Kinder Fun

I can see why XX really likes going to kindergarten. Each time I drop him off at school, I see that enthusiastic sparkle in his eyes mirrored in so many other kids there. Since the 2nd week, all those kids that had cried and clinged on to their mothers had now adjusted to the separation and shows no signs of homesickness. I credit all these to their teacher, Sue and a well-planned and fun-filled kinder program. 

To keep 28 restless 4 year olds occupied for five and a half hours is not easy but in XX's kindergarten, there are always so many different activities to do and play that time passes easily. Each time I send XX there, I take a look at the tables of activities laid out and I get a glimpse of what they are gonna do that day. All sorts of materials are used for the kids to create stuff in addition to painting, stamping and simple handicrafts. Recycled cardboard boxes and cartons are used to build models with sticky tapes; bottle caps, patty cups are pasted onto paper for some crazy artwork; a big basin of gruel is prepared for the children to mix with a handheld mixer. 

Today I had a chance to get a deep experience of what they do after the parents leave. It was my turn to do "parent duty" at the kinder. I took this opportunity to see how my son behaved in school as well as get to observe him at play. At the same time, I also got to know some of his kinder friends better.

As it was a sunny day, Sue brought them outside to have their lunch. The children settled on mats and rugs with their hats and sunscreen to enjoy their food. First thing I realise, compared to the other kids, I gave my son too little for lunch. I usually just give XX a ham or tuna sandwich, 1 type of fruit and a few biscuits. Even then, he couldn't finish it. The other kids' lunch boxes have basically the same things, but the portions are bigger. Like they had two or more fruits (like a whole apple/pear), cheese and even yoghurt for their lunch and afternoon snack. Guess I need to add in a few more stuff to increase the variety. No wonder some of them are so big-sized.

Right after lunch, the children played outside. Even outside, there were so many options for them. They were free to choose to go to the sandpit, which XX loved, and play with the buckets and spades. They collected water from a special tap that pumped collected tank water, to make mud pies or sand castles. Or they could go on the swings, take a slide and jump on the trampoline. There was also a shady area set up with some books on a carpet for them to browse. Under a big tree, an easel stand was set up with paint and brushes. Sometimes, they pretended to be carpenters. Real pieces of wood and nails were available for them to hammer. I thought that was kind of dangerous but the teacher thought it was good for them to learn how to use these tools early. Surprisingly, I saw some of these 4 year olds hammering away on the nail quite proficiently. No one came away with a nail in their hand thankfully.

I spent half the time there just walking around the different "pit stops" in the yard and watching the children. They were basically left on their own to play with each other, the teacher and assistant went around to help them a little. XX spent a great amount of time at the sand pit until one of his friends, Matthew, invited him to play on the swing. Then they ran around with a few other boys playing hide and seek. XX didn't do any of the painting or quiet stuff today. It was all active play. I managed to get talk to some girls as well. They were pretending to be twins and I got them to do fun "twin things" like sing a song or run together. Soon more joined in and they were all racing to touch the fence and come back. 

Later on, one boy asked me to make him a paper aeroplane. I folded for him one of the most un-aerodynamic aeroplane, but he was happy. Another one saw it and wanted as well and before I know it, there were like 10 other kids crowding around me that wanted one too. It's funny how little it takes to amuse these kids. Just a bit of our time and attention. 

After they packed up, the teacher decided to keep them outside, making them lie down and look at the clouds to soothing background music. It was not easy getting twenty over fidgety kids to lie still but she managed to keep them down for about 15 minutes. Along the way, she talked to them, asking them what they could see in the clouds and later, to imagine that they were in the clouds. By the time my duty was over, it was time for them to eat their snack, again, out under the clear blue sky. 

It's pretty clear to me by now how the kindergarten program here is different from what I know in Singapore. There wasn't any alphabets recognition or numbers taught in class. Certainly no homework or anything too difficult. It's all fun, creative play but along the way, the teacher do incorporate some counting skills and general knowledge into the activities they do. Like asking what day (Friday) was today, yesterday, tomorrow and XX was asked to look at the sky outside and report on the weather (thunder/snow/sunny/rainy etc). They did a headcount together and learnt about grasshoppers when they found one outside. Social skills were being emphasized. The children were reminded to respect the teacher by not yelling at her and speaking one at a time. They were not supposed to play rough and were taught to ask for their turn at activities politely. I'm not an education expert but I sure wished my kinder was fun like this when I was a kid.