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Play on rainy days continues as normal at Featherfoot Friends. The children are fortunate to have many outdoor spaces, such as our mud kitchen area, construction pit and walk-in bunny enclosure, all undercover. Apart from our main classroom with additional play areas, we have provided the children with a safe indoor treehouse and slide as well as a room-sized, magical and quaint Wendy house and a “froggy room” adjacent to our main classroom.

During the term, we arrange special events which are often related to the theme we are exploring. A Spring Hat Parade, a Letterland Dress-Up Day, a Teddy Bear’s Picnic, an Easter Egg Hunt, a Pyjama Party, a Mini Olympics, a Bike Day, Heritage Day celebrations and a Hooked on Books Day are examples of these.

Welcome to our outdoor wonderland designed for endless discovery. Moving beyond the traditional playground, we have created dedicated zones that spark immediate imagination. Children can navigate our classic jungle gyms or dive into a massive sandpit. Our driveway area is specifically designed for early traffic play and physical development. From our hands-on construction pit and pretend kiddies' café, complete with mud kitchens, to a cosy Wendy house and walk-in bunny enclosure, every corner offers a new tactile adventure.

Apart from jungle gyms, swings, slides and climbing apparatus, which play such an important role in gross motor development, we involve the children in other activities involving balls, hoops, bean bags and other apparatus.

Learning at Featherfoot Friends happens everywhere, the outdoor area is an extension of our classroom. Art easels, books and blocks are often moved into the playground with fresh air and sunshine forming part of our daily schedule.

Nature is our co-teacher with bugs and plants often helping to guide some daily lessons. It is important that we instil a love of nature and animals in our children. The children are involved in caring for, feeding and loving our animals at school. In Spring we plant beans and “grass people” which the children need to care for and maintain. During Autumn we learn how to rake and collect leaves.

The last day of the year at Featherfoot is a very, very sad day, as some children move on to the pre-primary school of their choice. The year ends with a special graduation ceremony for the children who are leaving. We keep this short as it becomes incredibly emotional for the teacher, parents and the children. Fortunately, the mood soon improves when our faithful Father Christmas arrives at the gate to hand out presents. This is followed by a Christmas party for the children as we end the year.

Fridays are baking days. Many children consider this the highlight of the week. There is plenty of tasting and sampling before the final product is ready.

Depending on the theme we are dealing with, we usually invite visitors to our school who could be doing a display, giving a demonstration or just doing a “show and tell”. When possible, I arrange for an ambulance and paramedics to visit, as well as demonstrations by beekeepers and people in various occupations that could interest the children, e.g. pilots, nurses, vets, etc.

Playball and Drumjoy are two optional extras offered at Featherfoot Friends during the school day. The children will all be given a demonstration lesson, after which parents can decide whether they would like their children to be enrolled in either of these extracurricular activities.

Market Days take place once a term at Featherfoot Friends. Our Valentine’s Market takes place on Valentine’s Day, our Winter Market during the second term, our Spring Market on 1 September, and our Christmas Market during the fourth term. Each child at the school will have the opportunity to be a “seller” at one of the Market Days during the year, depending on which one their parent has chosen. Five “sellers” run the Market Day while the rest of the school are happy shoppers. Items on sale are homemade by the sellers and their families, and there are usually plenty of delicious goodies to take home.

The Featherfoot Fun Day is a lovely family day, and we encourage parents to invite grandparents, friends and neighbours to this special event. Stalls include face painting, tombola, a fishing game, pancakes, boerewors rolls, a cake stall, a tea garden, pony rides and much more.

This is undoubtedly the highlight of the year and takes place during the fourth term. Many, many hours of practice are put into this, and memories are made that last a lifetime. Moms and dads, siblings and grandparents pack a picnic supper and blanket and arrive on a Saturday evening to be entertained for an hour by their delightful children. There is song and dance, costumes galore, and brave little children who, for the first time in their lives, are performing on a stage in front of an audience. It’s a very special evening not to be missed.

We work according to themes throughout the year, e.g. space, dinosaurs, our body, the farm, people who help us, etc. Our themes normally last between 1–2 weeks. Children learn best when they play. Our theme work and lessons mix maths, language and life skills into fun-based activities.

The children are introduced to Letterland, a child-friendly, story-based phonics program for children ages 3 – 8. It turns plain alphabet letters into lively pictogram characters (like Annie Apple, Bouncy Ben) living in an imaginary town. Our creative art activities are also based on the letter introduced that day. We usually have a Letterland Dress-Up Day and esta at the end of the year when all the characters have been introduced. As a special treat we end the morning with a Letterland movie and popcorn.

Outings to local places of interest happen once a term and evoke much excitement from the children. Parents usually assist with transport and supervision. Some of our regular outings include visits to the Fire Department, Butterfly World and Giraffe House, as well as Winelands Rail and strawberry picking, to name but a few.

At Featherfoot Friends we understand that young children learn best when they move. Our school is designed in such a way that it allows for plenty of movement between areas while learning indoors, giving children a sense of choice and independence. Our environment is beautifully prepared to allow children to move freely from one centre to another.

Creative work is encouraged, allowing children to develop at their own pace and according to their artistic ability. Activities include, for example, painting, box construction, drawing, printing, cutting, sticking, collage and handicrafts.

This includes, among others, a doll corner, kitchens, a dress-up corner and an indoor tree house, all of which play an important role in encouraging role-play.