Running your first Saturday session can be quite intimidating if you don’t happen to be a kindergarten teacher. To help you prepare, we have created these guidelines to follow ensuring that you enjoy yourself as much as the children do. If you have any suggestions for improvement, make sure to share with one of the committee members during a Saturday session.
Basic Structure
10.00 am – Arrival time with coffee and a chat
10.30 am – Singing time
10.50 am – Activity time: Introduction, Physical Activity, Colouring/Craftworks
11.30 am – Reading Time (Tidying-up-time for the adults)
11.50 am – Singing time – Goodbye
What Topic?
In our calendar you’ll find the topic you have either signed up for or been assigned. These topics are, however, only suggestions, if you have other ideas or materials you would like to use, so much the better! If the topic allows, please try to find some kind of connection of the topic to the country and culture of the English native-speaker part in your family.
For a list of topic ideas and activity resources, click here.
General Things to Remember
If you need help preparing, need ideas or have questions, ask anyone in the committee or a KC family you know in the previous session. You can also simply write an e-mail to the committee and someone will be sure to respond.
Remember to find out who has the keys for the Jugendzentrum or – even better – simply take them with you after the previous session. This will allow you to arrive a little earlier, if needed, in order to set up.
Detailed Structure
10.00 am – Arrival Time
A nice way to begin is to arrive in time to greet families and any newcomers checking out our group. Start by making tea and coffee but do ask families to help out as they come in. Our members all tend to chip in anyway so don’t be shy to ask if you need help. To warm up, the first 1/2 hour tends to be chat time for the parents and free play for the children. Bring out the toy box, paper and crayons . Open up the cushion room and make sure an adult is supervising.
10.30 am – Singing Time
Call everyone together for singing time. Ask, if any of the children have had a birthday – if yes, the first song is a birthday song. Then sing some songs together. The children know loads and are good at making suggestions if your mind goes blank! If possible, we’ll sing some songs that are related to the topic of the session. Introduce the topic of the session and explain what will happen next.
10.50 am – Activity Time
The Activity Time should roughly be structured into two or three parts:
- An introduction to the topic. Show and tell about the topic using pictures from a book or a website; ask the children what they already know about the topic, e.g. Today we want to look at different kinds of fruit. What kind of fruit do you know? Can you find your fruit on this picture? – Yes, that’s right, that’s a banana. Do you know where bananas grow?
- A physical activity. Try to build in some kind of physical activity related to the session e.g. jump-and-run games, dancing/moving to music, hide-and-seek, etc.
- Colouring / craftworks. Time to quiet down the children and engage them in a coloring / cutting / glueing / painting topic-related craft activity.
Try and make sure the younger children have a corner with some toys so they can enjoy some free play if the activity is too advanced for them. Maybe someone would like to read a story for those children who need a little peace and quiet and a cuddle with mummy.
11.30 am – Reading Time (Clean-up-time for the adults)
Remember to bring some books semi-related to the session topic. Read a story (or 2!) with the children in the big room with the door closed. It is important that there be some peace and quiet to allow the children to concentrate on your reading. This will also allow others to finish their crafts, play in the cushions room or just run around while the adults tidy up without bothering you and the children interested in listening to the story.
11.50 am – Singing Time – Goodbye
Call everyone back together again for a final thank you and announcements. If you know what’s on the next week, mention it and ask if anyone has any other announcements to share. Sing a few more songs if time allows and then end with our good-bye song.
Sigh a sigh of relief and go home to enjoy the rest of your Saturday.
Well done – and it wasn’t that bad now, was it………………..?!
Materials
We have a box of materials and toys. Please talk to one of the committee members for more information.
For anything you need to buy for your session, please remember to keep the receipt. Note your name and bank details on the back and hand it in to our treasurer.