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Singing nursery rhymes in English with your child is a great way to integrate English into your daily life, both inside and outside the home. Whenever possible, try to use pictures, animations or props related to them, as they will help them understand, encourage them to learn them and help them remember them.

Before they become familiar with a song, children need to hear it several times, but you can be sure that very soon they will be humming it and soon after singing it.

Advantages

1. Assimilate different sounds and rhythms

2. Development of expressive abilities

3. Development of listening skills and promotes understanding

4. Helps to develop your voice

5. Develop the sense of rhythm

6. Promotes social relations

7. Stimulates reasoning 

Days of the week

Normally, at the beginning of the session in the infant classroom, an assembly is held to find out who the missing students are, what the weather is like or the days of the week. In this case, this song allows us to teach the days of the week in English, which can be implemented as we go through the daily routine in the classroom when working on the day we are in.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

On many occasions, after a change of class or after break, students return to the classroom with an intensity and pace that does not allow them to concentrate. For this reason, the return to calm is one of the most important moments of the day for Infants, as this moment allows the students to relax and return to a state of tranquillity with which to begin a different activity. It is the English version of 'little star, little star, where are you?' and through its slow rhythm and warm music it will bring the pupils back to a state of wellbeing and calmness, thus benefiting the classroom atmosphere.

Family fingers

We learn the family with our fingers! For the youngest children (3 years old) the aim is simply to associate the word with the meaning through the sound of the video and as the level increases, words such as daddy, mommy, brother, sister or baby can be learnt. In addition, from the age of 5, they can begin to internalise expressions such as 'where are you' or 'here I am' which can be applied in the classroom routine.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes

This dynamic consists of a song about the parts of the body. The child will learn this catchy tune and, as he/she sings it, plays the different parts of the body that it names.

If you're happy and you know it

This activity is a song about emotions. The child associates a gesture or sound to each of the emotions.

Poems

The aim of teaching poetry to children is to cultivate in them an admiration for the words, sounds and meaning of sentences. Therefore, it is essential to select poems that nurture their intellect.

It is important to select poems that are lively, exciting and appealing to children. Keep in mind that poems should emphasise the sounds of language and stimulate word play. Also, teach your child a positive approach so that he or she does not feel afraid to experiment with poetry.

Advantages:

1. Improves literacy skills

2. Helps develop their own opinions

3. Stimulates memory and brain development

4. Improves vocabulary and grammar

5. Improves speech development

Underface

Underneath my outside face
There's a face that none can see.
A little less smiley,
A little less sure,
But a whole lot more like me

Now we are six

When I was One,
I had just begun.
When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was Three
I was hardly me.
When I was Four,
I was not much more.
When I was Five,
I was just alive.
But now I am Six,
I'm as clever as clever,
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

Sping

Sping is here

Spring is here.

Goodbye, snow

Flowers grow.

Birds and bees

leaves on trees.

Hello, spring

Hello, spring

Pumpkins

I see pumpkins large

I see pumpking small

I see pumpkins short

I see pumpkins tall

I see pumpkins orange

I see pumpkins green

Just what we need 

for fall and halloween

Snowball

I made myself a snowball
As perfect as could be.
I thought I'd keep it as a pet
And let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas
And a pillow for its head.
Then last night it ran away,
But first it wet the bed.

Good news arround the world

Educación negociará reducir ratios en ESO y rebajar horarios docentes a los maestros

"In this news there is talk of limiting the number of nursery and primary school units to 20 pupils. At present, educators have a teaching load of 25 hours, plus another 5 hours of compulsory additional time, and they want to reduce this to 21 teaching hours". 

The intention to reduce the teaching load of educators from 25 to 21 teaching hours is a measure worth considering. Reducing teaching loads can allow more time for planning, assessment and individualised attention to students, which can ultimately improve the quality of teaching. It can also help reduce burnout and stress for educators, which is critical to maintaining the quality of education in the long term.

"In terms of progress, the ratios initially envisaged, which would set all pre-primary and primary classrooms to progressively increase from the next school year (2024-25) to the nine-year horizon (2032-33) to a maximum of 20 pupils," he said.

Reducing ratios can provide a more individualised learning environment and allow for more personalised attention to the needs of each student. This can improve the quality of education and encourage greater student engagement. In addition, it can facilitate classroom management and promote a more effective working environment for educators.

We believe that it is not necessary to wait nine years to reduce the number of students in the classrooms by only five places.

"In the case of a classroom with an infant student with a recognised disability of 33%, it could not admit more than 24 pupils".

In our opinion, if there is a child with a disability, there should not be more than 20 pupils as he/she needs individualised and careful attention.

"They are going to fix an increase of 10% per month, while the unions were asking for 25% to 40% until 2025. It would take effect from January 2025 and only implies an increase of 5 euros per month".

It is clearly insufficient and appears to be inadequate to effectively address workers' legitimate demands. As it implies an increase of only 5 euros per month, it is unlikely to have a significant impact on the economic well-being of workers, nor is it sufficient to maintain purchasing power in a context of inflation or rising cost of living.

Educación negociará reducir ratios en ESO y rebajar horarios docentes a los maestros - Faro de Vigo

Think Equal, el programa de educación socio-emocional dirigido a niños en la etapa de infantil llega a España

"The programme focuses on helping children aged 3 to 6 years to consolidate useful connections. This is done through storytelling. Through storytelling, they can explore the emotions of the characters, reflect on them and apply what they learn to their own experiences.

Social-emotional education has a significant impact on the personal well-being of individuals. By helping children to recognise and manage their emotions, to understand and relate to others, and to make responsible decisions, we are cultivating essential life skills.

By teaching children how to manage stress and adversity, social-emotional education can play a preventive role in the development of mental health problems later in life."

In our opinion, the use of stories allows children to explore and understand their emotions through fictional situations and characters with whom they can identify. This gives them the opportunity to reflect on the characters' experiences and apply that knowledge to their own lives, which fosters empathy and understanding.

The ability to manage stress and adversity from childhood can prevent mental health problems later in life. This demonstrates how social-emotional education not only benefits children's well-being today, but also lays the foundation for their future well-being.

Think Equal, el programa de educación socio-emocional para niños (lacarabuenadelmundo.com)

 

 La UE invertirá 375 millones para el acceso a la educación en 60 países en desarrollo

"Total EU education funding for developing countries will amount to around €4.5 billion between 2014 and 2020. This includes €2.8 billion for basic education and vocational training".

Inclusion in basic education and vocational training is particularly important, as basic education is fundamental to the development of essential skills and knowledge, and vocational training can boost economic growth and the employability of people in developing countries. This investment can contribute to reducing inequality and improve the life prospects of many people in these regions.

"Since 2004, the organisation's support has helped 22 million more children go to school, including 10 million girls; 28 developing countries have achieved gender equality; more than 300,000 teachers have been trained; and nearly 53,000 classrooms have been built, rehabilitated and equipped".

This shows that it is possible to overcome cultural and social barriers to ensure equitable education for all.
They show a genuine and effective commitment to education in developing countries. This not only improves the life prospects of the children who benefit, but also contributes to sustainable development and the empowerment of entire communities.

https://www.sonbuenasnoticias.com/destacado/la-ue-anuncia-importantes-ayudas-para-el-acceso-la-educacion-en-paises-en-desarrollo/

Storytelling

There are different tips of telling a story to capture children's attention. In this video, she explains several crafts that we can use to invent a short story or to tell it.

By showing photos or drawings we get children's attention faster.

You also have to use different intonations for each character, speak slowly so that they understand it well.

Help Maisy get ready for bed written by multi-award winning Lucy Cousins. Lift the flaps and pull the tabs, it's time for Maisy to go drink! First he avoids his drink before bed, then he has to brush his teeth, wash his hands, put on his pajamas and read his book.

We would read this book before going to sleep for a nap at the nursery school and we recommend to parents read it before going to sleep at home.

We could put or tell these videos with the visual aids of the video or create our own visual aids, carrying dolls as the characters or drawing them ourselves. We would put them in the assembly or after recess so that when they concentrate on it they return to calm

Theory

Songs

Songs are useful to relax, to learn vocabulary, to practice pronunciation and linguistic structures.

They are easier to memorise thanks to the combination of music, rhythm and repetition.

Routines are easily maintained using songs and rhymes, welcome and farewell.

Start by teaching the words, then invite them to do it themselves and finally add the music.

By using visual aids, gestures and dances, it helps them to understand the lyrics and to associate the songs with specific routines or content.

Poems

They are attracted by the musicality and rhythm of the poetry, and through it they stimulate their imagination and the habit of reading, so important in their later learning.

They are a perfect resource for them to learn vocabulary and know the environment around them, and they also help them to learn more easily the concepts and content we want to work with.

They are easy to memorise, if we encourage them to dramatise by making little theatres or to dress up as some of the characters. 

They develop their command of language and their ability to communicate and express their emotions.

Poetry exercises oral expression, as it helps to acquire more vocabulary that the child will be able to use when speaking.

Storytelling

They must always have the same place in class, they must be comfortable and in a circle, always in front of the teacher to capture their attention, they must see the book while you read it, they can repeat and participate in the story.

You have to start telling familiar stories.

The books should be short with large pictures so that they associate what we tell them with what is happening in the picture.

This is a good tool to stimulate the development of oral language through listening and imitation.

After reading the story, you can do some related activity such as drawings, masks, handicrafts.

TPR Method (Total physical response)

Developed by Jams Asher, a psychology professor, it is about coordinating language with physical movement, giving each word a specific movement to make it easier to understand the word.

The benefits are:

It is easier to associate new words and concepts with the appropriate movements, it helps children understand the lesson material better and faster.

They perform all the movements with pleasure, without realising that they are actually studying.

It prevents children from getting bored. 

A lot of new words and concepts are learned through play.