Interview with Janna school’s Reception teacher – Matildah Chalwe

Early Years at Janna Christian Community School has had a facelift over the last few months. The new, bigger and brighter classroom block was finished just in time for the start of the school year.  We had a visit from an Early Years specialist (Dawn Breeze) and teacher Matildah visited an international nursery school where the learning is mainly child initiated and teaching is done in small groups. Teacher Matildah teaches in Reception class and has 44 children from ages 4-7 years old. This week we interviewed her to find out exactly what’s been happening…

The new Early Years block was finished in time for the new school year – how has it changed teaching for you?

The new classroom is good for the children and me – there is enough space to sit, to play, to display charts and there is also lots of air. There was not enough air in the classroom before.  Even the floor is easier to sweep and we can now polish it.  I can display more charts to help the children learn. I have a science corner, an English corner and shapes and numbers on the walls to help the children’s learning. We use one Alphabet chart for decoration and one chart to help with the sounds. We have a new globe to hang from our ceiling and even the teacher’s notice board is good. I plan to put up more information next term.

When Dawn came to visit, how did she help you?

The visit was so helpful. We changed the arrangement of the tables to allow for more play. She taught us how to use our resources and even brought new resources for us.  Since she introduced the name cards (laminated handwriting cards with children’s names on) they are all learning to write their name. Some children can now write their names and will now start to copy from their cards. Some children are writing the first letter of their name and some are still struggling so they will get more support. The cards really helped us, when we used to dot all the names it took so long. Now it’s done in a minute.
The new (role-play) resources really helped. The children like to pretend they are a family. The boys like to be Dad and the girls pretend to be Mum cooking dinner at the brazier. Then they all sit down and pretend to eat together. Some of the children pretend to be engineers and fix things around the classroom.
Although they can’t all read yet, they love to sit and look at the books.

Tell us about your visit to a different nursery:

It was so nice – I learnt a lot. How they arrange their groups and work before they start teaching. We mainly teach all the children altogether but they choose a certain number of children to start in a group. The other children played with toys and learn on their own with bricks and play dough until it is their turn to learn with the teacher.
The staff were very nice and friendly and it had a beautiful playground and great displays.

What are the children gaining from all of this?

A lot! Physically getting used to a big space, learning how to be a father and mother. Things they enjoy can turn into a hobby. They can write their own names and sit comfortably so they are getting on with their work much better.

Do you have more plans for the future?

I am going to have a mirror on my wall for the children to use and I will change my charts for next term’s learning.
I am going to help my group struggling to find their name by adding a picture with the same initial sound. 
I want to use the Outdoor Learning Area more and be able to do some of the things that Dawn taught us.
I am also going to make a birthday train display. At the moment I am collecting birthday dates from parents.