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School learning programme to help preschoolers

What happens when a writer, a teacher and a psychologist with a passion for children’s education come together? A programme for children, of course.

Rainbow Readiness, a learning programme to help preschoolers for school was launched at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) recently.

“Many parents are surprised when their children do not pass the school’s entry assessment. But if you don’t prepare your child he just won’t be ready,” said Dana Smith Bader, a co-writer of Rainbow Readiness.

The programme, she emphasised, is based on the seven areas of development outlined by the British National Curriculum: personal, social and emotional development; Language development; Physical development; Literacy; Mathematics; Understanding the world, and Creative development. It consists of 28 exercises that focus on these areas.

“Each exercise is coded to make it easier for parents so that they can mix and match to cover all areas of development,” said Ansofie Reeders, teacher of 35 years and co-author of the programme. Reeders took the audience through a physical development exercise with the help of two volunteer children.

Talking to the audience about the importance of developing gross motor skills (related to the large body muscles) and fine motor skills (necessary for wiring), Hannah Young, psychologist and trainer and co-author of the programme emphasised that both are important if the child is expected to use scissors and hold a pencil at school.

To keep the programme fresh, the team will publish a new activities pack every six months. The activities combine indoor and outdoor ones and range from immediate make and do ones to long-term projects. Tips on how they could be modified by age are also included and future plans include detailing a curriculum to be used by nurseries and creating a digital version suitable for tablet users.

In another forum, the role of popular games in preserving the national identity was discussed. Emphasising that play is the most important part of a child’s life, Iraqi popular culture researcher Barwin Arif said that popular games are very important because they make bodies stronger, they teach about teamwork and also boost mental skills. “They are closely linked to identity because they’re from society and use raw materials that are found in that same place,” she said.

Sudanese writer Haydar Waqee’Allah said that popular games are actually in trouble because electronic games and tablets have taken precedence in the lives of today’s children. “Important social values and features of a national identity are all part of popular games,” he added.

Nermin Al Hooti, a Kuwaiti writer and associate professor of theatre said that governments have a role to play when it comes to promoting popular games as well at schools. “Why not teach them popular games in addition to western sports?” she asks. She added that the media should produce programmes and educational shows to familiarise children with these games and to make them popular amongst children of the new generation as well. “Why not have these games on CDs, too?” she said.

The forums were held on the sidelines of the SCRF.

news@khaleejtimes.com