School is Cool
The Esperanza Day Care Center was built through the Makamasang Tugon project.LEAVING three to five years old kids in a day care center is filled with drama. Crying and screaming inside the center is a common scenario especially on the first day of school. Comforts and catching the children’s attention becomes the concern of the day care worker.
Day care worker Mayflor Geca said she has to make initiatives in catching the children’s attention while inside the classroom. “The children have “shorter period of attention. You could not force them on what to do.” The teacher must exercise initiatives to encourage the children in going to day care center. The separation anxieties of the children must also be considered.
Day care worker Mayflor L. Geca explains her students love to color their coloring books and hear stories like Juan Tamad.Geca, who has been teaching the day care class for almost three years stressed the state of the day care center, is much better today. Two years ago classes were then held at the churchyard and later transferred in a makeshift day care center at Barangay Esperanza.
Esperanza is one of the 30 barangays in the town of Jamindan in the province of Capiz. It is some five kilometers away from the town proper. Jamindan is a 4th class municipality.
The old day care center has no solid four walls. The walls were made of bamboo slats and there is no concrete flooring. Few sheets of galvanized iron were used as roofing materials. It is now used as the barangay’s storehouse.
The construction of the day care center amounted to P605,700 and implemented under the Makamasang Tugon project.
Three-year old Joemarie Llamelo enjoys putting colors on his artwork.Geca narrated that children’s restlessness lessened with the kind of structure they are holding their classes. There is enough space to accommodate these children. Last year, there were 19 students who enrolled in the day care class.
There is a projected increase of enrollees this school year. The decent day care center encouraged the parents to send their children. Children’s interest was awakened of the comforts the day care center. They have also met new friends, said Geca.
The center is painted with sunny bright yellow. Colorful plastic chairs were added to tables which were made to fit kid’s ages. Cabinet filled with storybooks and multi-colored charts were added to complete a classroom setting. The hub-mounted paddles of the ceiling fan cool the children.
Day care students pose with teacher Mayflor.Geca said to school is cool. The structure is conducive for learning especially for young children. Inside the center, kids were taught how to learn to read and write. There is also a time to play. Both the day care worker and parents must jumpstart their kids’ interest in going to school starting at young age.
There are different activities designed in the day care class to complement the concrete structure. It includes supervised outdoor play, poem reading, gardening, arts and crafts, news sharing, clean up their spaces and wash-up and toileting, she added.
Further, Geca said one has to have “immeasurable patience” in dealing with the kids. They look forward to hear stories from their choice of books. They loved to hear the stories of Juan Tamad and The Boy and the Wolf. They want to finish the story before going home, said Geca.
Day care students love to spend more time with their coloring books-a.The teacher must equip herself with tools that will make the children inclined to listen and read. Reading helps transport the children to different worlds while inside the center. To stimulate their interest and curiosity is a tough job, said Geca.
She added they are working to get additional storybooks and other learning materials. The center must have books available for the children to read. Constant storytelling will open the kids’ eyes to learning. Another prerequisite to reading is reading it aloud to the children. It must be coupled with facial expressions too.
According to Esperanza Barangay Captain Vicente Montorio, the community agreed for the construction of the day care since they lack the facility. “Other barangays of the town have already their own day care center except for Esperanza.”
The barangay council placed the construction of the day care center in the priority list from among the sub-projects presented to the Regional Project Management Office (RPMO) of the KALAHI-CIDSS. The other infrastructure projects recommended by the residents were the construction of the barangay road and installation of water system.
As counterpart, the community provided construction materials and labor for the project implementation. Villagers cut-down the gemelina and mahogany trees for the center’s beam. These mature trees were planted by residents’ long time ago.
The construction and operation of the day care center is a big help to the community. Parents do not have to send their children to nearby barangays just to prepare the young children for their elementary education, said Montorio.
The day care center serves as preparatory school for the children in the village. They can learn something before going to the nearby elementary school, the Jagnaya Elementary School. “My child is one of the beneficiaries of the day care center.” (DSWD 6/KALAHI-CIDSS Maricar M. Calubiran)
