Early Childhood Development Initiative

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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.