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The Matjana teachers recently organised the preschool’s inaugural sports day. It was such a success they’re wondering why they didn’t organise it earlier, and planning to make the Matjana Preschool Sports Day an annual event.

‘We wanted to have some fun with the kids. A few years back we took the Matjana students to a regional sports day organised by the Ministry of Education and they really loved it. But it hasn’t been organised for the last few years, so we decided to host our own sports day,’ teacher Ncobile said.

The teachers invited the Grade 1 children from Matjana Primary to come back to preschool and participate in the day. They organised a schedule of races and bought some small prizes for the winners. It was a recipe for lots of fun, games and good sports-person-ship.

‘We started with the running race,’ Ncobile said. ‘There’s a nice flat strip of grass outside our classroom, and we used that as the track. The kids were so much excited when we lined them up and shouted 1, 2, 3, go. And that was before they even knew that the winners of the race would get a balloon.”

After running, the Matjana kids had a chance to demonstrate their hopping skills. There were a few tumbles and lots of laughs. ‘The kids enjoyed it so much! Even the shy ones had a go and were so excited to see their friends winning,’ Ncobile said.

And then there was the sack race. ‘This was definitely the race the kids enjoyed the most! It was the first time for them to race in sacks and they were laughing so much and cheering as they watched their friends race.’

But like all good preschool games, the sports day races were more than just good fun. ‘The games help the children develop their large muscles and learn how to balance. And they also had a chance to socialise, cooperate and encourage their friends. They also get to explore themselves as they experience different emotions while they’re watching and participating in the races. And learn at their own pace.

‘It was a great opportunity to see the students from 2016. And we were really impressed by the way the kids behaved. As much as they all wanted to win a balloon, they really enjoyed seeing their friends winning

‘For us teachers, it was a great opportunity to see how the kids are developing, which ones have mastered different skills and which ones need a little more practice,’ Ncobile said.

‘We feel like the day was a real success and look forward to making it part of our annual calendar of fun and learning at Matjana. As a preschool teacher it’s great to see the kids enjoying themselves and learning at the same time, and they definitely did that during the sports day.’