‘Stepping Stones’ marks a decade of nurturing confident pre-schoolers
View(s):‘Teach me to do it myself’ is the motto of Stepping Stones Montessori, a pre-school that has been nurturing curious young minds in Sri Lanka for the last ten years. If you sit down and observe the classroom you would see busy children confidently moving from one activity to the other with teachers always willing to step in from the background to answer questions.
The director of Stepping Stones, Charmian Colombage, believes that building confidence in pre-schoolers is the key to their success in school. There are many who agree with this theory. “Our son came to Stepping Stones after a year at another pre-school at which he was very unhappy,” said wildlife photographer Vajira Wijegunawardane and his wife Vindhya. “The change was incredible to see. Overnight he began to love school, he blossomed socially and his self esteem escalated.”
“When children are allowed to face challenging tasks in a secure environment they feel pride in their accomplishments,” Ms Colombage said. “That sort of confidence is something they carry right through with them into adulthood.” Several of the Stepping Stones alumni have already gone on to accomplish great things – such as 11-year old Shaylina who played a key role in the recent stage play “Kalumali” .
Ms Colombage received her initial training in Sri Lanka before working in Africa and then Australia where she received further qualifications – particularly training from the New South Wales Gymnastics Association and accreditation to run Kindergym – a programme that teaches children to move their bodies correctly while encouraging them to think and solve problems through physical activity.
“Kindergym is a great way for preschoolers to develop coordination and self esteem,” Ms Colombage said. “The exercises we do are aimed to help the children improve not just their gross motor skills but their concentration and lateral thinking skills. I’ve been holding weekly Kindergym classes at Stepping Stones and from September 1 will be starting a course at the Sinhalese Sports Club,” she said.
Kindergym is the latest in a line of projects conducted by the school in its ten year history. The first was when parents and teachers of Stepping Stones Montessori banded together after the 2004 tsunami and set about fundraising and eventually building a school in the southern town of Rathgama. With the financial assistance of the Swedish company, Bamse, Stepping Stones continues to train and help with the running of the school in the south.
“Parental involvement is key to the development of young children,” Ms Colombage said. In addition to one-on-one parent-principal meetings Stepping Stones encourages parents to sit in and observe the students at work so that they can participate in their child’s education with a better understanding of the Montessori philosophy practised by the school. Parents and caregivers are also invited to the environmental, cultural and historical events that the children commemorate throughout the school year.
Award winning playwright Ruwanthie de Chickera, says that sending her children to the school was in many ways an eye-opening experience for her. “I was deeply appreciative when the school commemorated dates like ‘Black July’ and my daughters came home and discussed racism. I learnt that even pre-schoolers can be made aware of socio-political and environmental issues.”
“I like the simple way in which things are done at Stepping Stones,” said well-known actress Kaushalya Fernando. “Rather than extravagant concerts or lavish parties that give children an inflated sense of themselves, the focus is on down-to-earth, everyday activities and everyone is treated alike – it’s not just the pretty or well-dressed children who are the focus of attention.”
“The teachers at Stepping Stones are truly inspirational,” said award winning writer Prashani Rambukwella. “Within a week of starting school I watched my quiet, extremely shy two-year-old rush eagerly into school and impulsively give her teacher a big hug. Today she is a happy, friendly child and I believe that this is thanks largely to her dedicated and caring teachers.”
“Learning to do things by themselves is the first step in building a child’s confidence,” Ms Colombage stressed. True to its motto the school expects its youngest students to learn to put on their shoes by themselves, while older children quickly master the use of sharp objects like scissors and work competently with breakable utensils learning to be careful with such objects. Every child learns to put away utensils before starting a new activity and to clean up any messes they make by themselves.
Popular television actress Chamila Pieris agrees. “The children aren’t babied and I think that is very good for them. They are spoken to and treated like the people they are going to be and the focus is always on the things that really matter.”
comments powered by Disqus