Teaching Style Child Development Center Louisa Bell,

Teaching Style

Child Development Center

Louisa Bell, 27, in the Starry Night Child Development and Preschool, starts her day greeting the toddlers in the front pathway. Chris (2.5), a quite dynamic boy, comes with a huge bag with snacks and drinks inside, and so do Tamara (3), and Rachel (2). This week, Chris doesn't want to wear other apparel but his blue jeans overall with a horse and cart on the pocket.

After praying, Louisa asks them if they like watching TV. She asks them to sit on the cushion. Both Tamara and Chris want the red cushion, so Louisa has to calm them down and take another red cushion from the other room. Louisa says, she wants them to keep the cushion clean before she starts the film, then she helps the kids putting the cushions forward the TV.

She puts a Teletubbies tape on a VHS player and encourages the kids to dance together in front of the TV, with some modification. Chris gets excited instantly when the show brings him a story of a little girl who lived in a ranch. He gets on his feet and leaps just few inches from the TV, blocking his friends' view. Rachel screams out and gets on the TV as well.

Louisa rises and tries to hold Chris, but he insists to touch the horse on TV. Louisa asks, "Let's see what the horse can do. We will play like the horse. The horse stands with four feet, and Maria (the horse owner) pat his back." She drives them to move a distance from the TV and asks them the girl's name. "Who is that? It's Maria. She feeds the horse." After the movie, she practices this movement as the model while the kids follow her.

Most people who send their kids to Starry Nights work at the adjacent business center area. They can come and check their kids within the lunchtime. However, they don't do this everyday. The kids in fact get tired after lunch. Louisa shows them three picture books and they choose one, apparently, the one with the horse in it. She has to read it three times, before the kids finally asleep.

B. Preschool

Just like in the Child Development Center, typically, each day may come to be hilarious and full of fun in the preschool. Denise Chapman, 26, is quite thrilled with her job, on the 2nd floor of Starry Night building. In the fresh green dairy-cows-in-the-meadow wallpapered room, she enjoys the days with four-year-old kids, who love starting their days sorting crayons into the 'long' and 'short' paper boxes. She told them previously about 'short' and 'long' concept, indicating that they will finish the short ones this week, and save the long ones for next week.

Denise also deals with kids who scream, like Chris and Rachel, but usually she knows how to deal with them in just a couple of minutes. After two weeks getting along with Samantha, Maria, Rosie and Keane, all four years old, she understands their daily habit.

Denise also uses listening skills to find out what the kids want, just like Louisa does, but she knows when the kids are assigned equal portion and given enough tools and material to grab, they will reduce their interference to the others. The older kids start to learn simple instruction. They also can use some verbal expressions.