Explore the world of our KG class!

Children between the ages of 5 and 6 are experiencing a turning period between kindergarten and elementary. This means that they are in a preparation stage to enter elementary school the next year. At this stage, they are expanding their vocabulary range exponentially with a greater focus on reading and writing. They are also at an imperative point of development both emotionally and socially.At House of Knowledge, we prepare students in all aspects, with personalized development plans to ensure that they enter primary school prepared and well adjusted. Today, let us explore the KG level (children’s age: 5-6 years old) world!
1.Brain Development
During these formative years, 5-6 years old, the brain is at a critical development with a significant increase in higher cognitive function. With the development and formation of structures of the brain and via strengthening the process of children’s inhibition children are gradually learning to control and manage their own behavior. In addition, children begin further development of the left hemisphere of their brain which is responsible for logical thinking including cognitive skills, mathematics, and language.
At House of Knowledge, students perform a variety of project-based learning units which allow them to improve on different skills and healthy brain development. For example, in recent “Buildings and Structures” project, students learnt about the dimensions of buildings and the architecture of structures which incorporated rudimentary geometry and 3D shapes as well as the concept of scaling. It also included learning the cultural history, geography and vocabulary associated with this topic including how different people around the world live utilizing the materials they have readily available.

 

 

2.Physical and motor development
Around 5 years of age the physiological structure of the brain is changing but of significant importance is physical and motor development changes. One of the most critical focus points in this area is regarding balance and the concept of spatial awareness. We move away from egocentric tendencies to see and think mostly of ourselves in an environment to begin considering other students, teachers, and structures. Students need more activities to enhance flexibility, to skillfully make muscle movement (such as hopping, playing a ball, etc), and to improve children’s ability to balance (climb, slide, etc).

Our KG students at House of Knowledge experience a varietyof activities such as indoor gym activities, hiphop dance, basketball, yoga, outdoor exercise area, and much more. We ensure students have 2 hours of physical fitness activities when weather permits, and so students’ gross skills and fine motor skills are developed fully throughout the school period. Depending on the individual class interests we also play group sports such as soccer and basketball which also incorporates cooperation and teamwork.

3.Cognitive ability
Children at this stage have an increasing capacity for concentration and focus however this needs to be honed through activities such as cognitive puzzles and multi-step projects. At House of Knowledge, students’ conscious attention and concentration is improved, and we lead students to have observation activities as part of class projects. These child focused observations enable them to take initiative to observe their environment, monitor the changes occurred, and document what they have observed. We also make predictions and hypotheses and test them in a safe and nurturing environment which further helps increase our critical thinking and cognitive skills.

At the age of 5 years old, there is a significant increase in abstract logical thinking which is a focus and target of our projects that we carry out giving the students opportunities to understand the development of things and to analyze relative relationships.

4.Language development
For children between 5-6 years old, they have exponential learning potential for learning vocabulary and speech production. Students at House of Knowledge can have more clear and continuous expression to describe their environment, their feelings and discuss different topics in full sentences with clear enunciation. To better lead the students to communicate with their peers we encourage the students to express their views and opinions confidently and in a safe zone. We also encourage the students to use their own imagination, creativity and to be more independent.

We also work on improving our active listening skills through stories and guided activities. For example, through our current book, “The Good Dinosaur” we asked the important questions using – who, what, when, where, why and how to understand the story better. We are also sequencing the story and retelling the story in our own words paying special attention to the meaning of the story about overcoming our fears.

We are also using the story “The Grouchy Ladybug” as our other reading project. This is a story that emphasizes the concept of time. The students are preparing for this story by diving more into depth with clocks. We learned that it helps us to write the 12, 3, 6 and 9 first and then plug in the other numbers on our clock face. We practiced drawing clocks and learning about the big and small hands of the clock. We practiced using the sentence structure, “At 5 o’clock… ” to make complete sentences. We did team pair work activities which strengthened our teamwork and cooperation skills. Some teams decided that they will draw on the clock simultaneously while some teams decided to take turns drawing their clock.

5.Social development
Most children are learning about different concepts and topics and discovering new interests and friends. Children between the ages of 5-6 years old will be able to enhance their self-control ability and are starting to be aware of the rules. They begin having a much greater responsibility through jobs such as line leader wherein they are also responsible for ensuring their peers are following our classroom agreed upon rules. This increases peer to peer interaction and introduces more opportunities for different social interactions.

With children’s development of their awareness of cooperation, we develop students’ sense of cooperation; for example, the students can work within a group or a few companions to play games and complete tasks. One of the ways we work on social and emotional regulation is through role play. For example, we will role play scenarios including if we want a toy or resource however another student does not want to give it to us. We ask ourselves – “What can we do?” These scenarios help give the students the tools to resolve conflict efficiently and in a good manner to develop healthy relationships with adults and peers. We also encourage sharing and presentations for the class to help improve our self-esteem and confidence and allowing for the students to help support one another.

Summary
It is a key stage in terms of development for children between the ages of 5 and 6. At House of Knowledge, the teachers and students capture the every moment of school life and turn them into interesting and inspiring moments to discover, explore, and acquire new knowledge and skills.In this beautiful season of March, let us constantly carry our curiosities and keep exploring this wonderful world around us!
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