By Mrs Glynnis DeKlerk, Masada Cottage Educational Leader
Starting school involves a great deal of change and we aspire to ease this transition. Our daily routine and Pencil Case Program strengthen our students’ school readiness and enhances their confidence, ensuring that each child is as best prepared as they can be. This program involves giving all our students their own pencil cases filled with pencil crayons, pencils, rubbers, sharpeners and scissors. As part of our school- readiness program, students learn to take responsibility for their possessions and use the materials correctly. Using their pencil cases together with their scrapbooks gives students the opportunities to follow instructions, refine motor skills and enhance creativity. We introduce this program in the fourth term to consolidate all the school readiness we have integrated into our program throughout the year. As their skills improve, so too we see our students’ sense of independence, self confidence and self reliance improve as well.
Transitioning to school is a big milestone for all children. Our program enables the children to engage in a wide variety of experiences and activities which allows them to become active participants in their own learning. In turn, this helps to develop a passion for learning in each child – and the excitement they show as they carefully unzip their pencil cases, makes us as teachers feel confident that we have done so!
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