An Important Bedtime Story

"You're the most important person here" was all it took. It hit me right at that spot that hurts if something really gets to you.

I am a full grown lady, and those words matters to me.

Imagine the impact on troubled teens, confused young adults, traumatised children, lost souls.

Those words were powerful.

It was a demonstration of how a Play Therapist does their sessions with their clients and I was moved.

I felt like this once before.. feeling like I have to do this. I have to help every children. During my first year of teaching. It felt like me against the world, saving one child at a time. It was never enough to just be their teacher.

Then I mellowed.

I think it was nearly the fourth year of being a teacher that I realised being a teacher was never just about saving every kid. It was more than that. It was about reaching out for help-- reaching out to the parents, other teachers, the community-- to work together for the sake of the children.

This is not a one time thing for me. I am in this for the long run. This is important to me because it matters.

So here I am, reaching out.

To all parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, all adults who have children under your care, take time to play with the children. Even if its not yours because play matters. It really does.

All it takes is 10 minutes, said the Play Therapist. But I am pretty sure we can do better than that.

10 minutes of child directed play. No adult rules or instructions, just your children and your inner child. Let your toddler lead an imaginative play. Allow your 8 year old to create an artistic mess (you can always clean it up together later). Allow your teenager to make a decision for once and follow it through (as long as nobody gets hurt i think you'd be fine). And at the end of it all, hold them, look them in the eyes, and say, "You are the most important person here." Or whisper to them just as they fall asleep.

Play builds up the brain. No play means no brain development, no solid foundation. Mind and body connection is vital for the rest of your life. It is not a throw-away thing that you just use once when you're a kid. Just because we're all grown up that doesn't mean we stop playing; we just call it a different name.

Hope that's worth your bedtime story. Thanks for reading :)

Good night. 

Love,

Teacher Najmi

Teaching Young Children

I saw this quote a while back and I am very grateful for it because it then changes a lot of things in the way I bring about my teaching practices.

Even with my Early Childhood background, the real world is not a bed of roses. I struggled during my first year in a kindergarten. I struggled with my principles and the reality of my teaching environment. I struggled with my emotions and my students' emotions. I struggled with meeting up objectives for my lesson plans and my students' needs-- actual needs. Also, I was overwhelmed.

Siapa kata teaching young children is easy? It is a rewarding job, I can guarantee that, but it is one of the toughest.

Masa first year, kalau tak nangis sebab kerja, sekolah, or budak memang tak sah. Sampailah member kata, "Nams, kau kena buli dengan anak murid kau ke?"

I looked at these angelic faces in front of me and thought "How can all these sweet-things cause so much havoc and heartache within me?"

Then this quote came along. I was in my second year of teaching. I didn't understand it immediately, but because I've mellowed down a bit it was easier for me to accept it. It is not the children, it is not entirely about the system, it is more often than not, me.

Children are children and they have been the same no matter the year or century. They don't come with instruction manuals but they come fully equipped with the knowledge how to learn. Oh, yes they do. They know from the get go, what they need and how to acquire it. They know they need us to manoeuvre the settings/environment and they will show/tell it. Only thing is, are we seeing/listening to them?

I am not saying that we shouldn't teach children (Habeh aku nak cari makan macam mana?) All I am saying is, STOP, put down the lesson plan, OBSERVE, really observe these angelic faces. Lower down your voice, quit the instructions, and LISTEN. CLEAR your judgemental views and all-knowing attitude.

OBSERVE and LISTEN beyond the lesson plans, the super-fun activities, and structural playtime.

OBSERVE and LISTEN as these children go about their daily routine, they'll show/tell us adults the way they learn. And then, you'll know who/what/why/when/where/how to teach them.

If you do not already know, Hi, I am Najmi, an Early Years Practitioner, Children-PLAY Advocate. I still have my struggles and sometimes I do get overwhelmed with work, school, and my students, but, I am still learning and understanding Early Childhood Education. Won't you join me?

Love,

Teacher Najmi.

On Phonics

OK. FB has this thing where they will post up memories on your timeline. They are your old FB posts. So, whenever I see an old post regarding my thoughts on everything ECE appears on my timeline, I will post it here and review it. Do I still share the same sentiment or my views have change or evolve? OK?

Here's one. I was looking for something else but I found this old status along the way. and since in this post I talked about reading, I thought why not post it now, early of the year. This post is dated 21/11/2013: 

Its the forth day of my so called extra reading class with the children and I realised - its awesome that some parents introduced the alphabet to their children from a very young age but here lies the "problem": just knowing the letters will not help as much with developing their reading skills.  

Since reading skill is very much important to some of Malaysian Parents (and seem to think that is a form of intelligence rather than a part of their children's holistic development), here's my suggestion: go on youtube or google and search for phonics or sound of letters. While you're flashing flashcards to your child and saying "A.. this is A for Apple" change your tactics and do this instead .. "this is A.. /a/ /a/ /a/ (the sound of the letters).. "  

soon enough, it'll put your child beyond their age's reading skill once you start to introduce them to words (start with three letter words). *** At this point however, you have to google "How to teach sounds blending". 

please note that this is one way (out of so many theories out there) to kickstart your children's reading skill (key word skill. because the ability to read is a different thing after that - ask me what, if you want to know more).  

plus, it is in our KSPK (national preschool curriculum standard) that by the age 4-5 years old, children are able to grasp basic phonetic to help them to read. It means that almost all preschool in malaysia (coz they have to abide to KSPK) will employ phonetic approach to teach children to read. (this will also help in your child's preparation for school!) 

OK, good luck young parents! have fun with phonics!

My views on how to teach children reading is still the same 2 years back and now.

I really find it helpful to introduce phonics (letter sounds) to children when you are helping them to read.  Yes, as an adult, we'd find it odd to back track because we are familiar with all the letter-sounds and we do not have to put much thought when we read text. 

Like reading the words cat, dog, fish. 

OK, now, try to be aware of your thought process when you try to read these unfamiliar words:

KAKORRHAPHIOPHOBIA

PAUCILOQUENT and

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPUALIDOCIOUS

You segmentised these words according to the sounds that made sense to you, didn't you? 

For example, to read the word kakorrhaphiophobia, your thought process probably went something like this:

kaa...kor..rha...fi...o...fo...bi...a! 

That's you rationalising the word kakorrhafiofobia according to the sounds you are already familiar with, such as KA KOR RHA PHI (FI) O PHO (FO) BI A. 

This is why I think phonics is very helpful for early readers. 

Youtube has an array of video on how to sound the letters correctly according to your preference: British English or American English. My favourite to this day is still JOLLY PHONICS. 

The best thing about phonics for Malaysian children is, the same method can be applied to help your child to read Malay too! And all other language when it is written in romanised lettering. 

Kalau kita belajar mengaji Al Quran pun sama kalau kita guna system belajar membaca melalui Iqra'. Belajar melalui membunyikan huruf-huruf hijaiyah kan? 

So, if you're thinking to help your early readers, phonics is your safest bet to start with. Of course you need to consider their age, and the type of book to use too. But that's for a different post. 

This is all for now.

Love,

Teacher Najmi

Happy New Year

I think it is not too late to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a great 2015 and is pumped up for 2016!

Have you guys had your New Year's resolution sorted out?

As usual, I have my own list but the top three that I hope to push for this year are:
1. One blog entry per week - usually on Friday night or Saturday morning
2. Two books per month that are non-fiction and non-chic lit, and
3. RMXXX per month for my 2017's Trip

I think they are doable and they meet the SMART technique.

Have you heard about the SMART technique to set goals before? A quick google search will tell you that many self-improvement gurus talk about being SMART when setting your goals.

The article Are You Making a SMART Resolution? comprehensively explains the SMART way to set your goals. The writer explains what S M A R T means and how this technique can be helpful to you.

You know how by March most of us have neglected our New Year's resolution and for whatever reason, by the end of each year, we realised we fail to complete our resolution? You are not alone my friend. Using the SMART technique might be the game-changer for us!

If you already have a list of your New Year's resolution, take a look at it again, and this time, think SMART.

source: http://okathletes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/SMART-Goals.jpg

Now that you have your New Year's resolution sorted out the SMART way, all it takes after this is to stick to it with lots of patiences, perseverance, and reflection. 

I do hope you achieve what you set out to do this 2016. 

Good luck, to you and to me too!

Love,

Teacher Najmi