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
Sun, Moon and Stars - Day and Night
19 Oct – 23 Oct 2026
Week 36
Day-and-night thinking builds time concepts and bedtime routines - with a big dose of sky wonder.
Well-being
Bedtime-routine talk: sleep grows bodies and brains; build a calm goodnight order (wash, story, lights out) and practise 'dark is for resting, not fearing'.
Identity & Belonging
My bedtime: who tucks you in, what do you sleep with, where do you sleep? Draw your own sleeping place.
Communication
Day/night sorting with reasons: sort activity cards (breakfast, bathing, stars, school) onto sun and moon boards, explaining each choice.
Exploring Mathematics
Star maths: count foil or paper stars and group them in 2s, 5s and 10s; match moon shapes - full circle, half, thin sliver.
Creativity
Night pictures: yellow and white crayon or paint stars on black paper; foil moon collage; sun mandalas from yellow scraps.
Physical & the World
Sun-and-moon freeze dance: 'day' calls energetic actions, 'night' switches everyone to slow-motion tiptoe and a sleeping freeze.
⏰ Morning ring
- What do we do in the day? What happens at night?
- The sun warms and lights us - but we never stare at it
- The moon changes shape - who saw it last night?
- Some people work at night: nurses, security guards - they sleep in the day
📖 Story
'Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky' (West African folk tale) - Water visits Sun's house with all his creatures until Sun and Moon must climb to the sky. Tell it with a blue cloth 'flood' rising slowly over the seated children.
🎵 Song
'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' (public domain, words by Jane Taylor, 1806) - first line: 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star'.
🏃 Outdoor
Shadow experiments: trace a friend's shadow with chalk in the morning and again after lunch - why did it move? Shadow-shape making with bodies.
💬 Words this week
sun moon stars day night dark light sleep
ilanga (isiZulu - sun)
inyanga (isiZulu - moon)
n'weti (Xitsonga - moon)
izinkanyezi (isiZulu - stars)
tinyeleti (Xitsonga - stars)
👁 Watch and record
Day/night reasoning quality; sleep-deprived children (yawning, irritable) noted for a gentle parent chat; circle and half-circle shape naming.
🎓 Grade R stretch
Sequence a six-picture 'my day' strip from waking to sleeping; make a sun-safety poster and copy one rule onto it.
📱 Message home to parents
Theme: Day and Night. One clear night, count ten stars together and find the moon - is it round or a sliver? Keep bedtime the same every night; sleep grows the brain.
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.
