Marina's Playschool

Free Play

On arrival the children are greeted by the teachers and are encouraged to participate in any of the activities set up in the classroom. These could be drawing, painting, puzzles, manipulative toys, cutting, sticking, play dough, water play and many more. During this period the teacher observes and encourages the children to create, explore and discover!

Tidy up time

The children are given five minutes warning to finish with what they are doing and they all help tidy up their classroom.

Circle time - register

The children are seated in a circle and their names are called out from the register or shown on name cards and each child responds to their name. The days, the months, and the numbers are repeated on a daily basis. Simple chores are also assigned to different children each day.

A discussion is followed where children and teacher exchange views and ideas. This is the time when a “project” will begin which might last from one to two weeks up to two months! The subject chosen might be something that triggered the children’s or teacher’s attention. They will discuss of ways they could find out more about it. A web is made with all the questions and the research begins. Parent involvement is also encouraged. Information by means of visual aid, such as pictures, books, objects related to the subject, is provided by the teacher, the children and their parents. Visits and interviews when possible are also arranged.

Circle time is also the time for the children to learn to take turn speaking, respecting each other’s opinion, listening, enriching their vocabulary and helping to build up their confidence.

Activity time

The chosen subject and its concept will be developed and expressed by the children through various activities, such as painting, printing, sticking- a variety of handicrafts.

Various materials of different textures are used for all types of activities. For example, different sort of paper, pasta, gravel, soil, wood, clay, different fabrics, fruit and vegetable and many, many more. We also try to introduce recycling in our children’s lives, therefore we use reusable materials.

Simple cookery lessons performed by the teacher and the children are sometimes included during activity time.

Experiments, which help the children comprehend concepts (e.g. sink/float, hot/cold, growing, melting etc.)

Visits are arranged by each class teacher during the year. Once again the visit is related to the subject. Visits to the fire station, police station, airport, farms, bakery, supermarket, factories are some places visited.

Children will also have a music lesson once a week given by a music teacher. The curriculum and materials used come from U.S.A. and the teacher is specialized in this curriculum – “Kindermusic by Kathy”.
The older children go to the gym once a week.

Self hygiene and Snack Time

Following activity time the children will take it turns to visit the bathroom. They are reminded to flush the toilet and wash their hands. During snack time good manners and healthy eating is encouraged.

Outdoor play

Gross motors skills such as running, jumping, climbing, playing with balls are reinforced in the playground. “Pretend play” sharing, taking turns, communicating and socializing among children are skills also promoted by the teachers.

Story time - singing

The children return to their classrooms where they are seated in a group. A story is told by the teacher which, when possible is related to the theme or it is requested by the children. Story time is an integral part of the school program. The children become more involved in the lesson, listening and learning more. Pictures from the book are shown to them and sometimes other forms of visual aids are used to give a new dimension to stories. These include felt or magnetic boards, with individual characters or objects, hand puppets or even dramatization by the children themselves.

A short discussion is followed, when children are given the opportunity to express their opinions and their understanding of the story.

The children will then participate in the singing of nursery songs and different fun and educational songs.

Their large motor skills are developed during indoor play as well, and the use of their imagination. They imitate various animals, for example, jumping like a kangaroo, a rabbit or a frog, walking like a duck or an elephant, or crawling like a snake or a caterpillar are some exciting music and movement activities.

Quiet Activities

The children sit at tables, which are set up with toys and activities that will promote literacy and mathematical skills. These can be simple and fun work sheets, table games and reading books.

Free play

Lunch

13:30 Lunch will be served to the children who stay until 14:45.

The pre-reception class

The pre-reception class will exercise their pre-reading and writing skills by completing simple work sheets, which help in the development of their hand-eye coordination.
They will be taught the alphabet phonetically and will learn to write their names. With the aid of flash cards, children will recognize and will eventually be able to read words.
Simple mathematical concepts will be taught.

The reception class

The children here will complete more advanced work sheets and will be able to read and write at a higher level. They will be taught the concept of simple arithmetic such as addition and subtraction.
The children, who will follow a Greek education at the elementary schools, will be given Greek lessons in order to get them prepared for the first grade.