I felt moved and thrilled by the initiative of my colleagues at work last week, who designed five different models of Children's Corner for a home. They used the facilities and toys that are available in the department to design different models which parents can adapt.
Th idea of doing this was generated after the department uploaded a video on 'Play during COVID time' https://youtu.be/KqdTnSWBvco
Following this video, we turned our attention to see how we can popularise play among parents during this COVID season, when parents and children are already finding the stress of prolonged closure of school and home schooling. We heard from some parents whom we contacted about the difficulties in having alternatives to video and mobile phone time for children. We did not find many parents who extended their reading time or story time or indoor games or family times beyond the usual to take advantage of the normal school going time. They talked about how they felt short of ideas and children felt restricted and denied of class room learning and playing with other children.
During this exercise we created models of children's corner that might be suitable for infants, toddlers and other pre-school children. Although we did not plan well enough to design the corner according to the age groups, some ideas surfaced during a discussion yesterday to upgrade our designs and make them corresponding to the ability level of children.
As we keep thinking about children's experiences during the COVID season as a department, we feel disturbed as children in the age group of 4 to 5 years, who we were longing for their first school experience did not have that opportunity even this year. While enquiring about the way children view this, I came across some interesting adjustments that parents made to keep their children school ready.
In one family of four year old twins, they were waiting to go to school with their sister. As this did not happen and the twins got disappointed, their mother had an idea of getting all the three children ready in the uniform every day at the same time, when the school bus would have come to take them to school. She organised to have a schedule for them akin to what would have happened, even with the break time, when they would have had their snacks with other children. The twins would have their afternoon sleep and would change in to the regular dress in the late afternoon similar to what would have happened in a school day. Their elder sister becomes a teacher for them when she is not involved in the on-line class for herself. The twins had something of a semblance of schooling with two other children from the neighbourhood joining them for part of the morning on two days a week, when the mother who was a former teacher, provided them interactive learning. This became a home schooling integrating with the neighbourhood.
This story fascinated me to gather such anecdotal stories of alternatives to regular school during the COVID time.
One other story that highlighted the creativity of parents in finding an alternative schooling experience for their five year child son, who could not join the Upper Kindergarten was equally fascinating. His mother would take him to school every day dressed in the uniform which was only a walking distance from their home. He would spend time playing in the play area and go into the class room to spend a short time. They would return home to have another two hours of formal learning experiences. The school authorities allowed children from the neighbourhood to come to school if parents contacted the school early and returned home in about an hour. The mother talked about this as a useful way to keep the child active about wanting to learn. The school had about ten to fifteen children coming to the school at different times of each day. His mother helped him to keep a journal of each day by making an entry in the scrap book with drawing sketches or pasting photos that seemed interesting to the boy. At the evening meal time this boy shared something about the experience at school each day. Some parents caught on this idea and the school was ready to do their bit to fill the void in a child's life.
Although COVID time was dull and boring for most school going children there are several stories of exceptional creativity to keep children motivated and occupied.
We have felt the need to start a campaign for Children's Corner at every home. I wish it wold be one initiative we can take forward as the department where we work enters its tenth year in September 2021.
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
No comments:
Post a Comment