Someone wise once said, “Childhood is not a race to see how quickly a child can read, write, and count. Childhood is a small window of time to develop at the pace which is right for each individual child.” That’s why the decision to enrol your child in a pre-school is an important one. Preschools can either make your child love or hate learning, it can expand or demotivate their innate desire to explore and play, and it can harness or stunt their budding creativity.
Alya Al Harmoudi, Head of Business Management at Sharjah Ladies Club (SLC) said, “The joy of learning is the core of the program. We form long-term goals that build upon creative enthusiasm for learning. Kids have an innate capability to think for themselves, work with others, use their imagination, and solve problems – we just need to facilitate the process.”
It’s not an easy decision to enrol a child into pre-school, especially when they are so young. In such impressionable times, kids need to be well-looked after. With 447 students graduating from Basateen Preschool at Sharjah Ladies Club, the child to teacher ratio is 6:1. They provide two lead teachers, one Arabic and the other English, along with a teaching assistant and baby sitter. Their retention rate is over 10 years and some of the staff have been working there for over 23 years. On top of all, all teachers are at least CACHE level 3 qualified or equivalent and the management staff have a minimum of CACHE level 4 and 5 with relevant degrees in early childhood education.
Under such guidance, a child can grow in a structured manner. This doesn’t only prepare them for kindergarten but also promotes social and emotional development. Jean Piaget, the renown Swiss psychologist and the pioneer of the curriculum called HighScope Preschool Curriculum that Basateen follows, believes each stage of a child’s development should be celebrated. The HighScope curriculum is grounded in child development theory and research drawn extensively on the cognitive-developmental work by Piaget and John Dewey, a progressive education philosopher.
Alya commented, “The role of teachers has changed with time. Now teachers observe rather than command, they ask questions, and listen to children’s ideas. For that, you need teachers who can nurture a child’s natural curiosity and propel their active imaginations. Simultaneously, teachers should also indulge in activities that boost their pre-math, literacy, social, motor, and language skills. Above all, the process should be enjoyed by both.”
Sharjah Ladies Club endeavours to provide the best facilities to its members and community by addressing the crucial needs. Therefore, at Basateen Preschool, there is a flexible childcare support that begins early mornings until late evenings that assist parents in covering different working shifts.
