Teaching Resources
The Year Programme
43 themed weeks across the four school terms. Today falls in Week 25 — Small Creatures - Insects and Bugs. Every week gives you the ring time, the words, one activity per learning area, a story, a song, an outdoor game, what to watch for, and a message to send parents.
SELECTED WEEK
From Farm to Table
1 Jun – 5 Jun 2026
Week 20
Where food really comes from - the mealie-to-pap journey, gratitude to farmers, and 4-step sequencing.
Well-being
Taste-and-try: share a washed seasonal fruit; practise trying one small bite of new foods and describing them kindly.
Identity & Belonging
Does your family grow anything - spinach, beans, mealies? Children share their own home-garden knowledge as the experts.
Communication
Farm-to-table sequence cards (seed, plant, harvest, cook, eat): order them and retell using 'first, next, then, last'.
Exploring Mathematics
Seed sorting: sort bean, mealie and pumpkin seeds by kind and size; count them out into groups of five.
Creativity
Mealie-cob printing - roll dry cobs in paint; seed mosaics glued on cardboard in patterns.
Physical & the World
Harvest relay: 'pick' beanbags off the bench, carry them in a basin on your head, and 'sell' them at the market table.
⏰ Morning ring
- Who grows our food?
- The mealie journey: plant, grow, pick, grind, cook pap
- Hazyview grows bananas - where do they travel to?
- Today we thank the farmers when we eat
📖 Story
'Jack and the Beanstalk' (folk tale) - the magic hiding in one small seed. Add a paper leaf to the class beanstalk on the wall each day of the week.
🎵 Song
'The Farmer in the Dell' (traditional) - first line: 'The farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell'.
🏃 Outdoor
Plant the class garden: a bed or tin garden of beans and spinach - dig, plant, water; set up watering pairs for the weeks ahead.
💬 Words this week
farmer plant grow pick mealies seed soil market
umlimi (isiZulu - farmer)
umbila (isiZulu - maize)
lima (isiZulu - to plough)
rima (Xitsonga - to plough)
imbewu (isiZulu - seed)
👁 Watch and record
Four-step sequencing ability; who follows through on garden watering duty (responsibility).
🎓 Grade R stretch
Order five farm-to-table pictures and give each a caption sound; measure a bean sprout with blocks each week and record the number.
📱 Message home to parents
Theme: Farm to Table. Plant one bean or an onion top in a tin at home and let your child water it daily. Talk about what pap is made from.
The whole year
14 January - 27 March 2026 (11 weeks, 53 school days; unified national calendar - no separate inland/coastal clusters in 2026)
Myself and My World: settling in, separation security, my body, senses, family and home. Colours red/blue/yellow/green, shapes circle/square/triangle, numbers 1-5.
8 April - 26 June 2026 (12 weeks, 54 school days; public holidays: Freedom Day Mon 27 Apr, Workers' Day Fri 1 May, special holiday Mon 15 Jun, Youth Day Tue 16 Jun)
My Community and the Working World: the people, places, helpers and transport around us, farm life, and winter. Numbers to 10, shape consolidation, positional language.
21 July - 23 September 2026 (10 weeks, 46 school days; National Women's Day observed Mon 10 Aug; Heritage Day 24 Sep falls in the holiday)
The Natural World and Our Heritage: wild animals, small creatures, water, plants, spring, birds, and Heritage Month. Numbers to 10 and beyond, patterns, measurement.
6 October - 9 December 2026 (10 weeks, 47 school days; learners close 9 Dec, educators 11 Dec)
The Wider World, Big Dreams and Celebration: life cycles, storms, sky, sea, money, aspirations, summer safety and the year-end concert. School readiness consolidation for Grade R.
