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
Shops and Money
9 Nov – 13 Nov 2026
Week 39
Playing shop is powerful everyday numeracy - counting out, exchanging, and the first ideas of needs, wants and saving.
Well-being
Patience-and-saving role play: wanting something you cannot afford today, saving for it, and the joy when the tin is full at last.
Identity & Belonging
My family's shop trips: who does the buying, what do we always buy, which spaza do we know? The children are the local experts.
Communication
Grand opening of the class spaza: shopkeeper and customer scripts - 'How much is this?', 'That is three, here is your change, thank you!' - and price labels 'read' together.
Exploring Mathematics
Bottle-top currency: price goods from 1 to 5 tops; count out exact payment; for Grade R, make simple change ('it costs 3, you gave 5').
Creativity
Design shop signs and adverts; print pattern 'money'; stock the shop with junk-material goods made in the art corner.
Physical & the World
Shopping relay: run with a three-item picture list, fetch the items in order, pack the basket, race home without dropping.
⏰ Morning ring
- Where does money come from? Grown-ups work for it
- Needs first (food, clothes), wants after (sweets, toys)
- How a shop works: choose, pay, take your change, say thank you
- Saving in a tin - little by little becomes a lot
📖 Story
Original: 'Mama Tsakani's Spaza' - a spaza owner saves coin by clinking coin to buy a fridge for cold drinks; the whole village celebrates the first cold cooldrink. Tell it with a real savings tin that clinks.
🎵 Song
'Hot Cross Buns' (traditional market call) - first line: 'Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns!'
🏃 Outdoor
Market-day morning: blanket stalls in the yard, leaf-and-stone goods, children rotating between buyer and seller roles.
💬 Words this week
shop money buy sell price change need want
imali (isiZulu - money)
mali (Xitsonga/siSwati - money)
thenga (isiZulu - buy)
xava (Xitsonga - buy)
👁 Watch and record
Counting-out accuracy (cardinality) to 5 and 10; turn-taking and polite exchange in trade; needs-versus-wants reasoning.
🎓 Grade R stretch
Price and sell with numerals to 10; act out addition stories with bottle tops (2 sweets and 3 sweets make...); draw a personal savings goal.
📱 Message home to parents
Theme: Shops and Money. On your next shop trip give your child one job: hold the coins, count three items into the basket, or check the change. Talk about needs first, wants after.
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.
