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
Water is precious in the dry lowveld winter - saving habits, pouring maths and float-sink science.
Well-being
Water-saving habits: brush teeth with one cup of water; talk about who fetches water at home and how to carry it safely.
Identity & Belonging
How water comes to MY house - inside tap, yard tap, tank or river - every home's way described with respect.
Communication
Float-or-sink prediction talk: 'I think the stone will sink because...' - test each object and report the result in a full sentence.
Exploring Mathematics
Pouring station: full, half-full, empty; estimate how many cups fill the big bottle, then count and check.
Creativity
Water painting on cement and walls with big brushes - disappearing art; straw blow-painting with watery paint.
Physical & the World
Water-carrying course: cup-on-a-plate relay, then a firefighter-style bucket-passing chain down a line.
⏰ Morning ring
- Where does our water come from? Tap, tank, borehole, river
- Saving water: close taps tight, catch and re-use
- Clean water and dirty water - we only drink clean
- The rivers near us - who has crossed the Sabie?
📖 Story
Original: 'The Day the Tap Ran Dry' - a village saves water drop by drop until the rains return; during the telling each child adds one water-saving idea to the story.
🎵 Song
'Rain on the Green Grass' (traditional rhyme) - first line: 'Rain on the green grass, and rain on the tree'.
🏃 Outdoor
Float/sink testing tub with yard objects (stone, leaf, bottle top, stick, tin lid) - predict, test, sort into two hoops.
💬 Words this week
water tap river drink pour full empty clean
amanzi (isiZulu - water)
mati (Xitsonga - water)
emanti (siSwati - water)
umfula (isiZulu - river)
nambu (Xitsonga - river)
👁 Watch and record
Pouring control (motor planning); prediction language; early conservation thinking - does the water 'change amount' in a tall thin bottle?
🎓 Grade R stretch
Order containers full / half-full / empty; measure with one standard cup and record the counts; hunt for w-sound words.
📱 Message home to parents
Theme: Water. Let your child be the family tap-closer this week and re-use rinse water on plants. Count together how many cups fill one bottle.
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.
