Parent Forum

With social interaction playing a major role in creating a stimulating environment for children to learn and play, playgroups have significantly become a platform for children and parents to obtain optimum development. Playgroups enable children to develop social skills by exposing them to making more friends that can last a lifetime. It gives them some alone time with their parents allowing them to play more. Parents on the other hand also tend to gain from the playgroups as they are able to interact with other parents in the group, share ideas, concerns, and experiences, learn from other parents and as well build up their social networks.

Playgroups are filled with lots of fun and offer children great support as well as their respective parent as this gives them time to relax and rid themselves of all sorts of tension, work stress. Through playgroups, children’s language development and communication grow stronger, their emotional confidence, physical activity, imagination, and creativity are all heightened. It assists children to become ready for the formal environment and it also opens the opportunity to attend excursions/events.

Playgroup is an informal session where mums, dads, grandparents, caregivers, children, and babies meet together in a relaxed environment. They are set up and run by parents and caregivers, with a range of activities designed to meet the needs of the children attending. -Playgroup Australia

 

PLAYGROUP ACTIVITIES

Singing- Activities such as this brings the children closer making them share common rhymes and also teaching them how to memorize things. Singing improves a child’s memory and it acts as a prerequisite skill for reading. Singing also helps your child enhance his vocabulary and, depending on the songs, can teach him about science, history, and culture.

According to a blog post on How Singing to children may help the development of language skills by Amelia Hill from parents and parenting, Daniel Dwase, editor of the online Child Development Guide, said “Music assists in the development of a child’s speech,” he said. “Singing nursery rhymes and simple songs teach children how language is constructed and assists with the acquisition of language. Singing songs with your child will also teach them about tone, beat, and rhythm.

“Even better than just singing, though, is to teach songs with actions and encourage your child to dance along to the music, they will learn balance, co-ordination, body awareness and rhythm,” he said

Arts and Craft- This draws a child’s focus to the world of art and through this, most children tend to further develop their artistry as they grow older. This also brings a connection between the children in the group and helps the child to demonstrate/develop self-control and patience.

According to an article on The Benefits of Art for Kids, the International Child Art Foundation said, “Research indicates that a child who is exposed to the arts acquires a special ability to think creatively, be original, discover, innovate, and create intellectual property—key attributes for individual success and social prosperity in the twenty-first century.”

Outdoor Play- Activities done outside such as football, basketball and so on improves the child’s physical strength/state as well as mental. Sports activities help keep the child in good shape both external and internal. It is a  perfect place for kids to be kids with the freedom to shout, jump, run, hop or skip.

We also know babies sleep better at night if they’ve had some fresh air and sunshine during the day, according to a study called The Relationship Between Daytime Exposure to Light and Night-time Sleep in 6-12 Week Old Infants.-Importance of outdoor play activities for kids, NCT

Imaginative Play-

Such as making up stories and putting them into an act helps the child assimilate ideas quickly and they are able to groom themselves in the drama world. It fosters mental growth by creating opportunities for trying out new ideas, ways of thinking and problem-solving (helps the brain develop creativity).

An important  benefit of early pretend play may be its enhancement of the child’s capacity for cognitive flexibility and, ultimately, creativity (Russ, 2004; Singer & Singer, 2005). Russ, for example, in longitudinal  studies, found that early imaginative play was associated with increased creative performance years later (Russ, 2004; Russ, & Fiorelli,  2010).- The Need for Pretend Play in Child Development, Psychological Today

Trips- This can involve activities such as camping, site seeing to help the child know more about their environment and also to learn new things that wouldn’t be taught in the school environment. Trips aid children with new experiences and increase their understanding of the world around them.

Playgroups are very important at the early stages of a child’s development and so parents and schools should engage more in such activities with their kids and their students as well as encourage them to help their development process.

Visit schoolscompass.co.ng for ideal schools for your wards.

Irrespective of the child’s age, parents take responsibilities for their children. With children being taught by different teachers,  one is faced with the reality that they are exposed to different teaching methods with no way to measure which teaching method is most-effective.

Ever wondered about the teaching method being used by the school and how effective they are to the learners? Parents and teachers should have a ready answer to the question of what the most-appropriate teaching method should be. Children differ and so do learning methods. While a child can grasp a concept faster through singing, the other might find singing a distraction to learning. Taking out time as a parent or teacher to figure out how a child learns can go a long way as there are several ways of making children learn; Let’s review some teaching methods.

Role Play

According to Ian Glover on TEL, Role-play is a technique that allows students to explore realistic situations by interacting with other people in a managed way in order to develop experience and trial different strategies in a supported environment. Depending on the intention of the activity, participants might be playing a role similar to their own (or their likely one in the future) or could play the opposite part of the conversation or interaction. Both options provide the possibility of significant learning, with the former allowing experience to be gained and the latter encouraging the student to develop an understanding of the situation from the ‘opposite’ point of view.

This method of teaching is mostly used during literature classes. It can also be adapted for in-class activities that don’t have to be focused on literature only. Such activities can be implemented to the storytelling lessons, history knowledge,  and the likes of it.

Demonstration

The demonstration method involves the teacher educating the class by showing rather than by merely explaining the concept to be learned. The teacher ensures learning by making the learners engaged in activities that involve the actual display of what is being taught.

According to Heather Coffey on LEARN NC  the teacher, or some other expert on the topic being taught, performs the tasks step-by-step so that the learner will eventually be able to complete the same task independently when using the demonstration method in the classroom. The eventual goal is for learners to not only duplicate the task, but to recognize how to problem-solve when unexpected obstacles or problems arise. After performing the demonstration, the teacher’s role becomes supporting students in their attempts, providing guidance and feedback, and offering suggestions for alternative approaches.

Group Work

Group work usually involves groups of students formally working together on projects or assignment, though it may sometimes take place in formal classroom settings. When setting group work tasks, it can be useful to consider student availability, resources necessary, and expected outcomes. – TIC

Some students find learning easier when they are allowed to work in groups or pairs. Through these, students are able to help themselves and communicate their difficulties to their friends rather than the teachers.

Recitation

 Recitation is a direct, teacher-centered approach in which the teacher asks specific short answer questions with a specific answer in mind. Incorrect answers are usually corrected by the teacher or by the class. A teacher may use probing questions in order to help the class come to the correct answer. The repetition of question and answer helps information retention. It is best used for the memorization of facts–base level knowledge. – Valeri, Adam & Racheal

This method of teaching is most suitable when it involves calculations, works of literature, etc. It aids the recall of names, words, formulas, processes, etc.

Field Trips

  A field trip is a visit to a place outside the regular classroom which is designed to achieve certain objectives, which cannot be achieved as well by using other means. – Liga and Agen

Most, if not all students enjoy time outside school walls. A field trip is one of the best methods to teach students especially when it comes to geographical topics involving nature, history of a country, state or community. Students get to actually see the world from a whole new perspective and also get insights on the real nature of things.

Quizzes.

This method of teaching is every teacher best in that they enjoy giving quizzes to students to know how much they have learned and how much they as a teacher has been able to instill in them

Children learn through several means. Teachers, as well as parents, need to identify the most appropriate learning methods/experience for the children. Finding an ideal school that cares about your child’s growth is just a click away, kindly visit Schoolscompass.com.ng and you are sure to get much more than you expected.