My journey in Africa...and abroad: Life Through a Child`s Eyes at International Kids Sunflower

Each day that I spend at Sunflower Kids International I become even more fond of these beautiful little gems. I wake up every day excited to see their faces knowing that they will bring an abundance of smiles and laughter to the room. They are each so special and it has been such a magical experience up to this point teaching them and being involved as much as possible. I finally found a slight knack of engaging all the pre-toddlers in fun activities that have an educational touch to it...thanks to Google and heaps of available forums on this age group. It really has been a fun few days involving shapes, colours, music, colouring in, stories and being busy with all of them.

Not only that but being a part pf this incredible nursery and learning as I go along each day. It really makes a difference when you get to know the kiddies and how they then respond better to you. I have one little man in my class who is absolutely adorable and the youngest of the bunch. He reminds me of my favourite little man, my nephew, who is a bit older but he always has a smile on his face and brings such a light to the room.

The little man in my class

My little nephew

Today this little man spoke the first word I ever heard or at least understood...`teacher`. I could not believe my ears and looked at him with such joy, although wondering if I heard correctly. But he said it a few times during the day and it was beautiful. To watch the kiddies develop and grow is such a privilege and a wonderful mile stone to watch. From new words to getting the colours or shapes correct and so on in this age group is such an achievement for them and I overflow with excitement. Some activities can be a slight challenge but they just keep trying and when they get it correct their little faces light up with happiness. The other day we were sorting blocks into colours and the kiddies were brilliant. Sometimes they got the colour wrong when I asked for a specific one but that was ok. All round they did so well and I was really proud of them for taking part and trying! It was heaps of fun for all of us.

When I am with all the kiddies in a group setting often in the morning and mid morning (all teachers are involved) I just watch how they interact with one another and the smiles on their faces. To simply observe life through a child`s eyes and how curious they are about everything, how they create scenarios together...Gosh the little girls and sometimes boys create a little picnic or kitchen setting and bring lots of goodies to me to eat and drink. It is so sweet. One of the little girls was really into it and even prepared something in the mortar involving a lot of different ingredients! I loved it. The imagination of kids just blows me away sometimes and I just wonder what happens to that along the way for some of us. Being so engrossed in this world they create where anything is possible...that sounds pretty good to me...to just believe and go with it.