A fun and purpose built class for ‘Grade R’
Great teachers form strong relationships with their learners and show that they care about them not only as their learners but as impressionable people. Great teachers are warm, approachable, enthusiastic and caring. Teachers with these qualities are known to stay after school and make themselves available to learners and parents who need them.
Playing is an vital part of growing up, children need to play to develop emotional maturity and social, intellectual and physical competences including life-skills. In our class, we learn through play! How to interact with people with politeness and respect. We enact physical and emotional situations, real and imaginary, when given time to play. We learn in play situations, about feeling safe and in control. Meaningful education takes place when a little one is exploring through his or her five senses.
PASS RATE
HAPPY CHILDREN
SAFE
HAPPY PARENTS
Classroom Facilities
All play occurs in a fun, safe and secure environment. In our Gr. R space, I have planned both the indoor and outdoor spaces for the children to learn through play. Safety is very important. This include both structured and unstructured play. As a role model, I always lead the activity.
Children should be exposed to many different opportunities where they can construct, explore and pretend while playing. In the classroom, areas are also set up for this to take place. Classroom organization is crucial. This is briefly outlined below:

Indoor Play Areas
The layout of where the different types of activities will take place makes classroom life easier and organised.
These are the types of play we engage in:
- Creative Arts
- Performing Arts – Dressing up and imaginative play
- Constructing using building blocks, or boxes
- Story time
- Music
- Caring for animals or nature related tasks i.e. science

Outdoor Play
This space is also organized and planned. Here, the children are able to run around, climb under, over and through items, play with sport items, such as balls, hoops, skipping ropes etc. The area is safe and the equipment is well cared for.
The following is availed:
- Swinging – swinging tyres, swings
- Sliding on slides
- Climbing over, under and through, i.e. jungle gyms, climbing nets
- Water / sand play; such as sand pits, water and / or sand tables, with items to play to use – funnels, jugs, plastic bottles, sponges
- Throwing and catching – bean bags, balls
- Scooters
- Nature awareness – flower garden, insect garden, garden bird area

Language
Grade R teachers don’t formally teach Literacy/Languages, Mathematics and Life skills, but we expose our Grade R learners to these fields, through integrated play-based activities. The main tasks include the following:
- We expose learners to language incidentally through planned interactive activities, namely:
- The Alphabet,
- Phonics
- Beginning Sounds,
- Three letter words,
- Story time, and,
- Easy Comprehension activities.

Mathematics
We also expose our learners to the following mathematics content areas:
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- numbers, operations and relationships;
- patterns, functions and algebra;
- space and shape (geometry);
- measurement; and
- data handling.

We also develop learners’ life skills, in the following areas:
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- beginning knowledge and personal and social well-being;
- creative arts; and
- physical education.
The contribution of music education to the holistic development of the young learner is uncontested. In our school, competences in music optimally enhance the holistic growth of our learners. Our learners are groomed to embrace music and dance. This enhances confidence and stage presence.
Lastly, in our Red Group Classroom, our main aim is to ensure organisation, safety and play that takes place in a fun and meaningful way.



