News / Halaman York / 2015 / July 2015

Dear parents,

It is already a year since Nania York first started class. Looking back, we started with 3 children last July and gradually one by one children joined us. Now we have 22 children in the class. We are happy to see that the children have adapted well to the daily activities and rhythm here. Although it does take time to get to know the children, we now feel we know them well.

We have had many incidents happen in the class. Sometimes, the children fight during free play. Or, a child might cry due to disappointment over some issues. When a fight occurs, the other children gather around to talk about it. Some will care for the crying child. We have observed many times that it is not always necessary to interrupt the children when they get into a conflict. They are able to resolve problems by themselves by apologizing to their friends and making amends. Soon we hear the happy chatter and laughter of the children once again. We are glad to witness some of these wonderful and touching moments.

In Nania, our children follow instructions by the song sung by the teachers instead of verbal instructions. We sing whenever we need them to form a circle, drink water, wash their hands, go for a toilet break and so on. We emphasize on the rhythm of the day, week and year.  We repeat some activities every day, others every week and a few annually. They organize themselves well because they know the rhythms and as such, it is important to have the same repetitive rhythms when they are at home with you too.

Recently, we celebrated Hari Raya with the children by telling them the meaning of the fasting and the reasons why we should not waste food. The children had `ketupat’ and `Raya’ cookies as snacks. Then, the 5 and 6-year-old children gathered to help in the preparations of ‘nasi lemak’ for lunch. Aunty Anny cooked rice using organic virgin coconut oil and pandan leaves so the rice tasted like ‘nasi lemak’. Children enjoyed the snacks and lunch on that day.

                                                                        Teacher Chithra & Teacher Kerry