When asked who her teacher is, my daughter, Amber, would immediately reply, ” Titsa Mami…!” Yup… I get to be the teacher of my daughter in her first ever school experience.

Since we are just starting our Early Years Program in NIS, Amber does not have any other choice but me for her teacher. We have only one class open for her age this summer (It’s still summer in NIS… the SY officially starts in September) and the teacher in that class is none other than me…
Well… having her in my class has its ups and downs. As regards to the downside, She is still relatively young, and thus, capable of throwing one hell of a tantrum… She is overly possessive and highly territorial- often wrestling her way into my arms every time one of her classmates embrace me. Overall, she honestly makes me feel like a novice teacher, given my surprising lapses in classroom management…
On the other hand, her 2 month-school experience has been rewarding in many respects. I have seen her happiness as she sings and dances with her classmates… I have witnessed the gradual unfolding of her speaking and vocabulary skills… I have observed that no matter how she fights incessantly with other children over toys and puzzles, she is slowly becoming socially mature as she now shares her food during snacktime…In fact, regardless of how hard headed and hot tempered she is at times, she is well-loved and adored by many.
I myself cannot exactly deny that she lifts my spirits up every time she steps inside the classroom. I miss her when she cannot make it to school (mostly because she wants to sleep more or because she is sick)… I enjoy our ride back home during lunch hours… I like the challenge of teaching her numbers, colors, and shapes… I marvel and celebrate with her in her daily achievements… Thus, over and above all, I would still opt to have her in school and provide her with as many learning experiences as possible…
Yes… I am willing to endure her whining and complaining… I am ready to tolerate her tendency to initiate chaos in class… I am taking on the challenge of giving all my students equal treatment, attention, affection, love, and patience (being my daughter, I seem to be less patient with her…)
Because… beyond the many day-to-day challenges that she brings in the classroom, I have realized that her presence means more to me…. I would not throw away the opportunity of spending 2 out of my 8 working hours to be with her…and of course, I would not disregard the fact that she is undoubtedly improving and learning a lot! Given all of these wonderful advantages, who am I to still complain? Thus, I decide to share these glorious moments with her… to embrace this rare opportunity to bond and be together…
(However, given an option, a different teacher for her would of course be more preferable…:-) )

For Preschool teachers like yours truly, this site is undoubtedly HEAVEN SENT! Now you can have your children trace letters, numerals, words, phrases, and sentences anytime! All you need is a reliable internet connection and printer and voila! Instant Tracing worksheets at your own disposal!

(more…)

Teachers and Tutor moms will find this website useful. It features an addition and subtraction worksheets generator that allows you to have access to an unlimited number of worksheets at the fastest time possible. Just key in the data requested, click generate or generatePDF and it’s ready to print! Amazing….
Try it… http://www.softschools.com/math/worksheets/addition_worksheets.jsp

Having been a teacher myself in a semi-progressive, semi-traditional school, I was made aware of the significance of DAP or Developmentally Appropriate Practices- something that most traditional schools seemingly ignore… or probably, (though, I really hope not) haven’t heard of…
Every night, I dread having to witness my Grade 1 nephew’s misery- as he is made to do tons and tons of writing, drawing, coloring, and textbook assignments… Some of the preposterous homework that he was subjected to are the following:

1. Draw the parts of the computer (which his Mom did… worst, 5 points were deducted from his score because he forgot to draw the printer…)
2. Draw the map of the Philippines (which I did because apparently, even the Mom’s drawing skills were not enough to complete the task)
3. Draw several fruits, objects, people, and other things that even me would find challenging to do (which again, the Mom mostly did… )
4. Complete hundreds of lectures (It takes my nephew an awful lot of time to write, the tendency is, he lags in his lectures)
5. Practice cursive writing (and he has not yet even fully mastered the basics of simple hand writing!)
… and etc. etc.
Imagine this little child’s nightly agony! And he is just 7 years old for goodness’ sake!
I am not entirely opposed to the means and ways of traditional schools. (Being a product of one myself, I somehow turned out OK in many respects)  Nor do I conclude that all trad school are like this!  I bet some schools find ways to adapt themselves to the changing times… I am merely pointing out that there are better alternatives, or should I say, more developmentally appropriate practices that are proven to generate more positive results when it comes to teaching kids…
My nephew, who has been in this school since his kindergarten years, was scantily given opportunities to strengthen his fine motor control and dexterity when he was in preschool… how then can he suddenly be expected to draw a computer? Why oblige him to draw the map of the Philippines when he was not given tasks such as copying balls, balloons, and shapes when he was in Kinder or Prep? My goodness… seeing and hearing him whine and complain to his mom every night upset me… I just wished he had better options in his school life… better experiences to live out and remember… better activities that would make him smile and laugh and be eager to go to school again the next day…
Sadder even is that his limitations in the fine motor area are the ones frequently highlighted… never did I hear anybody (except his family of course) marvel in this young boy’s amazing skills in running, jumping, and in several sports. He is also a very inquisitive and imaginative lad… somebody brimming with potentials, waiting to be tapped…
Thankfully, a lot of schools that are now emerging are more aware of DAP. DAP is student-centered and realistic. It promotes feelings of successes and achievements- – - ultimately leading to learners loving learning itself…