zaynie:



If I was a stay at home mom with my teaching skills, I would say age 3-4 sef.
Let LO clock 2 but meanwhile work on
1. Potty training
2. Simple counting like 1-10
3. Pencil grip by scribbling on sand trays, picking objects with the thumb, fore and middle fingers, working with play dough, colouring with attention on these 3 fingers ( dont let her hold the crayon with a stab), also direct her to colour within the lines.
4. Identification of the colours
5. Identification of body parts : touch your eyes, lift your foot etc

She doesnt have to be perfect in all the above. Just a basic knowledge and introduction. Something to keep her busy.
It should be fun o.....no carry cane

At no cane. It's ok sis. Will definitely work on these. Thanks sis.

Teaching secondary school kids. Una try sef.

So we are back to school,....so soon

I hope you all packaged something good for the teachers?
I got a lot of goodies sha......from turbans to hampers to cooking oil to mugs to bonuses..... .
Christmas was good sha.

On resumption, we encouraged the kids to talk about their holiday. Everyone was raving about how they went to the US or UK or village sef . When it got to Abby's turn, she said " I went to the Hostabul....." Miss Vic and I looked at each other...."where did you say you went again?"
"Hos-ta-bul!"
So I said maybe she means Instanbul,,,..
"You mean Instanbul?"
"Yes! Hos-ta-bul"
I was about to write it down in her notebook but I know Abby mixes her words up so I paused.
Few minutes later, it clicked! You dont want to know how many permutations and combination of all the letters of the word I did.....
"Abby, did your mom take you to the hospital?'
"Yes..( I'm not fazed as she has been saying yes to all our options) .
Okay tell us what you saw......only then were we convinced that she was at the hospital during the break.
Abby's language:
Kitchen------ chinchin
Construction worker------ totonchon water.
Ms Omolara------ Ms Miawa
Gladiators------laliators


Kiki is gone from our class. Must be the recession.
Angie came back taller, from being the smallest to leaving like 5 kids behind.
Dara wrote her name (in full: Dara-Abasi). She is 3years and 2 months old.
Koko is definitely the class Prof. Can't write zit....can barely hold a pencil right but has a head full of facts, trivia and the vocabulary of a well rounded adult.........I trowey yansh for his parents....He's not 3 yet.
Banky our own warrior is back fully after missing school for a while due to a crisis.....my poor baby. Now he's badder than ever. He bullies and is back with his selective deafness which chooses which of Mejaina's word he has to follow.... ....and while eating he said " I'm not crazy...dont tell me I'm crazy....I'm not!"
I suspect an imaginary friend or a fight between parents.
Nam is more.quiet than usual.....barely says a word all day.
IT isnt back,,......I miss her so much. I didnt realize how much I enjoyed her power packed hugs ....
Lolu is the new boy.

I'm a bit harder on the kids now, since class control/management is my focus for this term.
The kids are amazed at the change....


Ok bye

See gifts, teachers una dey enjoy oh.
Nice to see you're back.
Following nonstop.

We eventually enrolled our LO to a school. They call their class 'Toddlers Class' (1-2yrs). Before we enrolled, we asked them about their daily routines for the kids and curriculum and they mentioned most of what you enumerated. But i just asked another parent in another school whose child is about the same age as mine and she told me her child brings homework home (colouring, art, et al).
They don't give us homework at our school o

Also what do you think about a school that doesn't give uniform to kids in their toddler class? The kids wear mufti. I'm beginning to think this is a glorified creche

We actually dont wear uniforms here. I think its to ease potty training cos of the constant/ accidental wettings.
No homework till they get to our class too;2-3year olds and I was the one that started it sef for our class.
Homework is more like mommy's work at this stage which automatically negates what homework should really be about.

Kisses to the Prof-in-the-making

Ok then! Thanks sis

zaynie:
We actually dont wear uniforms here. I think its to ease potty training cos of the constant/ accidental wettings.
No homework till they get to our class too;2-3year olds and I was the one that started it sef for our class.
Homework is more like mommy's work at this stage which automatically negates what homework should really be about.

Kisses to the Prof-in-the-making

Hey Zaynie, my son hs started school too and they don't wear uniforms as well. They said dey wanyt d kids to enjoy their childhood. Some of their daily activities are story time, sports, circle time, he's been taught letters a - c and numbers 1- 3. Dey re doin a great job with potty training; he takes off his pull up and says 'mummy I want to wee' and he actually does! I was so impressed! Every weekend he comes home wit a book for us to read to him and like you said dey re mostly cartoons e.g. last weekend ws Barney and baby bop. He ws soo excited and listened attentively. They had sports day and he ran 10m race He's always so excited goin to school. Today, they had cookery class wia dey made salad wit cucumber, onions, tomatoes and lettuce and every child took a bowl home. They said the essence is to encourage them to eat vegetables.

So far, I'm overly impressed with them. They have an adult to child ratio of 1:4. Currently they are 13, max is 15 with the head teacher and 4 minders. My son's teacher hs taught for 27yrs in dat school! Every Wednesday is Fruits Day; no artificial juice and the likes so we are ready for our mixed fruit salad tmrw

feddy27:


Hey Zaynie, my son hs started school too and they don't wear uniforms as well. They said dey wanyt d kids to enjoy their childhood. Some of their daily activities are story time, sports, circle time, he's been taught letters a - c and numbers 1- 3. Dey re doin a great job with potty training; he takes off his pull up and says 'mummy I want to wee' and he actually does! I was so impressed! Every weekend he comes home wit a book for us to read to him and like you said dey re mostly cartoons e.g. last weekend ws Barney and baby bop. He ws soo excited and listened attentively. They had sports day and he ran 10m race He's always so excited goin to school. Today, they had cookery class wia dey made salad wit cucumber, onions, tomatoes and lettuce and every child took a bowl home. They said the essence is to encourage them to eat vegetables.

So far, I'm overly impressed with them. They have an adult to child ratio of 1:4. Currently they are 13, max is 15 with the head teacher and 4 minders. My son's teacher hs taught for 27yrs in dat school! Every Wednesday is Fruits Day; no artificial juice and the likes so we are ready for our mixed fruit salad tmrw

Iam really impressed with the bold especially the "They said dey wanyt d kids to enjoy their childhood" aspect. There are some schools where tough ICT homework is given to a reception kid as if the kid is going to enter high institution the next day. The parents end up doing the home work or employ an evening lesson teacher who now does the home work. How is the child suppose to learn in such circumstances. As far as iam concerned, a 1-3 year old kid should enjoy his/her childhood.

@zaynie what's d location of ur school

I tutor in an afterschool @Magodo GRA
We do chess outreach(train pupils in different schools around) and after school lesson
Recently we added Preschool & crèche

I like teaching in fact I enjoy teaching, I've taught all levels of education from kindergarten, nursery and primary, Jss and Sss, jamb and post jamb students even till my mates in the University but I don't think I want to take teaching as a career maybe as a university lecturer sha.. Only God knows tomorrow

NL1960:


Iam really impressed with the bold especially the "They said dey wanyt d kids to enjoy their childhood" aspect. There are some schools where tough ICT homework is given to a reception kid as if the kid is going to enter high institution the next day. The parents end up doing the home work or employ an evening lesson teacher who now does the home work. How is the child suppose to learn in such circumstances. As far as iam concerned, a 1-3 year old kid should enjoy his/her childhood.

One of my friends wrote a note back to her daughter's teacher dat she should simply tell her the assignment ws for her not d child...lol

1-3yrs is all about building motor skills, making dem aware of dia environmt, encouraging play etc... most schools really get it wrong wit toddler education; only few understand the principles. my colleague's 1yr+ son ws asked to color the Nigerian flag in an 'exam'.. + other ridiculous questions... he withdrew the child frm d skol immediately...lol

feddy27:


One of my friends wrote a note back to her daughter's teacher dat she should simply tell her the assignment ws for her not d child...lol

1-3yrs is all about building motor skills, making dem aware of dia environmt, encouraging play etc... most schools really get it wrong wit toddler education; only few understand the principles. my colleague's 1yr+ son ws asked to color the Nigerian flag in an 'exam'.. + other ridiculous questions... he withdrew the child frm d skol immediately...lol

Just imagine. Should exams be given to kids at such levels?. Kudos to that your colleague. He did the right and reasonable thing by withdrawing the child. Do the school know that there are various stages of the development and maturity of a child's brain?.

feddy27:


Hey Zaynie, my son hs started school too and they don't wear uniforms as well. They said dey wanyt d kids to enjoy their childhood. Some of their daily activities are story time, sports, circle time, he's been taught letters a - c and numbers 1- 3. Dey re doin a great job with potty training; he takes off his pull up and says 'mummy I want to wee' and he actually does! I was so impressed! Every weekend he comes home wit a book for us to read to him and like you said dey re mostly cartoons e.g. last weekend ws Barney and baby bop. He ws soo excited and listened attentively. They had sports day and he ran 10m race He's always so excited goin to school. Today, they had cookery class wia dey made salad wit cucumber, onions, tomatoes and lettuce and every child took a bowl home. They said the essence is to encourage them to eat vegetables.

So far, I'm overly impressed with them. They have an adult to child ratio of 1:4. Currently they are 13, max is 15 with the head teacher and 4 minders. My son's teacher hs taught for 27yrs in dat school! Every Wednesday is Fruits Day; no artificial juice and the likes so we are ready for our mixed fruit salad tmrw

Yay!
I really love the school. Very similar to ours.
I'm sure bobo Feds will always be excited going to school.
I trust you to find the best for him unless you aren't FedoraTheExplorer anymore
Kisses to Princess.

eitsei:
I like teaching in fact I enjoy teaching, I've taught all levels of education from kindergarten, nursery and primary, Jss and Sss, jamb and post jamb students even till my mates in the University but I don't think I want to take teaching as a career maybe as a university lecturer sha.. Only God knows tomorrow

Best of luck!

Ademat7:
@zaynie what's d location of ur school

I tutor in an afterschool @Magodo GRA
We do chess outreach(train pupils in different schools around) and after school lesson
Recently we added Preschool & crèche

I'm sorry but we already have a Chess instructor but will keep you in mind .

zaynie:



Yay!
I really love the school. Very similar to ours.
I'm sure bobo Feds will always be excited going to school.
I trust you to find the best for him unless you aren't FedoraTheExplorer anymore
Kisses to Princess.

lol... you teachers are doing a great job!

Infact the potty training is so effective, right now every time he wants to pee, he must take down his pull up and do it

Another one is washing of hands! Ha, we don't rest o... he's always washing his hands

My son has grown within a short while....my hubby says he can see value for the money he's paying

Ehennn....his vocabulary has increased too o

Do you know wat he did the other day? Hubby was feeding and said "ahhhhhh (as per open your mouth), my son shouted "apple" ; hubby still didn't get it, he said ahhhhh again and my son screamed "apple" I bursted into laughter when he told me

As I dropped him off this morning, he happily waved me bye bye and followed his minder to the toilet..

How is Atinuke and her Moyo? My love to them

feddy27:


Hey Zaynie, my son hs started school too and they don't wear uniforms as well. They said dey wanyt d kids to enjoy their childhood. Some of their daily activities are story time, sports, circle time, he's been taught letters a - c and numbers 1- 3. Dey re doin a great job with potty training; he takes off his pull up and says 'mummy I want to wee' and he actually does! I was so impressed! Every weekend he comes home wit a book for us to read to him and like you said dey re mostly cartoons e.g. last weekend ws Barney and baby bop. He ws soo excited and listened attentively. They had sports day and he ran 10m race He's always so excited goin to school. Today, they had cookery class wia dey made salad wit cucumber, onions, tomatoes and lettuce and every child took a bowl home. They said the essence is to encourage them to eat vegetables.

So far, I'm overly impressed with them. They have an adult to child ratio of 1:4. Currently they are 13, max is 15 with the head teacher and 4 minders. My son's teacher hs taught for 27yrs in dat school! Every Wednesday is Fruits Day; no artificial juice and the likes so we are ready for our mixed fruit salad tmrw

Please what is the name of the school?
i like their way of teaching

zaynie:



Best of luck!

I wish you the same!

woww.. what a thread.. read all pages and totally enjoyed them all especially the later pages discussing parenthood .. wish there were more pages

following bumper to bumper

yemiosinbajo:



I don't have to argue with you 'cos you are not the OP. Just let her challenge me directly. If she can write only ten lines in challenging me, I'll call you. Then you'll observe the difference in style of writing.
Of course she slightly employed the Nigerian style by adding 'o' to the end of her sentence and using 'wahala', but I can assure you that she simply edited this work to make it look like hers. As a freelance writer, I know what I'm saying. Core Nigerians don't write this way, and this is in fact not a Nigerian sch.
You may pick the lessons from her write-up and leave it at that.

So pray tell....

How does a Nigerian write
That is different from how a foreigner will write.

kudos

feddy27:


lol... you teachers are doing a great job!

Infact the potty training is so effective, right now every time he wants to pee, he must take down his pull up and do it

Another one is washing of hands! Ha, we don't rest o... he's always washing his hands

My son has grown within a short while....my hubby says he can see value for the money he's paying

Ehennn....his vocabulary has increased too o

Do you know wat he did the other day? Hubby was feeding and said "ahhhhhh (as per open your mouth), my son shouted "apple" ; hubby still didn't get it, he said ahhhhh again and my son screamed "apple" I bursted into laughter when he told me

As I dropped him off this morning, he happily waved me bye bye and followed his minder to the toilet..

How is Atinuke and her Moyo? My love to them

Hahahhahaha
All I see is a proud mama
The kids are fine, Alhamdulillah

PresVA:
woww.. what a thread.. read all pages and totally enjoyed them all especially the later pages discussing parenthood .. wish there were more pages

following bumper to bumper

Thanks.
But you are on a LASTMA-n things o, maami

Tiamiyu996:
kudos

Thank you.

zaynie:




Hahahhahaha
All I see is a proud mama
The kids are fine, Alhamdulillah

Hehehehe, you can say that again!

Look at our valentine present from him... He brought it from school with 2 lollipops for us

feddy27:


Hehehehe, you can say that again!

Look at our valentine present from him... He brought it from school with 2 lollipops for us

How sweet!

Good job u re doing ma'am zaynie, I always look out for ur post. I am also a teacher for ages 3-4 and d settings seems same as yours. Pls aside the thinking corner, what other measures do you use? Cos I also have some boys in my class that once u send them to the thinking corner, they are there to think of how to disrupt and do more things. Also there is a girl in my emerging group who will not write nor trace numbers or alphabets. I have done everything possible in fact as it were now, she is a prayer point for me. They are triplet. One is doing very well, the other girl is trying though she also is in the emerging group. But this other one will neither write or trace. She will not just do anything. Pls I need your advice on methods I can employ to make her write. Though I have spoken to the parents, they feel cos she has sight problem that is d cause of it, but she is on medicated glasses. She is active during our craft class.

Hi Demmykay.
Thank you for the compliment.

Okay, this is my first year of teaching kids this young so I'll share what we've been doing so far.
For the boys:
-I have found that sometimes holding their gaze and not saying a word can subdue them. You call the name of the offender and maintain eye contact till they settle down humbly.

- The thinking corner cant come too often or else it'll lose its value. When you send them over there it has to be after several warnings. When they do get to go to the corner, dont just send them there, escort them by holding their hands firmly, not too hard to inflict pain but enough to register your displeasure. Then they get to sit on the floor with legs folded, hands on knees and eyes shut. You have to insist they do all. If they dont, without raising your voice you ask if they would like you to come over and tell them how tp sit.if they still refuse to comply, you go over and again hold the feet firmly, cross them over, hold the hands firmly, place them on knees and with an authoritative voice say 'now shut your eyes'.
If the child complies then he wont spend too much time over there if not, you'll keep going over there till he complies. And he has to.
They have to say "I'm sorry Ms A, I'm ready to behave,".

- you can also make them lose turns when they disrupt the class. Sometimes I send an offender back to the end of the line when they jump lines, sometimes they get to go back to the class to cool off when they begin to misbehave during sports or music or cooking or art and craft.
They get to stand stay mute all thru circle time.
Sometimes I give the offender a really tough puzzle to keep him busy.

- I dont let them stay idle for too long.
Check this: We resume for 7 but dont go into class till 8.30. We play in the play area. Once they come in ( in a line after they have been taught that everyone has a number : we arranged alphabetically), 2 teachers usher them in; one at the front to set the pace they rush in nd one behind to keep an eye on them. There's another teacher directing them to drink water nd use the bathroom once they step into the class. Another teacher is ready to lead you to your seats. After 2 weeks of doing this,.they know the routine but some stubborn ones will refuse to follow.

- Also seat them with a quiet female. It always works wonders.

- Finally,.this is the big gun! Tell them you will send them to the baby class if they continue to misbehave.
Our conversation:
Me: Who goes making a mess at the reading corner.
Class: Its Mide!
Me : Who does that?
Class: A baby!
Me: Mide, are you a baby?
Mide: No
Me: So sit like a big boy or you find yourself in the baby class with diapers on and a feeding bottle.
Once in a while, you may send an unreprentant child to the baby class. This also serves as a warning to others.
They hate being referred to as babies cos most of them have lil ones (babies) at home and dont want to be degraded.

The other girl:
There's actually no worries if she refuses to write.
Can she say her sounds, blend, do simple sums, count numbers, count objects, identify colours and shapes etc.
A 2 year old in my class can count and identify to 100, he knows all his sounds, shapes and colours but wont write.
I am not in charge of the emerging group in my class but this is what the teacher does.
- use of sand trays. The kids form the letters so well om sand trays.
- Use of sand paper letters to trace.
- air writing
- pencil grip exercises like picking beans from a bowl of rice, beading on a string, working with playdough.
- writing on the white board helps a lot! Infact most of them get the letters/ numbers on the board before moving on to books.
- instead of traditional books, tracing on worksheets with pictures. She gets to colour once she's done.
- colouring helps grip and precision too. Colour within the lines.
- massaging the fingers has helped a couple of the kids. Squeeze the hand tight, pull the fingers and massage firmly ( not squeezing too hard).

Thanks so much sis, this is so helpful. Thanks for the tips on taking them to the baby class. For the other girl, she knows her sounds and can do some of the actions. Can also identify some numbers and shapes.Will take your advice on massaging her fingers. She uses play dough and also bead on strings. Will try her out on picking beans and d sand tray. Hugs sis. Love to Atinuke and big brother. Do have s great week ahead.