Kids Can Pre-School

Happy Youth Day for tomorrow family and friends. I found this quote and wanted to share it with the Kids Can Family!

Inspired minds. Unshaken spirit. Unstoppable change. On 16 June we honour the fearless youth of 1976 — their courage ignited a spark for lasting change. But Youth Day is not only about the past; it’s also about the power of today’s generation to shape a better tomorrow!

WHY IS DIRECTION SO IMPORTANT NOT ONLY FOR TODDLES, BUT TEENS AND ADULTS ALIKE?

Direction and structure are essential for children because they provide the predictability and boundaries needed to feel safe. By learning to follow instructions and understand spatial directions (left, right, up, down), children develop vital life skills like self-regulation, critical thinking, and independence.

So back to the mind-bender from earlier this week. The answer to the direction in which the bus was going is ….. ?

If you're in the SA - the bus is travelling to the right. The key to solving the puzzle is the fact that you can't see the passenger doors. This means they must be on the other side of the bus, and if you're in SA where people drive on the left side of the road this means the bus is going right. BUT the opposite applies in the US and other countries where people drive on the right - the bus would be going left.

So let’s start boosting our toddlers and pre-schools by playing games like these!

All you need is: a laminated template with arrows going in different directions, and some plastic animals/figurines! Encourage your little person to put the head of the animal/figurine to face the direction in which they would be going and….

voila 😉

FuNNY-MuNDAY

So, this week I have an unusual Funny-Munday….more of a MiND BeNDER actually. Give this a try!

Which direction is the bus travelling in?

I’ll give you some time to think about the answer. See you on Thursday 11-6-26 for the answer. It’ll blow your mind, Moms and Dads! (Actually ALL adults)

WE PACK A PUNCH WHEN IT COMES TO ARTWORK

Last Thursday we created a novel background using a toy snake and green and yellow paint … but why stop there! Using this as a background our little one’s worked very hard over a couple of days to paint and cut out their chameleon. Our busy little beavers practised their cutting skills holding the stem of the leaf as a ‘handle’ and snipped short vertical lines on their leaf (same principal we shared on 7-5-26 CUTTING REQUIRES TWO HANDS). Leaves need a branch right, so if you look carefully the chameleon is positioned on a twig made from small, tightly squeezed balls (magazine pages work the best if torn into strips).

The children used both hands and all their fingers to create their masterpiece, but spread over a week, it didn’t seem like a task!

How proud is this little artist of his creation! 👨‍🎨🎨

FuNNY-MuNDAY

Almost every modern electronic and mechanical device relies on numbers to function. They use numeric systems—such as binary, decimal, or hexadecimal—to process inputs, perform logic, and store data. They are necessary but also exhausting!! Saw this and thought that we all deserve to laugh a little and forget the pressure numbers place on us.

Happy Monday Cape Town ⚖️

PAINTING WITH A SNAKE – SAY WHAT ❓❓❓

There are no boundaries when it comes to artwork at our school! Our Starfish children love messy art – not sure about the moms on laundry day though 🤣

STEPS TO FOLLOW ….
1. Pour some thick paint into a plastic “pudding-type” bowl (can be any colour) – *note though that your Tot’s fingers will look like the ones in the pic on the right!
2. Use a toy snake and bathe the reptile in the paint ‘bath’ (encourage your Tot to use words like “snake” and “reptile” while at work)
3. Last step is to roll the snake along the page or drag it (cleaner options)
4. A messy option is to try and coil the snake and then press it down onto the page (see the neat coil on the pic to the left)
5. Cool fact…. A loose, relaxed coil (can use the word spiral too) allows the snake to feel secure and conserve body heat while sleeping 🤓👀🤓

Watch this space next Thursday to see how our project evolves!

How clever is the Mom!! She made her daughter's day with this innovative twist on a roller coaster .... Her daughter's delight is funny, but her smile and pure joy sharing the time with her mom, MADE MY DAY!! Hope it'll have the same effect for you! Just shows you how a simple thing can be far more valuable than all the money in the world. Super rainy-day activity too! Have an awesome week.

Chat more on Thursday!😜

Funny short videos | Latest funny videos, Funny things, Funny stuff A Pin by Martoffes

CHILDREN’S SENSE OF TIME

None of us are born with the ability to tell time or to follow a routine. As adults both are crucial ways to organise our busy days.

Telling time is the “WHEN” something must happen, while routine is the ‘WHAT’ that must happen. Time (both digital or on a traditional clock) is rigid and doesn’t bend (unless the plug isn’t in the socket or the batteries are flat!) and allows us to know exactly “when” something must start and end. A routine is a habitual sequence of actions focusing on the flow and order of the tasks. A routine is the “what” that an individual must accomplish. Even as adults some of us will struggle with keeping a routine and watching the clock ….. resulting in chaos, confusion, frustration, short fuses, annoyance …. I could carry on!

So, just imagine how a little human must feel being expected to know the “when” and “what”, but not able to know what needs doing and when it needs to be done. 😳 Remember, little people only have day and night as a measure of time.

At Kids Can Pre-School, we teach our children as early as 2 turning 3 what their daily routine at school is. At this stage we worry less about the when (learning to tell time will happen later on!) but we focus more on the WHAT. We simplify our children’s sense of time using a routine for the days of the week (each day has its own colour), and a routine (pictures/photos of the activities for each day).

It is key that the order of activities never change! For now you however can determine the length of time to spend on each. By empowering a little human, you remove all the chaos and uncertainty, and in its place you leave him/her feeling calm and more in control. Why not give it a try?

FuNNY-MuNDAY

How cute is this little face! The words are funny too, but there’s a very powerful message to this week’s FuNNY-MuNDAY…… let’s meet on Thursday, 21 May for a little chat about the days of the week! And why they are important to little humans! 📅