Today we arrived at school just after 8am and the children were already in their classes working hard. We wanted to see how the day started and also, arriving earlier was much cooler for us! First we visited Day Care where the children are aged 1-4 years old. To begin with, there were 20 children but when we visited again later, 15 more had arrived. The teachers were singing alphabet and number songs. They stood behind desks whilst the teacher was at the front of the class. During one of the songs some of the children were given a musical instrument however some were not as there were not enough. Those who didn't were encouraged to clap. Although the songs seemed quite upbeat and enjoyable they were very repeptitive.
We then moved onto to visit Pre-primary 1 where the children are 4-5 years old. There were 15 children in. Yesterday we had a brief look at their timetable and first thing in the morning they carry out a health check so we were curious to see what this entailed. To our suprise, this was singing all different songs about their bodies and families. After the health check, lessons begin. The teacher starts by annoucning the day of the week, the date and discussing what the weather was like. There was alot of noise coming from the other classroom (both pre-primary 1 and 2 are in the same iron shack, only separeted by a thin layer of iron). We sat at the back of the classroom, near to some of the children sat at their desks and we found it really difficult to hear the teacher. The lesson taking place was called 'Language Act'. The children were learning about the 'i' and 'e' words. There were posters diaplayed around the classroom which had different pictures and sounds on them. The teacher used these during the lesson to demonstrated different 'i' and 'e' words. Again, this process was very repetitive which didnt give an understanding of each indivudual childs knowledge or ability. After reflecting on our time observing the lessons, we felt that perhaps the class were seen as a whole group rather than each child being seen as an individual which is something we embrace back at Yellow Dot.
We then spent the rest of our day back in Day Care. There seemed to be not much of a routine in place and the first thing we noticed was that there were not many resources out for the children. There were 7 children sitting around one table sharing a very small amount of duplo blocks and alot of other children were spread about the room, some sleeping and others not really doing much and not really engaged in anything. Another 8 children were sat round another table; only 2 of them using books and pencils to draw and colour. When asking the teacher what the children were doing in their books, she explained that the younger children just scribble however the older children are developing the muscles for writing for when they move up to Pre-primary 1. All of a sudden it was snack time! It became very chaotic very quickly with no annoucement or transition. The teachers began handing out snacks to some of the children and others were left to get their own or wait for their older siblings to bring it to them. A few children, in particular, were sat for a long time with no snack until we asked the teacher where their snack was. The teacher found a bag on the floor by the door, explaining it was theirs and gave them each a flask of tea with a donut. This is something we saw a few times during our day today and we felt as if the children lacked confidence or understanding in asking their teachers for support. After snack, the children are encouraged to play oustide until 11am. Some children stayed inside as they were sleeping; some on beds and others on mattresses on the floor. During play time, the teachers go to the staff room and have a cup of tea which means both the children inside and out are left to occupy themselves, unsupervised. After play time when we went back into Day Care there was only 1 teacher with 35 children aged 1-4. She encouraged them all to sit, whether this be on a mattress or at a table. No activities took place and the children were encouraged to occupy themselves using the sensory pouches, sensory bottles and duplo scattered around the room. We then decided to encourage the children and their teacher over and taught them some new songs. These included Tiny Tim and Shakey Shakey. The children seemed really engaged and after repeating the songs two or three times were joinging in with actions and some words. When finished, we then encouraged the teacher to do some singing with them too. During this, the second teacher arrived back into Day Care and began singing numbers songs whilst pointing to numbers chalked on the blackboard, encouraging the children to copy whilst stood behind desks. Lunch time soon arrived and there seemed to be a long waiting time where more children fell asleep and others became impatient. They all washed their hands and wait in a line until everyone is ready. Whilst they went to the kitchen area to collect their lunch (which was rice and beans today) we took it upon ourselves to set up the tables and chairs to ensure it was ready when they came back. However there were not enough chairs. With 35 children present, we only had 19 chairs. This meant the other 16 ate on mattresses on the floor or beds. After lunch is play time for an hour and then 2-3.30pm is sleep/rest time and then home time.
It has been nice for us to get to know the teachers and see how they work with the children. We are also able to ask questions during the day to ensure that we understand their way of teaching. Tomorrow we look forward to arriving early again to see the quality of teaching and maybe catch some of the parents along the way.
Tuesday, 14 March 2017
Monday, 13 March 2017
Meet and greet day
Today was another scourching day reaching tempertures of 35 degrees!
We arrived at the school and went to the office to meet the Head Master of High School, acting Head Master of Primary and Head Mistress of Nursery - who we will be working closely with over the next few weeks.
We then went to each class who welcomed us with a song and we had to introduce ourselves to them. Some of the older classes thought our accent was very funny and enjoyed laughing at the teachers mocking our accent, which put us at ease and made the welcome more enjoyable, with lots of laughter. By the time we had visited each of the classes it was lunch time. The younger children get their lunch first. We watched how the older children take care of the younger children, ensuring they are getting their lunch, sitting down and eating, you can clearly see how they all care for eachother.
After lunch the children have a play time which consists of entaining themselves using the outdoor envirinment. We joined with their circle games which again is dancing!! So again lots of laughter coming from the children when they called us up to stand in the middle of the circle and dance, hopefully as time goes by we will be pro's by the end of three weeks.
The Day Care, which is the same as our nursery, is a iron shack with beds, mattresses and tables. Not many toys, if any, for the children to play with. The Day Care has 27 registed children in the same iron shack, they range from 1 years old up to 4 years of age with a ratio of 1:15. WOW!!! what a difference to the UK guidelines. They had all 27 children in today which meant the shack became very warm very quickly. There were come children who were a litle unsettled as they havent been there very long or it is their first time of seeing a white person.
They have lunch in their classroom. We sat with them and tried to communicate but we didnt get much response due to the lack of English understanding. Through their years at the Life Centre School their English will improve as it is an English speaking school and Swahili is taught as a subject as they get older, but Swahili is their first language at home. So all the classes and exams are done in English. The portion sizes are good size for all ages, and always contain carbohydrates as this is the only meal for most of the children.
We were privileged enough to be offered lunch which was rice, cabbage and potatoes, to our surprise it was very flavoursome and we thoughly enjoyed it. They have a different meal every day throughout the week, so we are looking forward to seeing what is on the menu tomorrow!
Before home time the children gathered around and joined in with some singing and circle games. The children are very sociable, happy and confident, they demonstrate a lot of respect not only for their teachers but for us as well. Every time we moved their was a chair waiting for us to sit on, which we were not used to as in our environment back home we are on the floor with the children engaging with them at all times.
Tomorrow we have planned to arrive at school early where the timetable is busier and we can see more of the Early Years curriculum and lessons in practice as we find after lunch they sleep for two hours or free play and go home.
We arrived at the school and went to the office to meet the Head Master of High School, acting Head Master of Primary and Head Mistress of Nursery - who we will be working closely with over the next few weeks.
We then went to each class who welcomed us with a song and we had to introduce ourselves to them. Some of the older classes thought our accent was very funny and enjoyed laughing at the teachers mocking our accent, which put us at ease and made the welcome more enjoyable, with lots of laughter. By the time we had visited each of the classes it was lunch time. The younger children get their lunch first. We watched how the older children take care of the younger children, ensuring they are getting their lunch, sitting down and eating, you can clearly see how they all care for eachother.
After lunch the children have a play time which consists of entaining themselves using the outdoor envirinment. We joined with their circle games which again is dancing!! So again lots of laughter coming from the children when they called us up to stand in the middle of the circle and dance, hopefully as time goes by we will be pro's by the end of three weeks.
The Day Care, which is the same as our nursery, is a iron shack with beds, mattresses and tables. Not many toys, if any, for the children to play with. The Day Care has 27 registed children in the same iron shack, they range from 1 years old up to 4 years of age with a ratio of 1:15. WOW!!! what a difference to the UK guidelines. They had all 27 children in today which meant the shack became very warm very quickly. There were come children who were a litle unsettled as they havent been there very long or it is their first time of seeing a white person.
They have lunch in their classroom. We sat with them and tried to communicate but we didnt get much response due to the lack of English understanding. Through their years at the Life Centre School their English will improve as it is an English speaking school and Swahili is taught as a subject as they get older, but Swahili is their first language at home. So all the classes and exams are done in English. The portion sizes are good size for all ages, and always contain carbohydrates as this is the only meal for most of the children.
We were privileged enough to be offered lunch which was rice, cabbage and potatoes, to our surprise it was very flavoursome and we thoughly enjoyed it. They have a different meal every day throughout the week, so we are looking forward to seeing what is on the menu tomorrow!
Before home time the children gathered around and joined in with some singing and circle games. The children are very sociable, happy and confident, they demonstrate a lot of respect not only for their teachers but for us as well. Every time we moved their was a chair waiting for us to sit on, which we were not used to as in our environment back home we are on the floor with the children engaging with them at all times.
Tomorrow we have planned to arrive at school early where the timetable is busier and we can see more of the Early Years curriculum and lessons in practice as we find after lunch they sleep for two hours or free play and go home.
Sunday, 12 March 2017
Humble experience
After having a good nights rest, we woke up feeling fresh and excited to start our day.
We arrived at the Church (which is situated at the school in one of the classrooms) and could hear the singing from outside, straight away it gave us goosebumps. We were greeted and made to feel very welcome and had front seats as we were the 'guests of honour'.
During the service (which was 3 hours long!!) children come and go and the Kenyan people arrive at any time and join in. It is a very laid back environment, even the singers and Pastor had their phones in their hands when performing during the service.
We watched the children sing and dance, and WOW they can move! We then got called up and had to dance, to which i think it was more of entertainment for the community, they had their phones out videoing us with huge grins. To say the least we were extremely hot, with a temperature of 35 degrees outside and we are in a iron shack!
After the service, James, took us to each classroom and talked through all the recent developments and improvements. Later we talked through what plans we have in place while we are here and what outcomes they would like to achieve.
James drove us around the local area, we stopped at the rubbish site. James told us the story of how he finds children looking through the rubbish for food or materials to sell. We could see some people on the top of the rubbish dump searching for things. James encourages the children who he finds there to attend school and get their one meal a day as well as an education which helps them to return to their home as their parents are able to look after them knowing they have eaten at least once during the day. There were also huge vultures on the rubbish tip, and we mean huge!!
Today was a humble experience, and was nice to get to know some of the children who attend the school. Tomorrow we are looking forward to spending quality time with teachers and look at their ECD (Early Childhood development) which is the equivalent of our EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage).
We arrived at the Church (which is situated at the school in one of the classrooms) and could hear the singing from outside, straight away it gave us goosebumps. We were greeted and made to feel very welcome and had front seats as we were the 'guests of honour'.
During the service (which was 3 hours long!!) children come and go and the Kenyan people arrive at any time and join in. It is a very laid back environment, even the singers and Pastor had their phones in their hands when performing during the service.
We watched the children sing and dance, and WOW they can move! We then got called up and had to dance, to which i think it was more of entertainment for the community, they had their phones out videoing us with huge grins. To say the least we were extremely hot, with a temperature of 35 degrees outside and we are in a iron shack!
After the service, James, took us to each classroom and talked through all the recent developments and improvements. Later we talked through what plans we have in place while we are here and what outcomes they would like to achieve.
James drove us around the local area, we stopped at the rubbish site. James told us the story of how he finds children looking through the rubbish for food or materials to sell. We could see some people on the top of the rubbish dump searching for things. James encourages the children who he finds there to attend school and get their one meal a day as well as an education which helps them to return to their home as their parents are able to look after them knowing they have eaten at least once during the day. There were also huge vultures on the rubbish tip, and we mean huge!!
Today was a humble experience, and was nice to get to know some of the children who attend the school. Tomorrow we are looking forward to spending quality time with teachers and look at their ECD (Early Childhood development) which is the equivalent of our EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage).
Saturday, 11 March 2017
Arrived Safely
Our journey started off with being over weight with our bags due to all the donations , we didnt want to leave anything behind and had to flutter our eyelids to ensure everything came - which it did!
The flight from UK to Nairobi was a hot one, our air con above us did not work - we didnt get much sleep due to this. We also managed to sit in the wrong seats so we had to move after we got comfortable. We have met some lovely people along the way who helped us with our journey, well mostly with our 8 bags of luggage, which we could hardly lift ourselves.
We made it to Kisumu and were greeted with open arms by Alice and James, although they did turn up yesterday to pick us up!! James and Alice took us to our little hotel and ensured we were comfortable before they left. We have rested today and having a very early night ready for our Church experience tomorrow.
Goodnight.
The flight from UK to Nairobi was a hot one, our air con above us did not work - we didnt get much sleep due to this. We also managed to sit in the wrong seats so we had to move after we got comfortable. We have met some lovely people along the way who helped us with our journey, well mostly with our 8 bags of luggage, which we could hardly lift ourselves.
We made it to Kisumu and were greeted with open arms by Alice and James, although they did turn up yesterday to pick us up!! James and Alice took us to our little hotel and ensured we were comfortable before they left. We have rested today and having a very early night ready for our Church experience tomorrow.
Goodnight.
Monday, 11 April 2016
Hayley's reflection 2016
I feel so fortunate to have been selected to visit the life centre school in Kisumu, I have been truly inspired by the positive attitude of every adult and child I met whilst in the school.
My personal highlight of the trip was teaching the adults how to make the play dough and seeing their enthusiasm and excitement of learning something new. All the children reacted in the same way and their faces lit up with fascination when we handed out the dough. Every child and adult in the room spent time exploring the dough and showing each other the different models they could make. The thought of something that's so simple and so readily available to us in nurseries here, bringing this level of excitement was a great thing to witness.
After the first day I felt truly humbled by how warm and welcoming each and every person had been towards us and how proud they were to show us what they had learnt, even though each person faces a daily struggle that we in the UK couldn't even imagine.
I was amazed to see how the day care had transformed from the teams visit last year and it was great to spend so much time with the children in the day care. They all got stuck straight in with the sensory pouches and were also very keen to make their own sensory bottles that they then spent the next 30 minutes or so exploring. I was impressed at how quickly the children picked up the actions and some words to nursery rhymes that we sung to them, within a couple of times of hearing a song every child there was having a go and joining in.
I loved absorbing the local atmosphere and getting to know and understand the culture that we would be part of for the week.
The day James showed us the dump site where it had all started was hard to comprehend. I can only imagine how hard both James and Alice have work with the support of the Asante coffee shop and now yellow dot to create the fantastic nursery and school that ranks in the top three for the region! I'm proud to have been a part of that and I want to continue supporting the school and nursery
I hope that James and Alice continue to keep us updated with the development and progress of the children at the nursery and school.
My personal highlight of the trip was teaching the adults how to make the play dough and seeing their enthusiasm and excitement of learning something new. All the children reacted in the same way and their faces lit up with fascination when we handed out the dough. Every child and adult in the room spent time exploring the dough and showing each other the different models they could make. The thought of something that's so simple and so readily available to us in nurseries here, bringing this level of excitement was a great thing to witness.
After the first day I felt truly humbled by how warm and welcoming each and every person had been towards us and how proud they were to show us what they had learnt, even though each person faces a daily struggle that we in the UK couldn't even imagine.
I was amazed to see how the day care had transformed from the teams visit last year and it was great to spend so much time with the children in the day care. They all got stuck straight in with the sensory pouches and were also very keen to make their own sensory bottles that they then spent the next 30 minutes or so exploring. I was impressed at how quickly the children picked up the actions and some words to nursery rhymes that we sung to them, within a couple of times of hearing a song every child there was having a go and joining in.
I loved absorbing the local atmosphere and getting to know and understand the culture that we would be part of for the week.
The day James showed us the dump site where it had all started was hard to comprehend. I can only imagine how hard both James and Alice have work with the support of the Asante coffee shop and now yellow dot to create the fantastic nursery and school that ranks in the top three for the region! I'm proud to have been a part of that and I want to continue supporting the school and nursery
I hope that James and Alice continue to keep us updated with the development and progress of the children at the nursery and school.
Sunday, 10 April 2016
My reflection on the trip to Kisumu. ‘A transforming trip’.
There seems
to be many things to reflect on after being part of such a great trip. As we
arrived in Kisumu there was a different culture and lifestyle to take in to
account, and indeed a different climate (very hot with a couple of
thunderstorms thrown in!). We were shown great hospitality and welcome here.
It was a
privilege to represent Yellow Dot here and share some of our knowledge with the
teachers. We were able to share experiences with the children in day care, such
as the sensory bags and bottles. To see their interest, curiosity and enjoyment
in playing with these was rewarding. We
sang nursery rhymes with them too. We also shared Froebel activities and Boogie
Mites with the children at the Life Centre School. The children showed great
imagination with the Froebel resources, and had a great time singing and
tapping out the rhythms of Boogie Mites; a nation with a natural rhythm.
The teachers
at the nursery and school have such a willingness to teach, and to support
these children in achieving their potential, and giving them an opportunity for
an education. They are fully committed to what they do. The children are really
keen to learn, and enjoy their time at the school and nursery. They always came
to greet us.
Alice and
James have worked hard to support the teachers at the nursery and school, and
have a strong faith. Even when the circumstances were very different, and the
school which was originally on the slum was bulldozed, they didn’t lose sight
of what they wanted to achieve. The children are making good progress at the
nursery and school, and they are within the top three in the area. What an
achievement!
The trip made me
reflect on my own life and what I take for granted, what I am grateful for(no
matter how small), and how I manage my finances and resources. I would like to
continue to support the work at the Life Centre School, and to be a part of how Yellow
Dot is changing lives.
Saturday, 9 April 2016
Carolyn's reflection for 2016 "Inspiring Potential in Kisumu"
What a wonderful opportunity I had to go back to Kisumu this year to see the difference that has been made. Last year we did lots of shopping to equip the day care nursery for 0-2 year olds but the building hadn't been built yet for us to see it all set up. This year I could see it up and being used with all the equipment we bought in it. The beds and mattresses, the chairs, the toys and everything else we bought were there. The children were in the day care nursery and having a great time playing with the toys. They have named the day care YD1 and are all very proud to call it Yellow Dot Nursery.
It was great to spend more time in the nursery classrooms this year doing the activities with the children that we had taken over. All the children were very keen to join in with everything we did with them even the teachers were very enthusiastic to learn and join in. You could see the excitement in the children every time we arrived at the school which made me feel very overwhelmed at what I was doing and very proud of what we as Yellow Dot are doing for them.
Seeing the difference in a year I am confident in saying that Yellow Dot being involved is definitely making a difference to the children's lives. Alice and James, the teachers, the parents and the children are all soo appreciative and grateful for what we do and they can't thank us enough everyday. In church they all prayed for us which I must admit made me cry this year as i found it very emotional.
When the school on the slum was bulldozed last year by the government they didn't let this stop them. If anything it made them stronger and more determined. They rebuilt the primary school on the nursery school site and carried on. Even with the set back the school still ranked in the top 3 for their grades in their region and only 1 child didn't get the grades to go to High School. This is a brilliant achievement for the school.
I feel soo privileged to have been a part of this the past 2 years and will continue to support Yellow Dot in this very worth while cause that is now so dear to my heart.
It was great to spend more time in the nursery classrooms this year doing the activities with the children that we had taken over. All the children were very keen to join in with everything we did with them even the teachers were very enthusiastic to learn and join in. You could see the excitement in the children every time we arrived at the school which made me feel very overwhelmed at what I was doing and very proud of what we as Yellow Dot are doing for them.
Seeing the difference in a year I am confident in saying that Yellow Dot being involved is definitely making a difference to the children's lives. Alice and James, the teachers, the parents and the children are all soo appreciative and grateful for what we do and they can't thank us enough everyday. In church they all prayed for us which I must admit made me cry this year as i found it very emotional.
When the school on the slum was bulldozed last year by the government they didn't let this stop them. If anything it made them stronger and more determined. They rebuilt the primary school on the nursery school site and carried on. Even with the set back the school still ranked in the top 3 for their grades in their region and only 1 child didn't get the grades to go to High School. This is a brilliant achievement for the school.
I feel soo privileged to have been a part of this the past 2 years and will continue to support Yellow Dot in this very worth while cause that is now so dear to my heart.
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