Preschool!

It’s 9:00 a.m., Monday morning and it’s the first day of class. A very excited Jayden opens the kitchen door and calls his friends. “Likka, Sabboule, come, vini.” Within a minute all three are inside and I assign them to their seats. Nicholas gets a stool, and Jayden and Sabboule get two small chairs. With Sabboule, the quietest of the three, in the middle, we are ready to begin.

Flash cards, books, songs, puzzles and games, I’m well stocked on preschool supplies and all three kids are excited. Nicholas just finished school on Friday so now he’s home for the holidays and his main goal is learning English. Sabboule is there to learn to participate in a classroom setting and get over his shyness. Jayden who already know most of the material, is there to learn to sit still and follow directions. After teaching them to say “Good Morning,” I get the flash cards out to practice colours, shapes and numbers. Once we’ve gone through all the cards, I go on to teach them the ABC song. Songs are a real hit, so I teach them Happy Birthday as well. Jayden already knows his shapes, numbers and colours, but sitting still and following directions are skills he has not completely mastered yet. As class goes on we move to the floor and read books, look at pictures and then do an ABC puzzle game.

Nicholas is bright and catches on quickly. A shy Sabboule only participates with a lot of encouragement, but I am impressed with his English pronunciation. Nicholas has no problems with puzzles, but Sabboule can’t seem to figure out how two pieces fit together. Jayden knows the answers, but fidgets and blurts out the answers out of turn. An hour later class is done and it’s time to go play outside. I get my bubble blowing supplies and show the kids how it’s done.

Again, Nicholas catches on right away, but it takes a long time for Sabboule to figure it out. When he finally blows a bubble the smile on his face is priceless.

I sure love all these kids and am excited about teaching them for an hour each day! If both Nicholas and Sabboule can learn to speak English well, they will have so many more job opportunities when they are older and Anoud and Denise are very thrilled about this opportunity!