Early Childhood Development Initiative

This term we enrolled 31 children, 5 of those were full time, 10 were from the community and 21 were fee-paying children.

Boys: 10 Girls: 21

Settling and Identity Learning:  We welcomed our new families and children and settled back into our preschool routines after comeback from lockdown.

We continue teaching our activities about self-regulation, Ba Futuru Attributes, gardening, Maths programme, physical movement, and Literacy programme for 5 year olds.

E Learning Programme started 19th August to 20th September 2021 due to lockdown.

Teaching and learning through WhatsApp and Zoom classes

Teachers learn to make fun, interactive videos, for our children who are learning from home. Teachers have learnt quickly the new skills needed to produce a good quality and professional engaging teaching and learning video. We have been able to produce 3 to 4 videos every day. We have had very positive feedback from parents and children are very happy. Teachers also prepare a worksheet package of activities for our transition to school programme children weekly.  Content of Learning: Our calendar time/mat time, maths and science, arts and craft, games and songs, stories - audio, teacher read and puppet story), physical movement games.

 Teachers’ Professional Training

 All teachers completed their Ba Futuru teachers’ assessment/professional development checklist and met with the coordinator to discuss the indicators and next steps. There was a lot of discussion around the curriculum framework, particularly our new attributes that we are fostering. Documentation and writing a narrative report in the form of a learning story, was highlighted for most teachers as needing support with their writing skills and using a computer.  

Preschool Event 

On 15th to 19 November 2021 teachers – parents’ conference

On 26th November 2021, Preschool will celebrate the end of year concert, graduation. 

We appreciate your support and we could not do this amazing project without your generosity. Please share this report with others and encourage them to provide financial assistance if they can.

Thank you!

We enrolled 30 children, 4 of those were full-time, 10 were from the community and 18 were fee-paying children.

Boys: 12 Girls: 18

Term 1 and Term 2

Settling and Identity Learning:  We welcomed our new families and children and settled back into our preschool routines. We learnt about identity, through our new “Me Sheets “and had discussions and activities.  This strengthened teacher’s and children’s knowledge about our “Ba Futuru family community”. Parents were invited and got involved through sharing with us their cultural foods.

Self-Regulation.  We delivered a comprehensive programme on self-regulation. Children learnt about emotions through being able to label emotions and self-regulate in appropriate ways.  We revisited our good friend programme, which reminds children how to play like a good friend. 

B.F Attributes. We introduced our 10 Ba Futuru attributes that nurture skills, knowledge, positive attitudes, dispositions and behaviours. These areas are Leadership, Friendliness, Guardians of the Earth, Creativity, Explorers, Team Players, Empowerment, Health, Resilience and Building Relationships. 

Montessori Maths Programme. We continue to explore different ways of learning maths.  Our children are all at different levels of maths learning, therefore we cater lesson plans to the individual’s skill level.  Currently, we are focusing on one-to-one correspondence, sequencing, unit measurements, shape, colours, addition, data, patterns, classification and subtraction. 

Transition to School Programme-5 year olds. This consisted of revisiting the alphabet letter sounds and actions delivered last year through a Jolly Phonics Programme. Children also are practicing their reading skills through learning to sound out an early reader book for 5 minutes each day. We also send early reader books home twice a week for children to practice this new skill with their parents.

E Learning Programme starts 09 April 2021 due to lockdown.

Teaching and Learning Videos through WhatsApp

Teachers learn to make fun, interactive videos, for our children who are learning from home. Teachers have learnt quickly the new skills needed to produce a good quality and professional engaging teaching and learning video. We have been able to produce five to six videos every day. We have had very positive feedback from parents and children are very happy. Teachers also prepare a worksheet package of activities for our transition to school programme children weekly.  Content of Learning: Our calendar time/mat time, maths and science, arts and craft, games and songs, stories - audio, teacher read and puppet story), physical movement games.

WhatsApp Video Call

Video call with all our children and parents, four times a week, to connect and give support.

Teachers’ Professional Training

All teachers completed their Ba Futuru teachers’ assessment/professional development checklist and met with the coordinator to discuss the indicators and next steps.  There was a lot of discussion around the curriculum framework, particularly our new attributes that we are fostering. Documentation and writing a narrative report in the form of a learning story, was highlighted for most teachers as needing support with their writing skills and using a computer. Because of the lockdown teachers have had to learn on the spot how to use new technology through producing video classes and learning the skills of editing and how to engage in front of the camera. 

Ba Futuru's Teaching Coordinator, Betty Fatima, who has been working with Ba Futuru's Early Childhood Development Initiative has returned to Timor-Leste and will be once again leading this initiative.

Betty received a scholarship to go to New Zealand for 9 months to study early childhood education, now that she is back she will be sharing these immense learnings with the staff at Ba Futuru's preschool. While in New Zealand Betty worked in various Kindergarten and primary school transition classes. In 2021 Betty will be working to apply the innovative strategies that she learnt about phonics and the new attributes/values curriculum. 

Ba Futuru is currently reaching out to the Dili community for enrollment for the upcoming term. We greatly appreciate all your support that makes this initiative possible. 

Even with the global pandemic, Ba Futuru Pre-School Teachers have continued providing learning through play opportunities with their students. In Timor-Leste, the government enacted a State of Emergency in March, which temporarily closed schools. Ba Futuru’s Pre-School followed suit of the rest of the world, and moved their classes to online learning. Every week, teachers sent videos to students that focused on home-based play learning. Students loved the videos, as they were personalized videos from their teachers. About a flower experiment (as seen here), one parent said, “Thank you so much! The flower in water experiment was a hit. We had to do 5 or 6 flower opening up experiments and each time it was accompanied with ohhs and aahhhsss”

Ba Futuru preschool is bustling with children busy learning and teaching smiling and engaging them with fun activities. Term one has started with enrolments at a total of 37, with many children having recently graduated. We plan to increase this number over the next term.

 We started the year combining the two classes together at times for blended learning. We have been working on our Montessori maths program, with science experiments and inquiry-based learning. We also have been using a lot of the dramatic play, music, stories and physical movement providing both fun and insightful opportunities for learning and sharing together.

Both the teachers and children are excited for the excursions this term that focus on exploring places and people that create the local environment helping to establish identity, how we look after the natural environment, and the different occupations that contribute to making our society dynamic and resilient. Our upcoming exploration may involve coffee makers, carpenters, local fishermen and a beach clean-up in Beto Tasi, the fire station, and the local art gallery space.