Oct 5, 2009

Let's Get Ready - School / Pre-school Readiness

Children love using computers. The role of your Computer Gym teacher is to utilise this enthusiasm for computers, motivating your child to develop their early academic and social skills as they enhance their learning technology skills. This term’s lessons have a special focus on school / preschool readiness. We will be using a range of great software to assist in preparing children for their move to school or pre-school.

Your child will be challenged with more complex concepts and thinking games as they explore their world.

Of course, we’ll also be having great fun along the way!

Computer Gym’s excellent software library is educationally based. It provides activities that expand thinking and problem solving skills. The large variety allows your child to use content specific software to increase their knowledge of new and different situations and content free software to improve their skills.

Social interaction is an important part of Computer Gym.  The teacher is the facilitator as children discuss what is happening, talk about what to do next, help each other and ask questions. Individual needs are catered for as the teacher can easily identify areas where extra help is needed.

Below is a list of some of the skills children will be developing as they experience our exciting educational programme in the coming weeks.

Learning Technology Skills

• Using arrows to move to the next screen.
• Opening and closing programs.
• Editing and animating pictures.
• Double click, click and drag.
• Identifying the program icon on the desktop.
• Navigating within a program.
• Understanding language relating to computers (pointer, icon, keyboard etc).

Literacy and Numeracy Skills

• Counting.
• Directional language: left, right, up, down.
• Bird’s eye view, mapping.
• Auditory and visual memory and discrimination.
• Sequencing.
• Alphabet.
• Spatial awareness.
• Following text: left to right.

Other Skills

• Peer interaction and cooperation.
• Listening to and following instruction.
• Communication.
• Problem solving and logical thinking.
• Observation.
• Creativity.
• World exploration