I am a relatively new teacher. I entered the field of ECE in 2007 when I started teaching the 6-year-olds in the Sunday School Programme in my congregation. I was the assistant teacher then. In 2008, I was the assistant teacher in the 2-3 class. In 2009, I became the main teacher of the same class. (Of course, now they are 3-4 years old.)
I was awfully comfortable teaching these children as I've been with them for two years and I had lots of fun with them. I thought I have already moved past the Survival Stage and entered into the Consolidation Stage (Lilian Katz's developmental stages of Preschool Teachers)
But I suppose it's just not that easy! This year, I have a new batch of students to teach. They are two to two and a half years old. I was looking forward to teaching them but admit I did not foresee the challenges ahead.
Last year, I usually told the children a Bible story and gave them some crafts or activities to do which is related to the story (Sunday School is only about 1 hour). So, during the first class, I went to class armed with a story book, but as I started telling the story, the children's eyes wandered off to other areas of the classroom and they told me they want to play toys and they went around the classroom taking everything from toys to colour pencils to sharpeners... Knowing that children this age are curious about the environment and I shouldn't have expected them to sit still in the first place, I relented and let them play the toys, putting the storybook aside. It was back to the Survival Stage all over again.
So, for the next few weeks, I put in extra effort in preparing more hands-on activities for them.
My theme is: God Gave Me My Senses
A simple puzzle to match the senses to the correct places.
A texture book for them to touch
They enjoy touching the sand
Making the shakers to hear the sound
Playing play doh
Playing with the animals
It is certainly rewarding as I watch them learn in a way that is meaningful to them. I admit I am not the best teacher yet, but I am learning =)
*Permission obtained from the parents of children in the pictures published.
