Bermain adalah Fitrah anak-anak

Anak-anak memang fitrahnya mahu bermain. Ada yang bermain dengan senyap dan berimiginasi, ada yang bermain sambil gelak ketawa dan jerit-menjerit. Ada yang duduk diam bermain patung, ada yang berguling dan panjat-memanjat. There is no stopping children from playing. FACT.

Itu hakikatnya. Kalau disekat-sekat anak-anak bermain, seumpama kita menyekat kebolehan semulajadi mereka.

It's almost as if when I (an adult) stop YOU (another adult) from eating. Asal nak makan je saya kata jangan. Nak makan je saya tak bagi. Padahal anda sangat lapar.

Aksi yang terlampau kan? Kalau dalam bahasa matsalleh-- inhumane. Orang lapar ni, ada pula disekat-sekat.

Jadi, apa yang menjadi persoalan yang sangat penting bagi saya ialah, bagaimana kita boleh (tanpa rasa bersalah) menghantar anak-anak kita ke sesuatu tempat yang menyekat mereka bermain. Walhal bermain adalah fitrah mereka. Sama seperti makan dan tidur bagi anak-anak kecil. Mana boleh disekat-sekat. Melampaulah kalau disekat-sekat.

Siapa kata anak yang suka bermain nakal dan tak boleh didisiplinkan? Siapa kata anak yang suka bermain nanti tak pandai? Siapa kata anak yang suka bermain nanti tak dengar cakap?

Siapa kata?

Kalau nak ikut orang kata, ikut kata AP Dr. Mastura Badzis. Dia kata kurangnya bermain ada perkaitan yang tinggi dengan peningkatan isu anxiety, depression, and sense of helplessness (buntu) among children and adolescents (remaja) (Gray,2013).

Kalau nak ikut orang kata, ikut kata Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia. Diorang kata anak-anak bawah 9 tahun yang mempunyai mental health issues menunjukkan peratus yang tinggi berbanding anak-anak 10 tahun ke atas (😱😱 horror-nya! What are we doing to our children? 😭).

Kalau nak ikut kata orang, ikut kata Imam Al Ghazali-- If you do not allow children to play, you will kill their soul. Kalau kita tak benarkan anak-anak bermain, kita akan membunuh jiwa mereka (Petikan dari Ihya' Ulumuddin).

Kalau nak ikut orang kata, Teacher Najmi kata-- Bagilah anak-anak bermain kerana bermain itu fitrah mereka. Bila fitrah anak-anak dipenuhi, mereka akan rasa selamat dan gembira. Bila mereka rasa selamat dan gembira, mereka akan lebih senang nak belajar apa-apa. Kalau anak-anak disekat dari bermain, mereka akan rasa tidak selamat (takut kena marah dengan cikgu, susah hati sebab Mak Ayah takde depan mata) dan tak gembira. Bila ini berlaku, nak belajar pun susah. Walhal, kalau dia bermain, belajar terjadi secara spontan dan konsisten!

Carilah tempat-tempat yang benar-benar laksanakan bermain 100% dengan cara yang betul. Bermain tak salah. Yang salahnya cara perlaksanaan bermain tu.

Jangan salah faham ya. Bukan senang-senang ya kita nak adakan sekolah bermain atau play-based learning. Research perlu ada, ilmu haruslah ada. Kalau tempat tu kata dia laksanakan bermain sambil belajar tapi dia bagi workbook, ada homework book kena buat kat rumah, ada expectations itu ini dari staff sekolah, hari-hari cikgu mengajar guna papan tulis, anak-anak kena duduk atas kerusi 90% of the time-- cancel je lah niat nak pergi tempat tu. SCAM je tu.

Anak-anak anda semua bukan untuk scammers.

Anak-anak anda layak dapat apa yang fitrah mereka perlukan.

You and your child deserve better, quality play, and quality time.

Paling best, bermain adalah untuk SEMUA anak-anak. Cara bermain mungkin berbeza. Perlu ada sedikir adaptasi, tapi bermain adalah untuk semua, tidak kira bangsa, agama, mahupun kelebihan atau keupayaan.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
For quality play experience, you can whatsApp me at +601120909620
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love,

Teacher Najmi 💐

P/S: Bermain bina perkembangan minda. Bermain bina keyakinan diri. Bermain bantu dalam membentuk sahsiah diri dan kendiri. Hebatkan bermain untuk anak-anak ni?


#teachernajmilovesyou
#hariharibermain
#earlymorningthoughts
#championingchildhood
#letthemplay

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.