The Hundred Languages of Children

My role as a teacher:

Learn to
Listen to the hundred languages of children.
Marvel with them
Love them
Sing with them
Discover with them
Invent with them
Dream with them

Encourage them to
use their hands
their minds
their hearts
- all together,

Encourage them
to listen & to speak
to understand with joy
to love & to marvel
all the time

Tell the child:
work & play
reality & fantasy
science & imagination
sky & earth
reason & dream
are inseparable.

Believe that
The hundred is there.

Little Teachers

When it comes to toddlers, sharing is a constant challenge, because at the age of 3, they are still rather egocentric - they think about themselves before thinking about others. In school, I am constantly encouraging the children to share. I do not force or demand them to share. Rather, I guide them in asking politely. If the other party is still playing and not ready to share, I encourage them to wait for awhile. When their friend is ready to share, they will.

One day, Little O and Little R are playing together. Little Y comes and grabs Little O's toy without asking. Immediately, Little O starts to scream! As I was about to step in, Little R says to Little O, "You do not need to scream. If you scream, your friend won't know what you want. You can ask, 'Can I have the toy, please?'" 

I beam with pride as I hear what she says. I've created little teachers! 

Of eating

When it comes to fussy eaters, one of the trick I have up my sleeves is giving children choices.

Scenario:
I don't want to eat carrots!

Rather than forcing them to eat, engaging in a power struggle where both parties end up frustrated, I respectfully offer:

"Ok, you choose: would you like to eat 3 pieces or 5 pieces?"

They usually would choose 3. But occasionally, a child who likes the number 5 (or perhaps can't differentiate more or less) would choose 5!

Sometimes, they negotiate. 2!

Ok, but 2 BIG pieces.

Win-Win!

The thing is, as adults, there are certain things we do not eat either. No one is ever going to force me to eat bitter-gourd! That's why I believe that we should not force the children to eat what they do not like. Of course, we encourage them to try. We encourage them to eat a bit, even if they don't like the taste.

The other day, I tried something at the spur of the moment.

"OK, if you don't like the carrot, how about you close your eyes when you eat it. I'll mix it with some chicken. You won't taste it!"

Surprisingly, it worked!

Kids Say the Funniest Things

We have a family tapestry in class, featuring the family photos of all the students and teachers. It's nice to have my family picture up there so the children are aware that I have a mummy, daddy, brother & sister, too, just like them.

One day, little L is looking at the family tapestry together with her mum and sees mine. (I used my wedding photo as my husband is my family, too.) She gasps as she looks at my picture.
"Mummy, is Ms Yen Nee a princess?" she asks.
Her mum & I laugh.
"Nope. That is Ms Yen Nee's wedding! She was getting married. But she looks like a princess, doesn't she?" her mum replies.
Little L says, "Yeah. She looks like a TALL princess."
At barely 155cm tall, no one EVER calls me tall! LOL. I guess to her, I am!

On a separate note, every time children see my husband's picture next to me, I'd innocently ask them who they think that is. 9 out of 10 times, the answer is......

"Is it your daddy?"

LOL!