Smile educational Toys Closing down

The company is closing down; the last date to order is 26 Sept. If you still need to order products, please do so NOW!

The consultant I use is Karien Prinsloo 0826144112.
The following Smile games are a must for any Gr. double zero to Gr.7 child: Phone Karien and order them for your children:
Tangram duet,
Logi-shape,
Finger fun,
Pegboard combo and
3D designs. Dotty Designs

Attention and Concentration

A 2-year old should concentrate for 7 min.
A 3-year old should recognise people and remember names; remember where stuff is put away ; should be able to amuse himself for 30 min and should be able to concentrate on one game for 5-10min.
A 4-year old should be able to amuse him for 60 min and should be able to concentrate on one game for 10-15min.
A 5-year old should be able to concentrate at a table for 20min; recall 5 numbers on memory recall and recall 5 objects.
A 6-year old should be able to concentrate at a table for 25min; recall 6 numbers on memory recall and recall 6 objects.

M- Sit

Some children assume the following incorrect posture when sitting on a carpet:
They sit with their knees bent and their feet facing backwards. The child therefore broadens his base of support in compensating for poor trunk control. This posture may cause damage to the knee -joint. Instead of exercising trunk muscles, your child leans forward. Always tell your child to fix his legs. Your child should then sit with his legs straight forward or crossed and these 2 positions require more use of the trunk muscles.

Directionality

Teach your child to draw circles anti-clockwise. The direction of writing letters (with g and d as exceptions) is anti-clockwise. It is therefore beneficial to draw circles in an anti-clockwise direction so that your child can write the letters of the alphabet in the correct direction. Some children reverse letters such as b and d because the write them in the wrong directions. Michelle

Puzzles

Important to develop a part-whole concept known as analysis and synthesis. This helps your child to take syllables and construct a word or to brake a word up in syllables. It also helps your child to construct sentences and to do maths. If your child really struggles with the above, take your child to an Occupational Therapist for an evaluation. Phone the Occupational Therapy Association of SA (OTASA) 012 3625457 to find the number of a Paediatric Occupational Therapist near you. Guidelines: 3 year old -3/4 piece puzzle; 4 year old -5/6 piece puzzle
5 year old - 9 piece puzzle; 6 year old -12 piece puzzle; 7 year old -24 piece puzzle; 8 year old -36 piece puzzle; 9 year old -48 piece puzzle
Use the following steps: 1st separate the frame pieces from the inner pieces. ALWAYS start by building the frame. Put down the 4 corners and then build the frame. GOOD, now you may build the inner pieces. Sit with your child to make sure that your child uses this method. Let your child build a puzzle at least once a week.

Sleep

Did you know?:
a 2 year old child requires 13 hours of sleep.
5 year old 11 hours,
10 year old 9.75 hours
16 year old 8.5 hours.

Hand puppets

Just some playtime and fun for the family: You can make your own puppets together with your child. Whether you use gloves with faces on, paper mashe or finger puppets - your child will love to be creative in this area. You and your husband can host a show for your 2-6 year olds (Good for listening skills). Let your children make a team and practice and host their own little shows while you and your husband watch. Older children can arrange a big time show where the family pays entrance fees and where lemonade is served etc. ( Here you can focus on general work/busness skills)
Believe in your child and they will believe in themselves.
Michelle Robbertse

Skipping rope

A must have for every child. By the age of 6 your child should be able to skip with a skipping rope (landing on 2 feet at the same time). When your child is 5 years of age, he should be able to jump with 2 feet over a 20cm high rope. This is a basic skill needed for the symmetrical use of the two sides of the body. Star jumps, galloping and skipping should be learnt thereafter.

The developmental magic of everyday activities

Try to think back on your own childhood and activities or “chores” that you have done. Maybe one of the following sceneries will ring a bell? Garden work for e.g. Sweeping the paving outside your house with a broom, that seemed too big for your little body? Removing unwanted plants from the garden? Taking out the garbage bag? Washing windows or washing your mom or dad’s car? Hang washing on the line with your mom? All of the above are excellent activities to do WITH your child. They strengthen their shoulder and back muscles, which is needed for a good sitting posture at the table Activities, such as sweeping, improves midline crossing and may also prevent letter reversals later on. I’m not saying that your child should be a slave in the house. You can create a fun and loving atmosphere and that could provide a team building experience for the whole family AND your child will acquire good work habits and a sense of responsibility. Michelle