing according to length, width, height,
  quantity e.g The 3 Bears.
• Ordering ordering objects by length or height.
  Build towers, use cut outs.
• Number
• Counting rhymes and songs 5 little ducks etc.
  Birthdays for teddies, play shop ( 2 apples ..)

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• Algebra
• Make simple patterns using beads, pegs, shapes
  and printing.
• Measurement
• Length long/short, tall/short, wide/narrow,
  longer/shorter.
• Weight heavy/light, balance, sort objects into
  heavy or light objects.
• Capacity full/empty, holds more/holds less.
• Time morning/evening, night/day,lunchtime,
  bedtime, early/late, days of the week, yesterday,
  today, tomorrow, seasons, birthdays, festivals,
  holidays.
• Money recognise and use coins up to 5 cent.

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• Shape space
• Use the language of spatial relations position
  over, under, up, down, on , beside, in.
• Directions moving in straight/curved lines, in
  a circle.
• 3-D shapes make constructions with 3-D shapes.
  Things that roll/do not roll.
• 2-D shapes name shapes and use to create
  pictures.
• Data
• Sort objects by one criterion shape, colour,
  size etc.

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Ready for school
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Ready for school

• The closer to five a child is, the easier and
  more successful their time in school will be.
• They will be
• Physically bigger, have greater language
  usage, have a greater ability to play and mix
  with others, have better hand-eye co-ordination,
  generally have greater emotional steadiness and
  stronger concentration.
• In contrast, younger children will be
• Slower to complete tasks, have a shorter
  concentration span,
• get tired quickly, may be difficult to
  understand and be understood, get upset more
  easily and may not be as competent at expressing
  their thoughts.
• They are moving from a small, more intimate group
  to one that is larger and more challenging.
• Consider longterm implications.

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Practical Tips..

• Your child should be fully toilet trained. Wipe,
  flush and wash..
• Practice with uniform on and allow them to use
  cubicles.
• Have a trial run or ten! with their school bag,
  lunch box and coat.
• Children cannot become independent if they cannot
  manage the equipment you provide.
• Nothing succeeds like success!!

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• Treat it as a natural step in your childs life.
• Children take their outlook on school from you so
  if your experience was not a happy one, your
  child does not need to know!! Theres will be
  different...

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• The pre-school years play a vital role in
  laying the foundations for all learning...........
  ..

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