Flourish In The Foundation Phase

Wow! I’m sure we can all agree how this year has flown by!

Can you believe the festive season has arrived?! It feels like just the other day that Elfie was playing tricks.🎄

Needless to say, my children and I are so excited! Our classroom is filled with happy chatter, jovial Christmas singing and counting down the sleeps to Grade One.🎉

As you get ready to finish up the year and say goodbye to your precious little people, I hope your last few weeks are nothing but bright and merry!💫

You can do this!👩🏼‍🏫

On Friday we created elephants to cement the ‘e’ sound we learnt during the week. The children had so much fun learning new facts and getting creative.

The highlight of the day was teaching the children how to sketch an elephant step-by-step.

So often we confine children to ‘copy and paste’ art activities. Instead of insisting all children creating the same art piece, teach them the skills to be creative and draw independently.

They have a sense of achievement and accomplishment when they realize they’ve learnt a new skill and are able to go home and recreate it for their parents, without a teacher directing them. 👩🏼‍🏫🤍🐘

•
•
•


@ Ballito KZN

“May your coffee be strong and your children be calm”. 🌈👩🏼‍🏫

Teachers, as you head into the last few weeks of the term and the stress of parent interviews and report writing gets overwhelming, may you never forget the impact you make on every child’s life.

Everyday your children spread their dreams beneath your feet, so tread softly- with grace in your heart. You’ve got this! 🤍
•
•
•

MY TEACHER TRIBE 👩🏼‍🏫

Find a teacher tribe and never let them go. They’ll help you through the bad days & rough patches. But they’ll also be there to share all the amazing and priceless moments in the classroom.

There’s nothing like a teacher friend! Every teacher needs her tribe and I’m so blessed these ladies are part of mine. 🤍🌈👩🏼‍🏫

•
•
•

🄿🅄🅉🅉🄻🄴🅂 ✨

An activity that exercises a Child’s mind and challenges their way of thinking. Puzzles assist in developing emotional skills, cognitive skills, and physical skills in early childhood.

As children develop, puzzles present many benefits to them & many skills are developed:-

🧩Problem-solving skills

🧩Cognitive skills

🧩Hand-eye coordination

🧩Fine motor development

🧩Self-esteem

In order to complete a puzzle it requires a child to develop solutions, reasoning skills and solving skills which they will use throughout their lives.

Making the connection between the eye and the hand is better practiced by puzzles. Erasing a word or trying out new pieces and writing in new ones assists a lot on developing this skill. Children will try over and over again until they see what fits well.

Based on the kind of puzzles, children are asked to move large and small pieces, twist k***s, circle words or make pieces fit into spaces. Fine motor skills are very important in everyday’s development. Learning these skills at an early stage will eventually assist them in drawing skills, handwriting, and musical instruments.

Just like an adult, the accomplishment of a set goal often brings so much satisfaction to a child. Overcoming the challenges involved in solving puzzles gives them a sense of pride and self-esteem. This not only boosts their self-confidence but also prepares them for other challenges in life.

As children work together to complete puzzles they often discuss where a piece will go and why, share, take turns, and assist each other especially when handling frustrations. This promotes and enhances corporative play.

Did you know the importance of puzzle building in early childhood?! 🧩

•
•

This is my classroom sound table. Initial sound tables help learners to associate sounds with the letter and the words which they form.

Every week a new sound is introduced to our Grade R’s according to the phonics program we follow.

To equip our children to become readers and writers, understanding the sounds in words is vital. Words are made up of sounds and once children are able to understand that, they are then able to apply this knowledge to their reading and writing.

Tips:
✨Teach your learners a rhyme or song associated to the letter symbol. This helps them to recognize letters when decoding new words.

✨Use visuals. Using visuals helps connect the sound of a letter to an image they relate to.

✨Encourage Show & Tell. Children are able to choose a item relevant to themselves. They are encouraged to organize their thoughts and convey main ideas based on the learnt sound.

✨Be consistent. Use the same method for each sound. Students will then be able to easily apply their knowledge from one sound to another.

✨Play games. At this age, children learn so much through play. Make up a dance, toss beanbags to each other, use body movements- Make it fun.

Teachers, How do you teach initial sounds in your classroom? 🌈

#2021

⋒ It's all about the shift in your mindset ⋒

My kids make me so mad ⤑ How do I feel right now, why am I frustrated? What happened in my day?

I need to punish my child for this ⤑ What do I need to teach my child?

There’s no excuse, this is bad behavior ⤑ what is my child trying to communicate?

As adults, we tend to forget that children, more often than not, model the behaviour around them. ⋒

Whether you're an educator, parent or caregiver, approaching your child with compassion and understanding is key. Listen earnestly to anything your children tell you, no matter what. Focus on the why, behind the behaviour and guide your child to meet their needs in a new, healthy way. ⋒

Rather than the traditional, 'old school' punishment, there are many ways one can help develop positive behaviour- this can be done by narrating, role playing, calming boxes, and many others. Remember, aggression will not correct aggressive behaviour! ⋒

Hello everyone👋🏼
Welcome to Flourish! ⋒

My name is Caitlynn (better known as Cait or by my students, Miss Miller) and I’m the creator of Flourish!

Six years ago I started studying towards my degree in teaching. It’s been a dream of mine to become a teacher since a little girl, so it’s no surprise to anyone who knows me, that I’m immersed in the Teaching world. There were many reasons why I felt this was my calling (which we’ll leave for another day).

I’m currently employed at a beautiful school on the North Coast, Ballito (let me tell you how grateful I am to be a part of this incredible school) and during lockdown I’ve finally found the courage (and time) to create this space, Flourish.

I believe that education is a vital tool that can teach children the fundamentals skills necessary to live as a confident and informed citizen. It’s my mission to instill a love of life-long learning and to ensure that my students are capable of thriving in today’s world.

My passion for teaching has extended to making classroom resources that pop with colour, games that draw learners in, lessons that are filled with excitement, reading which comes alive and advice for parents who seek a little guidance (on those tough days).

You can find me on Instagram as well as Facebook. Please feel free to share my page with your friends, family or colleagues!

I’m so excited to go on this new journey with you all! ⋒