Time spent at YGK
will be a lifetime treasure
One day at YMCA Global Kindergarten, two friends were talking over a world map.
“I wonder where Canada is…”
Hmm, I see. They are looking for Canada where S sensei left for.
“You know what? Canada is sooo far away that we fall asleep.”
“Then, S sensei must have fallen asleep.”
As they had trouble finding Canada, a class teacher helped them find it.
“Oh, here is Canada!”
“Where is S sensei? Hmm… she is not here.”
Exactly… she is not in a book… 😉
“I know! She is still in the airport!”
“I see!! That's why she is not in Canada yet. I want to go to Canada one day.”
“Me, too. I want to visit Canada someday.”
They were staring at Canada for quite a while.
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At YMCA Global Kindergarten, we often say that we are aiming for high-quality education in the true sense. What do we mean by “a high-quality education in the true sense”? Helping children succeed academically? Helping them grow as a bilingual speaker?
We believe a high quality education is something that helps children become able to grow as an independent individual who can take actions for others.
To make this happen, we adults have to be good observers, listeners and co-workers of children. As early childhood educators, our belief is that we need to keep studying and updating ourselves continuously for the sake of children. To achieve this goal, we had a workshop with all the teachers of YGK, including YGK Joey class and YGK Science Club.
To be an observant and attentive listener is not easy. It is even quite challenging at times because this is something new and unfamiliar for most of us . We set “observation and pedagogical documentation” as the theme of our workshop this time. We practiced observation and made documentation in small groups. It helped deepen our thoughts and made us realize that each person has their own point of view.
We would like to keep moving forward to become a better version of ourselves.
Check our Facebook and Instagram pages for further information!
Children are learning various things daily through many encounters with people, objects, incidents, etc. These encounters are not always happy but can be frustrating, challenging or even hurting.
We, adults, are here not to remove every single possible risk or difficulty for children but to control the quality and quantity of risks and barriers so that children can develop their ability to foresee the possible dangers and overcome the difficulties by themselves.
We all know that life has ups and downs. There are times when we feel discouraged or unsafe. Risks are inevitable. Therefore, instead of keeping all the risks away from the children, we stay with them as they face each challenge and wait for the right timing to give them a hand only when they truly need it. We all believe that each and every child is capable and full of potential.
Approximately two weeks have passed since the Puppy friends joined YGK. They are getting used to their daily routine.
They had their very first walk outside the YMCA. Although it was a very short walk around the YMCA building, they found treasures and discovered new things along the way. First, they found yellow dandelion flowers and white fluffs. They were so amazed at how cute the flowers and fluff are. After we picked flowers and fluffs, we continued our journey.
Huh? We are here but we can see ourselves over there as well! We found ourselves in the mirror! Hello!!
Sniff, sniff… Something smells yummy! There was a lunch vendor selling tasty lunch boxes on the roadside. They started a conversation, “I want to eat one.” “Oh, no you can’t. Remember? YOU have your own lunch in the classroom!”
As we went on, there was a parking lot in a building. When they said, “Wah!”, their voices echoed, waaaann… Hmm, this is fun! They tried many times. Seeing that, people started saying hi and waving their hands to us.
It was a short and small but quite an adventurous trip for the Puppy friends. It was so exciting and fun! Let’s have another adventurous trip next time!
We believe that process is more important than goals for young learners.
It may look like their growth is slow or expectations cannot be seen yet.
However, we would like to stress that children’s growth cannot be measured in a straight line distance.
It may seem time-consuming to take a long way around. But there are things that we can discover along the way. They may have a richer experience from their detour. Every single experience is nutritious for the children's whole being.
As childhood is the basis of a person’s growth, we want them to enjoy exploring their paths; they can walk, run, skip or trip at times at their own pace. We would like to offer them a place where they can freely enjoy exploring the world around them. We, adults, are learning many things from the children and are renewed daily.
Let’s fully enjoy the moments.
