Today I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with Miss Nessie at Pippa Poppins Nursery, teaching Drama to preschool children. It was a new experience for me as the nursery is extremely affluent. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there for a number of reasons. Ms. Nessie is so kind and very good at her craft. The staff at this nursery, based in Kensington were of a mixture of different ethnic backgrounds which made me feel more relaxed, I think I had this expectation that I would be unwelcome, as a teacher with a mixed ethnic background, in more affluent areas, a crazy thing to feel in 2018, I know. The French teacher who was running classes after me had an excellent energy and rapport with the children, the best rapport I have ever seen. Pippa Poppins clearly invest in quality teachers. It was such a blessing to be in this space and learn from the teachers, children and Miss Nessie.
The teachings Miss Nessie refreshed me with today are-
- Keep it simpler with the younger ones, lots of songs, rhyme and rhythm.
- The older children we may very well do more talking, these children are smart!
- We make sure to pay attention to EVERY child, leaving no one out.
- We give the older children the opportunities to think, add to the group and build on the adventures.
- We can think of other ways to say certain things, this was a great little exercise.
- I can slow down (ha-ha!) I have a tendency to talk really fast when I feel pressure.
- Giving the teachers encouragement too feels good to everyone.
- Remember we are working towards performances so we do want good standing, big voices, that’s important to work on, so if I don’t get a response we can try again with more encouragement.
- ENCOURAGEMENT is important even for the “little” things.