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
Celebrating Heritage - Feast of Cultures
21 Sep – 25 Sep 2026
Week 33
A three-day celebration before Heritage Day - performance confidence, sharing traditions, and closing the term with joy.
Well-being
Brave performing practice: stand tall, breathe, bow - and clap kindly and loudly for every single group.
Identity & Belonging
Dress-up day: traditional or cultural dress and colours; each child tells one thing about what they are wearing.
Communication
Mini-concert MC turns: children introduce the items - 'And now, the Grade R class will sing...'
Exploring Mathematics
Feast-table maths: one plate and one cup per child (one-to-one), count the portions, share the fruit platter fairly.
Creativity
Finish the heritage bead-bands; join every child's decorated paper block into one big class 'heritage quilt' for the wall.
Physical & the World
Perform the concert dances; parade around the yard with drums and home-made bottle-top shakers.
⏰ Morning ring
- Thursday is Heritage Day - South Africans celebrate all our cultures
- Rehearse our concert items - stand tall, sing out
- Feast traditions: what special food does your family make?
- Term look-back: what did we love learning?
📖 Story
Child-led retelling: children retell the term's favourite story themselves with the props, while the teacher supports - retelling IS the assessment.
🎵 Song
Medley of the term's songs, closing with 'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika' (public domain) - first line: 'Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika'.
🏃 Outdoor
Cultural feast picnic under the trees - mats out, shared fruit, and a final giant round of mbube-mbube.
💬 Words this week
celebrate feast sing dance together heritage share holiday
cula (isiZulu - sing)
giya (isiZulu - dance with pride)
yimbelela (Xitsonga - sing)
👁 Watch and record
Term 3 checkpoint: story retelling ability, performance confidence, counting past 10, pattern skill - record for term reports.
🎓 Grade R stretch
'Read' the concert programme using ordinal numbers (first, second, third); write your own name on your heritage quilt block.
📱 Message home to parents
Theme: Heritage Celebration. School closes Wednesday 23 September and reopens Tuesday 6 October. On Heritage Day, share your family's special food or music with your child and tell them why it matters.
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.
