A year as a Mother Teacher

Dear readers,

In my previous posts, I have written how I retrospected myself and chose ECCE course to build my new career as a Preschool/Kindergarten Teacher. To be precise its "Mother Teacher" and not simply a Teacher. Because, it is understanding the child and trying to develop a supportive relation with 3 year olds. It requires as much patience as a Mother should have. 

I have been absorbed into one of the reputed educational institutions (Delhi Public School) in Hyderabad and I have been assigned the role of a mother teacher to Nursery class. When you say that you are teaching kindergarten kids, the general expression would be "Oh! Teaching ABC's." Yes! It's not easy. We are dedicating our professional life in helping the most precious resources.

Yes! We help the children to grow into responsible and competent learners... which is not only just teaching ABC. In this post I would give you a Panaromic view of how "A day in the life of Mother teacher" will be.

The day can be shown in....

Arrival time

Circle Time

Activity#1 Time

Snack Time

Play Time

Activity#2 Time

Dance Time

Wrap up Time

Don't ask where is the study time. The learning happens in each and every minute they spend with us. Its like on job learning.

I will give a walk through of each time happens.....

Arrival Time:

If you are a software engineer... you kick start your day at work with freshly brewed coffee, checking your mails, wishing each and every teammate. But when you work as a Preschool Teacher, the first half hour during the arrivals is the most crucial time where you can't even think of drinking water.

When the year commences, yes, most of them come crying. 1 in 100s may come like this to school...

None of your social skills will help you here. Its just the mood of the child.But later, after a month, you can see the same faces in smile lightening up to see you. They come dancing, jumping, singing to the class walking with pride.

It's because of the love, the support and the fun you shower on the learners.

Circle Time:

I start my class with a circle time. I sing rhymes, tell a story, any conversation, a small game etc etc. This is where I grab the attention of learners. But there are few who struggle at circle time. 

Activity Time:

Here comes the most interesting part. Because not all the learners like to do the activity you plan to do. Few will be like....

But...... If you plan your activities in such a way that it would cater the needs of all learners then your activity time would be....

                                     

Learners would love to wait for the activity time. 

You might think why do all doesn't like an activity?? Yes, because every learner has their own style of learning. One likes rhymes, another likes stories. One would prefer hands on activities where as few are lazy enough to move their fingers. So, if I am teaching letter "A", I should teach in all best possible styles that would reach the learner. Again.... if you have passion and personal interest, its not at all tough.

Snack Time:

The toughest time. During the beginning of the academic year...Most of them....

But making them finish the food in a jolly way is my responsibility. Very few will be so enthusiastically waiting for the snack time and they keep talking about the food in their box itself...

Its really very enjoyable to watch them eating.

Play Time:

At any point of time children are so eager to go outside and explore. This is what I observed. The more time you give them to play and explore the more they learn. When the learning is happening through self exploration they need very little guidance in explaining the concept. 

Like... My children learnt about plant life, birds and insects through nature walk. They enjoy watching them and naming their parts through touch.

Dance Time:

Though there is a Dance teacher, preschoolers dance only if the mother teacher dance. Because for them Mother teacher is like ENCYCLOPEDIA. What ever she tells is only the truth. I dance looking at the dance teacher and my children dance by looking at me. Funny right??

Wrap up time:

The best time to know what a child has learnt in a day. When you ask a question... The expression of making big eyes and telling the answer enthusiastically to receive a small sticker from the Mother teacher  is really inexplicable.

But, when it comes to year end and when you see a child who used to cry for hours is now enjoying his/her school time to the maximum gives us satisfaction of doing this tedious job.

Kudos to all the teachers who are grooming the children to make them bright individuals. Every human being is a mentor or teacher to some other person at a particular point of time. Keep mentoring and keep smiling!

Jyothi