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Twenty-six children had enrolled in Matjana Preschool in year 2018 when the school re-opened a the 24th of January 2018. We welcome back only one student from the class of 2017. We are a little bit sad that another six students we were expecting back this year have started primary school early. Although they are officially not old enough to start primary school, these children’s parents convinced the head teacher that their year at preschool had left them intelligent and ready for primary school education. We will miss these children in 2018, but we’re happy that they’ve learnt so much in their year of preschool. And that we have 25 kids attending our preschool for the first time this year.
The teachers report that most of the student seem to be naughty, but perhaps they’ve just forgotten since last year, that sitting still and listening are skills young kids develop- they don’t always start school with these abilities. And it’s easy to forget over the school holidays just how diverse young children’s styles and backgrounds are, and how preschool kids can conceptualise doing the most unusual things, as perfectly normal. Just imagine the first day when one of the kids stripped off so that they could play without getting their new school uniform dirty. The teachers thought it was a little strange, but the other preschoolers thought it was a pretty good idea and would have happily joined in if teacher Swane hadn’t intervened!
And then there was the child who pulled out a toy gun, pointed it at teacher Ncobile, and threatened to go home if she didn’t stand up and play with him!
Anyone who has ever taught or sent a child to preschool will know that it takes some little kids a bit longer to get used to the idea of being separated from their home and family. And this year was no exception. One of the kids spent their first few days of preschool demanding the teachers call their mother to come fetch them and asking teachers ‘when are we going home?” But every good teacher knows that with a bit of extra encouragement and support, these kids come to love preschool.
“We now have experience with children who find their first days at preschool a bit scary, and are getting to know this particular child,” teacher Ncobile said. “We tried to calm him, showed him some love and gave him some toys to play. We had to be quite gentle, because even some of the toys scared him because he didn’t know them. Like when I asked him to fix puzzle he cried and said, ‘I don’t know how I can fix it’. But we know as time goes on he will get used to school- even by the end of the first day he had improved.”
The beginning of the new school year is always one of the hardest times for preschool teachers. But it’s the challenges in the beginning that lead to all the rewards that come with helping children develop their skills and negotiate new experiences. Preschool teaching is a fulfilling career because children a so diverse and unique, and you always encounter new behaviours both those that we want to encourage, and those that we want to help the children change.