Oct,

2016
Nepal Hub

A new childcare project caters for 25 children and supports local teachers

Objectives

To increase the exposure to books and reading in educational programmes

To support children to reach their developmental level
To improve facilities to support learning outcomes

Summary
GVI has been working at Little Daffodils School for several years however the main focus has been on primary aged
children. After discussions with the school it was decided GVI volunteers could effectively support the nursery class
with a focus on meeting the childrens developmental needs as well as modelling teaching techniques for the
teachers. There are 25 children in the class and two teachers and we are able to provide support for three hours per
day, five days a week.

Report
Our volunteers enthusiastically took on the task of working with the nursery class at Little Daffodils. In a little over
two months we have seen some significant development.

The original programme had little, if any, exposure to books and reading. We
know from research that exposure to books is one of the best ways to
develop childrens vocabulary and attention span so we introduced a reading
time to the programme. The children have developed to the stage where
they have a good interest in books and are able to sit and look at a book
independently as well as listen to a short story. Importantly, exposing the
children to the culture of reading is something we are keen to achieve and
we will encourage them to take this with them to their next school level.

Songs and rhymes are also significant in developing childrens English skills. It not only exposes the children to new
words but also rhyme and rhythm. This supports the children when they use expression in oral language as well as
developing a grasp of phonics which is so important for spelling. Songs with actions reinforce the words and also
helps with kinaesthetic development. We have been pleased to see the children joining in more and more with the
songs and rhymes and its also great to see the teachers join in too.

We have also introduced a tooth brushing programme. Each child now has their own toothbrush and as a group the
children brush their teeth each morning. Our construction volunteers have made tooth brushing stations to ensure
the tooth brushing is done in a hygienic and organised manner. We also did lessons about the importance of
brushing teeth and we will continue to reinforce this.

Although its early days with our participation in the
nursery programme we are already seeing development
in the children. They are able to spend increasing periods
of time at a task and are also responding to stories by
pointing, laughing, and joining in with repetitive words.
We are seeing the children waiting more patiently,
excited to brush their teeth and responding to songs with
enthusiasm. The teachers have reported that they are
learning new things and are pleased with the input we
have had in the programme. We are looking forward to
building on the start we have made and in particular
supporting the teachers with their professional growth.