Magazine 2020

13 2020 | Edition No. 23 | PRE-PRIMARY Riëtte Pieterse Principal These all-important skills are developed, both at home and at Christopher Robin Pre-Pri- mary, creating a strong founda- tion for learning. Our beautiful school was bursting with energy in the first quarter of the year as we welcomed our new and old children to school. Our building and beautiful playgrounds were once again alive with the sound of laugh- ter, singing and little voices. The sudden and unpredictable end to our first quarter left our pre-primary empty and quiet for a few weeks, yet cre - ated a wonderful opportunity for families to reconnect with each other and spend more time together. Reading, watch- ing movies and playing togeth- er, created a sense of belonging amongst families. Watching the ‘Piglet’s Big Mov- ie’ again reminded me, no mat- ter how small our children are, they have big and important ideas, dreams and aspirations. When Piglet goes missing in the movie, his Hundred Acre Wood friends use his ‘Book of Memories’ to find him. When the book fell into the river during their search in the rainstorm, they replicated the drawings, reminised about special events and used their memories to find him again. Our little ones create many wonderful memories at Chris- topher Robin Pre-Primary, and once they returned to school, the playgrounds and class- rooms have been filled with laughter, happiness and buzzing with learning activities again. Each day critical milestones are reached and our little ones grow and develop at an amaz- ing rate. Developmental mile- stones, including rolling over, sitting up, standing and possibly walking are all reached within the first year of birth.And with each milestone reached, one’s heart melts! Friendships are formed and we can all fondly recall our first childhood friend. The one we were excited to see at school and spend time with. School days are filled with play, adven - ture, fun and laughter. Making friends is a vital part of grow- ing up and an essential part of social, emotional and language development. During the busy and exciting school day, important skills are developed. Developing skills in a young child is a process. The process involves learning and mastering skills like sitting, walking, talking, skipping and tying shoelaces. Each little skill attained will contribute later to support reading, writing, mathematics, problem-solving, creativity and critical thinking. Since opening our doors in 1980, Christopher Robin Pre-Primary has triumphantly succeeded in creating a learn- ing environment that supports life-long learning for our little ones, with many more years of learning to come. “Early childhood care and education is more than preparation for primary school. It aims at the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing. Early childhood education has the possibility to nurture caring, capable and respon- sible future citizens.” Dr Jessica Alvarado Academic Program Director for the BA in Early Childhood Development, National University