The Importance Of Outside Play
One of the main ways children learn and develop their gross motor skills is through playtime, on the playground, during outside time. As they play, their gross motor skills improve even without them knowing they are actually working on these abilities.
How playground equipment helps develop these skills:
- Climbing a ladder up to a slide or steps helps children learn to start balancing and shifting their weight. Going down a slide, children experiment with different body positions while working on balance and control of their bodies.
- While they are on swings they are in motion which helps them work on balance and coordination. When kids learn to pump up their feet to propel themselves on the swings, they work on sequencing and coordinating their body parts and movements to control the swing.
- The jungle gym strengthens arms, legs, their core and even their fingers. It provides an excellent way to work on balance, coordination and sequencing of which hand or foot moves next.
- The monkey bars strengthen hands and upper body strength as well as developing coordination and sequencing.
While there are many physical benefits to outside play, it provides a huge opportunity for social development in children as well. They also develop stronger reasoning and observation skills, giving them the opportunity to explore the world from a different perspective.
There are endless benefits to playing outside!
Cindy Nunan
Nursery and Pre-Reception Teacher
Hooked On Books in Foundation Stage
On Friday, 20th of August, we were elated to welcome the team from Hooked on Books to Blouberg International School. The annual event is a highlight in the school and it was with great excitement that the students lined up to go watch the performance in the Junior Hall.
Hooked on Books is a touring Educational Theatre Company that shares their love of books and stories with the students. Each year they choose a selection of stories and dramatise excerpts from the books. The actors are amazing and encourage audience participation, which of course the students love. They end each story on a cliff-hanger to encourage the students to go read the books for themselves.
It was a lovely day and we look forward to Hooked on Books visiting again next year.
Monique Meyer
Reception Year Teacher
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Wild Animals
We are learning more about wild animals in Foundation Stage. Picture books with animal characters are firm favourites with the students and they simply love to observe animals on the whiteboard shows. We even made our own wild animals in Art.
According to an article in ONE GREEN PLANET, animals can teach us 10 important things:
- Compassion: Compassion is based on being able to understand the feelings of others/another.
- Patience: There is no rushing an animal to do anything they aren’t ready to do.
- How to live in the now: People waste so much time obsessed with following ‘what will happen next’ that we completely forget to enjoy the now.
- We’re all connected: Ecosystems only thrive when there is balance.
- Humans aren’t as different as we thought: If there’s ever been a time to re-evaluate our relationship with animals, it’s now.
- Respect your elders: Moving forward and advancing towards innovation is a wonderful thing, but we should also learn to respect the wisdom of those who came before us.
- Responsibility: Growing up with a pet has been shown to instill a deeper understanding in children.
- Listen carefully: Animals sit and listen before they react to situations, something we could surely all stand to do.
- Live lightly: Animals learn to live within their means.
- We must stick together: Being able to set aside differences and work together for the mutual benefit of our species.
Martie van Dyk
Pre-Reception Teacher
The Benefits Of Gardening For Children
In the Foundation Stage we have decided to grow our own little class gardens in planters outside our classrooms. Gardening offers so many fun and interesting opportunities for the students and teaches them invaluable lessons.
They learn about the different types of flowers, vegetables and herbs and what they need to help them grow. It also offers an opportunity for the children to learn about different shapes and colours, etc.
Gardening engages all sorts of senses. They can feel the texture of soil, seeds, flowers, etc. They get to smell all the beautiful flower scents and see all the colourful petals. It also helps develop hand-eye coordination as well as physical strength.
If children grow their own vegetables, they gain a keen interest in eating them. Growing vegetables not only teaches them the hard work that it takes to grow them but also a sense of achievement! Growing any sort of flowers or vegetables requires daily attention and care. The students take turns to water their little gardens. They quickly learn if they are not watered regularly and taken care of they won’t flourish.
We have seen here at school, gardening is a good way to teach responsibility. The students are learning to be patient while waiting for their flowers and vegetables to grow. They need to remain engaged in the process and keep looking after their flowers and vegetables even when there are no clear results, but the anticipation makes the moment their flowers or vegetables sprout even more exciting!
Cindy Nunan
Nursery & Pre-Reception Teacher
Learning More About Colour
- Mixing colours – We used our hands to mix different colours. (blue + yellow to make green and yellow + red to make orange and blue + red to make purple)
- Colour sorting – Students had to sort colourful beads and blocks into piles of colour.
- Books – We read different stories with lots of colour in them.
- Rainbow Collage – We made a beautiful rainbow collage by sticking different coloured shapes on the rainbow template.
We enjoyed completing all of the activities in class. Wishing all our families a colourful weekend!
Martie van Dyk
Pre-Reception Teacher
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From the Principal’s Desk, 12 March 2021
Dear parents
As the term is drawing to a close, I find myself reminiscing about my nine years at Blouberg International. I have extremely fond memories of my time spent here and when I think about the students, past, present and future, I see achievement, greatness, and opportunity.
Blouberg International School is a family: a group of staff, parents and students which has expanded over the years. I have seen students matriculate and further their studies. I have seen primary students grow into high school students. I have seen little ones, Reception, or Pre-reception students I once towered over, grow into tall and confident young men and women. I have seen teachers grow and achieve the goals they’d set for themselves.
I have seen this school grow!
In my heart there is much pride as well as humility. There is gratefulness and satisfaction. There is so much I will miss about this journey and so much I am proud of.
Blouberg International’s board, staff and students will always have a special place in my heart, and I look forward to visiting in the future to celebrate future successes.
As parents, you can rest assured that the school will continue to flourish and be in good hands. The best is yet to come.
Next week our primary school will have verbal feedback meetings and the high school will start their test week.
I wish all our high school students the best of luck for the test week and wish to encourage them to stay focused and come to school well prepared. Proper planning prevents poor performance!
I wish you all a wonderful weekend ahead.
Kind regards
Edna
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The Importance of Sensory Play
Children use their senses to explore and try to make sense of the world around them. They do this by touching, tasting, smelling, seeing, moving and hearing. Providing opportunities for children to actively use their senses as they explore their world through ‘sensory play’ is crucial to brain development – it helps to build nerve connections in the brain’s pathways. This leads to a child’s ability to complete more complex learning tasks and supports cognitive growth, language development, gross motor skills, social interaction and problem solving skills.
Five reasons why sensory play is beneficial:
- Research shows that sensory play builds nerve connections in the brain’s pathways, which lead to the child’s ability to complete more complex learning tasks.
- Sensory play supports language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction.
- This type of play aids in developing and enhancing memory.
- Sensory play is great for calming an anxious or frustrated child.
- This helps children learn sensory attributes (hot, cold, sticky, dry)
In the Nursery and Pre-Reception classes we incorporate sensory play and fine motor activities into students’ daily programme. Play dough is used as part of the heavy work component of a sensory diet. It can also help improve a child’s fine motor skills. They are encouraged to squeeze, stretch, pinch and roll the play dough and even cut the play dough with scissors.
Different types of painting can also help strengthen hand eye coordination and manual dexterity. Finger painting gives the student an opportunity to use their hands and get messy. Painting with a brush helps them learn to hold a brush and gain greater control using it as a tool.
The students also get to look for numbers covered in rice and play in corn flour mixed with water. A fun and messy activity enjoyed by most of the students!
Cindy Nunan
Nursery & Pre-Reception Teacher
From the Principals Desk, 12 February 2021
Dear Parents
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”– Phil. 4:8 NIV.
MINDFULNESS
To be mindful means to be conscious or aware of something. “It is a mental state that is achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment.”- Dictionary.
This is often easier said than done. It is easy to become fearful and negative in today’s world. Listening to the news, reading the newspapers, can be a depressing reminder of the situation worldwide.
I believe it’s so important, amidst the worry of our daily lives, to focus our hearts and minds on what is noble and lovely. We are in the middle of February and already our students and teachers have achieved so much. Public schools will only reopen on Monday 15th February and their teachers and students are only now preparing for the academic year.
I am proud that our students have been busy with their academic programme since the beginning of the year and commend their enthusiasm and dedication. Sir Winston Churchill once said, “young men and young women, take up your mantle and rise; it is time for change.” We, the educators and parents, are the ones who empower and equip this generation for change. Let us pass the torch with pride!
Our students are all dressed up and ready to celebrate Valentine’s Day today. Such celebrations are important for morale and fellowship. Therefore, it is with joy, laughter, treats and music they celebrate the day and share the love!
On Monday, 15th February, we will have all students back on campus and we are sure they cannot wait to join their peers. Teachers will continue to prepare work for students who are abroad or have co-morbidities. As communicated two weeks ago, all other hybrid teaching ends today. Although our hybrid programme is running smoothly, the students need to have the benefit of face-to-face communication with their teachers.
As we look forward to the weekend, I encourage you to share the love with your family and friends. We cannot know what tomorrow will bring but we can celebrate today!
Kind regards
Edna
(Follow us on Instagram to see some of the Valentine’s Day photos and videos.)
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Welcome To School!
It has been such a pleasure welcoming all the new little faces to Reception Year this week. They all came to school excited to meet their teachers, make new friends and tell everyone their holiday news. Everyone enjoyed sharing and hearing about the fun things their families did together during the holidays.
We start our learning journey in Reception with practicing to write their names and numbers. It is such a privilege seeing the pride the little ones take when they are able to show what they can do. We look forward to a fun filled and exciting year in the Foundation Stage.
Monique Meyer
Reception Year Teacher
Nursery’s Last Days – Having Fun
Our Nursery students have really been enjoying their last few days at Nursery before school closed for the year.
We have relished playing together with Lego, puzzles, stickle bricks, peg-boards and games. We learned about so many topics this term and look forward to what next year brings. We also loved our private garden where we played, ran and sometimes just rested on the grass and put our feet up.
Due to Covid we encouraged our littlest students to social distance, wear their masks and continue to keep their toys, activities and little hands sanitized. We are so proud of how they adapted to all the changes since we opened the classrooms after the hard lockdown. They have been super stars through these trying times and I commend all the parents for raising such brave, strong, loving and independent children.
They have been a real blessing to all of us in the Nursery this year.
Jacky Billings
Nursery Teacher
