Thanks everyone!
You asked for it - you've got it: Here are the reports to date from Angelique Pauline ZANNIKA, the "coordinator" working with five mothers trying out EL in Gisenyi, Rwanda.
CONTENTS:
- PLAN OF ACTIVITIES FROM AUGUST 17 TO OCTOBER 17, 2012
- OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE PROCESS OF EARLY LEARNING OCTOBER 2012
- EARLY LEARNING – MONTH OF DECEMBER 2012
- REPORT ON EARLY LEARNING, END OF 2012
I translated from the original French, and tried to represent her original phrasing as accurately as possible. I also removed the HR negotiations-related discussions from the emails.
Now you know almost everything that I do about implementation of the EL pilot. Hope you enjoy! I emailed Angelique to let her know that I was posting this - so feel free to respond to her "directly." I will translate your posts and email them to her.
Please ask her any particularly relevant questions, such as questions that might:
- Help us understand important relevant aspects of the situation in which EL is being implemented
- Enhance our understanding of how the EL process is being implemented by Angelique
- Provide Angelique with useful ideas
- etc.
Remember that the goal is to make the project work with minimal material expenditure other than markers and flash-cards. For instance, to increase the library of flash cards, I plan to suggest the use of printer-paper replaceably paper-clipped onto a set of ~10 or 20 cardboards, instead of putting all the flash cards onto expensive bristol paper.
I envision a big value-add in these communications from sharing of educational interaction tips and tricks, in which I lack depth of understanding. Also, Angelique will surely be encouraged by sharing with the community, just as you all are!
Thanks again,
Sincerely,
-Steven
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Early Learning
Plan of Activities from August 17 to October 17, 2012
Hello, M. Steven,
I have not met you yet, but I am very happy with your love for children. The program that you have introduced here seems very important. The precocious education of infant-toddlers is new for us, and our children here in Gisenyi have more chances to start learning before school-age. This is my reaction.
The director of OJEPAC recently reminded me what I should do (the weekly report). I must excuse myself because I am new in the program, and this is why I have been slow to give the report, but I will be always in order.
Here is what I have done for activities :
Gotten to know the mothers and babies, ~3 years. After this day, it will be the supervision, 3 times per week. Before starting, I received trainings from Madame Charlotte and M. Elisee the director of OJEPAC. We have exploited the Doman book and after doing the test I was the one who won. The other two girls come to OJEPAC for other programs.
Other Activities :
1. Get to know the mothers in the program
2. Washing clothes and dishes and encourage the mothers to continue with the teaching of their children.
3. Dialogues with the mothers on the results of the process of teaching their child
4. The mothers now become capable of introducing conversation well with their babies to start the teaching.
5. We have talked with the mothers about how to teach the kids better :
-start as young as necessary
-always be joyful with the babies
-respect your baby
-teach the baby only when the mother and the baby are in a good situation
-stop before the child is tired, etc.
6. The babies are now at the pronounciation of a few words
7. I have also helped the mothers to draw well the familiar objects and to write well the letters to present to the babies.
Recommendation:
According to what I have written above, the babies have a very developed capacity to retain knowledge. The mothers also should have an elevated psychological capacity. I suggest a regular training of these mothers.
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OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE PROCESS OF EARLY LEARNING
OCTOBER 2012
This is a report, but it also includes my witness of what I have realized after being in this activity of helping the mothers to raise their babies.
1. First we have been advised and received training by the agents of OJEPAC, with the woman who has started the action. After a brief moment, we continued to the exam, and I was chosen to replace this woman who had stopped her work because of her pregnancy.
2. They had given us the book which explains how to teach babies to read. I believed that it was impossible to teach babies to read. There was a bicycle in the center for the program, but as I am not capable of riding a bicycle, I have transported myself on foot.
THE PROCESS A LITTLE DIFFICULT
The women started with Charlotte, but they were still indifferent to this education. Slowly, I also learned how to help them to love this very appreciable form of education.
The pages 103-112 of the Doman book helped me very much.
PRINCIPLES RECOMMENDED FOR ACCELERATING THE EDUCATION
This program, unknown and unpracticed here, is realizable on the base of these different principles :
a) Understand the mentality of parents
b) Master the behavior of parents in the region
c) Inform yourself of their level of education
d) Know the levels of collaboration and respect between the mothers and their spouses
e) Be sure that the mothers are available at the moment of the meeting
All of these principles are very neccessary because before introducing a piece of news to the population, one must first understand the people in all aspects.
STRATEGIES PUT IN ACTION FOR THE ACCELERATION OF THE PROGRAM
1. Visit
2. Short training of the mothers on the methods and manners of making the EL sessions effective.
3. Show or teach the mothers how to play with the babies, presenting the words illustrated with the drawings.
4. Make available the words and the cards with the drawings on the side.
5. Help the mothers (with dishwashing, clotheswashing, etc.) at the moment while the mother is occupying herself with her baby
6. Exploit with gusto the Doman book.
TECHNIQUES USED FOR THIS TYPE OF EDUCATION
Interview Technique : I speak from time to time with the mothers. I ask them questions about what they think of the activity’s progress.
Observation Technique : The mothers systematically present the words in large written letters on the yellow cards
Document Technique: I use this technique every time I consult the Doman book.
HOW HAS THE DOMAN BOOK HELPED ME?
To understand well the age at which to begin the process.
The attitudes of parents during the session.
The right moment to teach
The methods of teaching
How to introduce the new material
How to set up and prepare the material
In general, the program is relevant and the people begin to appreciate it. This kind of education also requires patience, because we don’t do any evaluation of the babies to know whether they understood. Only that the results will be observable after a few years after the program.
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EARLY LEARNING – MONTH OF DECEMBER 2012
The early learning is becoming more and more something appreciable, as we remark that the mothers of the children in the program have declared that their children are asking them many questions of marotisé. The child wants to know.
This comes from the fact the mother has gotten the baby used to taking time devoted to observation of different familiar objects and associating them with their names.
ACTIVITIES PERFORMED
As usual, the program has the goal of preparing the babies to develop and awaken their intellectual faculties.
The program, as it is, stipulates that I help the mothers to have a favorable moment to build up and give advantage to the goodwill with their babies, so that they learn over time about their environment and familiar things.
Now, over the course of the month I have continued these interesting exercises. For the activities, we have done activities with the mothers, including the creation of a climate of joy with the babies, and presenting different names of people and objects.
For the supervisor, it is the substitution for the mother for certain work like washing dishes, peeling vegetables, etc. at the moment when the mother occupies herself with her baby for a certain time. This is what I do ordinarily.
STRATEGIES UTILIZED DURING THIS PERIOD
I have had dialogues with the mothers on certain essential points. (How to prepare the child, how to not spend too much time in a session, which document resources one should choose to help the baby, …)
I have responded to their curious questions – the mothers ask why the idea has not become more widespread. I explained that the program has had successes in the USA and elsewhere, and now the children that followed the program have an elevated personality. I also explained that, according to Elisee, the initiator of this program in Rwanda experienced the program when he was a child. The mothers asked me many questions and I tried to respond to them.
Another strategy that I used is documentation:
o The Doman book has helped me much
o There are cards on which I drew and I wrote the wods that the mothers would use. Right beore writing and drawing, the mothers proposed the words, and chose the names and the objects that they would encounter often and easily.
o I also visited the local kindergartens
o Observation of drawings affichés
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REPORT ON EARLY LEARNING, END OF 2012
1. A two-hour training (of the mothers). We dealt with subjects including:
a. The importance of early learning
b. How to choose the right moment for the EL sessions.
c. How to teach your baby to read
d. How the idea to do EL in Gisenyi, Rwanda was born.
2. The short training was administered to 4 mothers because the 5th was sick.
3. The training was held in the OJEPAC center on Wednesday, from 14:00 to 16:30.
THE MOTHERS’ REACTION
The mothers confirmed that the right moment for EL was necessarily related to their time-availiability. I.e., each mother chooses the moment that is convenient to her. Also, the way we are working, the EL times are different in the different families.
EXHIBITION OF OBJECTS
Here we will describe the metholodogy of Early Learning. In each family we have available all the objects, and their names are pronounced, and accompanied by drawings. For example: Isafuriya (saucepan), Intebe (chair), Igitabo (book), Umuneke (banana), Inkweto (shoe).
Our method is to show the objects materially, not only with the drawings. But, the methods remain the same. We have to understand that the objects are in nature, not only on the cards – because the presentation of the cards was done well in advance.
Each presentation has duration of two seconds at the maximum.
The mothers do not use the same words and not even the same objects, because they don’t have the same objects in the house. Each one of the mothers presents the objects that the child encounters and sees in the house.
DRAWINGS OF CERTAIN ANIMALS
We have drawn with markers on the Bristol Yellow paper. The size is 25cm width and 60cm of length.
IMPROVEMENT OF THE DIDACTIC MATERIALS
The improvement of the didactic materials consists in general of coloring the drawings on the cards.
DOCUMENTATION - SOURCE
Here, the kindergartens have a specialization in child psychology. This has advantaged me because visiting these schools helped me to see how the teachers present the information, how they manage the activities with the babies. This has given me more reflection on the love around the children, toward whom we transmit the new understanding.
COMPOSITION OF SHORT SONGS FOR THE BABIES
We composed some short melodious songs that attract the children. The words of environmental objects should absolutely be in there.
Ex. -Umwana yanyoye amata arakira, araseka
(The milk enriches/heals the child, and (he/she) smiles.)
-Mbe kanyamanza keza ayo mababa ufite uzampeho rimwe
(Hey, beautiful kanyamanza , your wings have one uzampeho.)
-Nabonye inkoko ikina n’udushwi, ikina n’udushwi, udushwi, udushwi, udushwi.
(I saw an inkoko ikina and dried udushwi…)
These songs include the names of objects and animals that the children love.
*Udushwi means little dried fish
*Inkoko means chicken
*Akanyamanza means the “wagtail” bird
*Amababa means wings
When singing, we directly show the image that corresponds to the words in the song. This lasts a maximum of two seconds.
Angelique.P.MUTUYIMANA