Dear Parents,
Our theme for Term 1 is "I am Special".
We will cover topics related to All Abount Me, I Love My Family /Relatives /Friends, My Toys, I like Playground, My House, My School, My Feelings, I Can & I help etc..
Here are some ideas* that you can foster the concepts of some of these topics at home :
All Abount Me :
- Parents can talk to the child about the name, gender and birthday of all the members in the family. Different characteristics of your child can also be highlighted by making comparisons between family members.
- Parents can talk about the five senses with your child, for example, ask your child to cover his/her ears and ask her to guess what you are talking.
- Sense of touch can also be enhanced through the activity of touching objects of different texture, for example, compare bewteen a sponge and a bar of soap by pressing them.
- Mealtime is a good time to highlight the function of the senses of smell and taste.
- Parents can bring your child to the library or surf the internet to look for information on how our digestive system works.
- Get your child to use parts of his/her body to show its function, for example, play a game of pouring water into a bowl or a cup then ask about the part of body used to do this activity.
- Walking, running and kicking a ball are some activities that can be done to show the function of legs. A mirror can be used to name different parts of the body.
My House / My Toys /I like playground
- Talk with your child the safety rules at home
- Talk with your child the safety and social rules in the playground
- Let your child take responsibility of his/her personal belongings (eg. keep his/her toys away after play; put-on his/her own shoes etc.)
I Love My Family /Relatives /Friends
- Read/tell stories that will cultivate positive values to your child (eg. to be filial to the parents)
- Parents can talk to the child about the family tree and the name of their relatives. You can begin by looking through family photographs with your child. While doing this discuss family tradition and customs. You can encourage your child to dictate a letter to you to write to a grandparent or other relative.
- Talking with your child about the name and different characteristics of their friends will encourage parent-child communication
My Feelings
- Talking with your child about your feelings will encourage parent-child communication. Tell your child what things can make you feel happy or sad in varous ways. Then ask your child to share some feelings. Create a "feeling collage" with your child through drawing or using discarded magazines.
I Can & I Help
- Assign some simple tasks /roles for your child to take on, for example, water the plants or feed the pet daily.
- Talking with your child what does he/she like to do. Help building your child's confidence by telling something positive about him/her (eg. He is special because he is helpful)
- Parents can be the role model of your child to cultivate the values of "helpful" and "caring".
Have fun !
*Some of the ideas above are extracted from Reference Book : Creative resources for the early childhood classroom by Judy Herr & Yvonne Libby.