Being a working mother, Yanna is left at home only with the company of her yaya everyday. During her toddler years, my husband and I thought its better to send her to school, rather than leave her alone at home where her only learning can come from the TV. With this in mind, we also thought of the dangers of sending a child too early to school, because of what other mothers call the “sawa” factor. At that time, Yanna was only 2 ½ years old. Coincidentally, when we were considering all these, my late father informed me that there was one party interested to rent a space in my Lola’s newly built building to start a new school. I learned that the school’s approach was different from the traditional one – it was a progressive school. So I did my homework. I researched the net what a progressive school is. I learned that a progressive school is play-based among other things, and so I thought hey this could solve our “sawa” factor problem. At the same time, I can be at ease whenever Yanna is in school, knowing that she’s learning while she’s having fun. After all, what is a kid if he or she doesn’t know how to play? And so our 3-year journey with Child’s Space began.
Now what is Child’s Space to us as a school? Diba SPACE stands for School for the Practice of Appropriate Childhood Education? Now, I thought of another meaning for the SPACE acronym. It goes like this:
· Second Home – It’s very comforting to know that everyday Yanna is very excited to go to school. She enjoys going to school so much. And whenever there are long breaks, she tells me she misses her classmates and teachers. I think that’s how Yanna sees her school: her second home, her second family.
· Pretty Teachers – I remember during my late father’s wake, when the teachers visited us, my younger brother had this comment: “Ate, ang gaganda talaga ng teachers ni Yanna.” Does anyone in the room disagree? =)
· Approachable – One nice quality I experienced here in Child’s Space is that the teachers are all very approachable. You really see them as a partner in your child’s education and well being. I find it very helpful that we can easily text or call the teachers to clarify something, or to ask for a favor. Being a working mother, I can not always accompany Yanna during class trips. So she is only accompanied by her yaya. I find it reassuring that I could just text the teacher to ask that they assist Yanna and her yaya during the trip. I have a lot more examples on my mind, but unfortunately I have only a limited time for my speech =)
· Child Centered – This is the main reason why we chose Child’s Space as Yanna’s preschool. There are a lot of schools out there claiming to be progressive, but are not really true to its principles. In Child’s Space I can attest that the education here is truly child centered, it’s really individualized. For me that kind of education is better, with the teacher adjusting to the pace of the child, rather than the other way around where the child adjusts to the pace of the teacher.
· Effective – Well I must say we wouldn’t be with Child’s Space for three solid years, which if I may add includes summer classes, if we didn’t see the school as an effective partner in my child’s education. We saw Yanna’s development and improvements through the years, and we are quite happy with the overall experience we had with the school.
With the families enrolling in the next school year, I give you my word, your sons and daughters are in good hands =) Thank you and may God bless us all.
-Mommy Bebe
