Strategies to use when reading with your child at home
There are several useful strategies that parents can make use of when reading with their children at home, as we need to bear in mind that children are individuals and one method is not necessarily going to work for every child. Paired reading becomes useful, as instead of listening to the child read, the parent […]
Reading methods taught at school
Schools use different methods to teach reading. For example: The phonics method; this is the term used for teaching reading wherein individual letters of the alphabet are matched with the specific sounds of the languages pronunciation. So ‘cat’ is read as ‘c-a-t’ and the child then runs the sounds together to say ‘cat’. This method […]
Kids learing – What children need in order to thrive at school
To thrive means to prosper, flourish and grow vigorously, in other words, it means to develop and grow appropriately, which is necessary in order for a child to succeed at school. Isn’t this what most parents want? But how come we don’t all get this? Basically, schools are set up to get information across in a […]
Childpsych Pinterest Page
Check out the Childpsych Pinterest page for great ideas and activities on fine motor, gross motor, perceptual, numeracy and literacy development. We will also be adding boards on sensory exploration and fun science ideas to this mix.
Should you be getting rid of the TV for the kids’ sake?
I grew up in a house where we spent about 90% of our free time watching Television. We watched the 7 am cartoon while we were having breakfast and tuned in to K-TV when we got back from school in the afternoons. My mother had the good sense to deny us access to the TV […]
Blossom Farm Whiskers Cat Pat Mat
This is the first time I’ve come across the idea of a “pat mat” and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. What a brilliant concept. Thank you Early Learning Centre and Woolworths! In October 2007 Woolworths started carrying a range of toys from Early Learning Centre, a leading educational […]
A call to South African Educators
My experience in working both as a teacher and later as an Educational psychologist in school settings has helped me appreciate exactly how crucial a role educators play in the lives of our children. It is a thankless, never-ending job. A teacher’s day typically starts just after 7 am (if it’s not staff meetings, it’s […]
Children’s products spelling gripe
So we’re standing in the ridiculously long queue of a hot, over-crowded supermarket today when a pack of jelly tots in the “walk this way and buy more stuff you don’t need on the way to the cashier” isle catches my eye. And I explode! My fiance, who by now is just as hot and uncomfortable as I am […]
Learning styles and exam techniques
Learning styles and exam techniques Melanie Hartgill Over the years in my practice I have discovered that there are as many different approaches to learning as there are people, however, one thing that stands out for me is the fact that there are only really three main learning styles (although there may be variations on […]
Kids learning to read: Pre-literacy skills
Kids learning to read … Learning to decode arbitrary symbols into spoken language … learning to gather information from authors who are not physically present and in some cases, might not even be alive anymore … It truly is a miracle! Reading is definitely no small feat and all Grade 1 teachers undoubtedly deserve heaps […]
