Awọn akoonu
At school before 3 years old
Puzzle workshop, kitchen area and dolls, patrol game with noodles and rice, plasticine… In principle, nothing but familiar for those who regularly pass a head in a kindergarten class. However, over the course of the day, the obvious will prevail, this class is not quite like the others …
Schooling before 3 years: special supervision
Its first specificity: the 23 children who compose it were all born in the first trimester of 2011 and they were therefore all> less than 3 years old when they returned to school in September 2013. A very small section (TPS) therefore, installed in a castle (yes, a real castle, with two towers) in a huge and bright room. This shows the importance given to welcoming the youngest children from the school. Another luxury still: when the little ones arrive in the morning, their eyes still sleepy, the blanket sometimes in hand or the pacifier in their mouth, they are greeted by Marie, teacher, Yvette, ATSEM, and Orély, the educator of young people. children (EJE). A trio of shock to surround these budding schoolchildren all day long. A multidisciplinary approach desired by the town hall, which takes charge of this additional position, and which wished to open access to all the children of the city, not only to families in the area.
It is not easy for an outside eye to understand the difference in approach between an EJE and a teacher, but for the two young women, their specificities are obvious.. “My role is very educational,” begins Marie. My priority is learning, current and future. I always project myself in relation to what they will have to do later in school. When they draw, I correct the hold of the pencil. If they pronounce badly, I take them back. We aim for language development, we are there to anticipate and prevent possible difficulties. ”
Orély, with its training as an educator of young children, is focused on the development of each child, on respecting their rhythms, on their individualization. Before coming to lend a hand to Marie and Yvette, she worked in a crèche. “I find common points, in the relationship with parents for example. The “transmissions” we make to them every day are longer in this class than in the others. What changes for me, on the other hand, is the fact of working with children who are all the same age, to three months, whereas in nursery the range is much wider. “In January, one of the children had a problem with the dormitory,” says Marie. Orély’s help was invaluable, it was she who found a solution with the parents. “
A day adapted to the rhythm of toddlers
At the start of the morning, a few children are actively thinking about puzzles, under the watchful and benevolent eye of Amélie, Tiago’s mother. Parents are regularly invited to come to the classroom to participate in the activities. Alexandre, Djanaël’s father, is also requisitioned. With Orély, broom in hand, he observes the children gathered around the bins filled with shells. There is soon as much pasta on the floor as in the containers, to the delight of the children. While Tamyla, Inès and Elisa stroll with their bathers, Tarik, Zyenn and Abygaëlle slide together on the slide installed in the middle of the class. As the end-of-year outing will take place at the Vincennes zoo and the June party will have the theme of “the carnival of animals”, children are invited to explore the question throughout the year. This morning, they are suggested, among other things, to stick stickers on the silhouettes of savannah animals. ” What do you do ? », Orély asks Inès and Djanaël. “We put glue on the horse. “Ah, is that a horse?” Are you sure? »Inès bursts out laughing. “No, it’s a goat! »Orély shows him the long neck of the animal. The little girl agrees. What she has in front of her looks more like a giraffe. From time to time, Marie, the only adult children call “mistress” because clearly identified as such, calls out to a child: “Angela, are you coming to do your zebra’s stripes? »Nothing is imposed on the little ones. The adults propose, and they dispose. “There is no program for the very small section,” recalls Marie, “no specific skills to acquire. There is no evaluation booklet. We have the luxury of being able to take our time. ” Great freedom is therefore left to children who are not yet considered as pupils, who can move from one activity to another, refuse a workshop, move around … They go to the toilets (located at the back of the classroom) whenever they want. If they want to sleep in the morning, they can. Soft toys and pacifiers are allowed.
Adapt to school requirements
But the points in common with the crèche or the day-care center end there. To return to school in September, children must be clean. Accidents are tolerated (and frequent at the start of the year), but diapers are not. All children must accept collective time at a minimum: they gather around the teacher to sing or listen to a story. For a quarter of an hour, they are asked to remain seated and follow the group. A requirement which is that of school, more than of early childhood. Another difference with nurseries: the flexible hours recommended by the official texts for this schooling of 2-3 years old does not mean a welcome à la carte, it fits well in a school setting.. Children can be dropped off in the morning a little after 8:30 a.m. (9 a.m. maximum). And they’re supposed to come every day. The teaching team advises families to keep the children with them in the afternoons, the first weeks. But when both parents are working, this is not always possible. Result: this year, 18 children out of 23 remain in the canteen. In the second part of the morning, the TPS are entitled to the motor skills course, a great classic in kindergartens. “We do not run, we do not push,” warns Marie who launches an assault on carpets, hoops and bricks to show the course. “Here, you have to lift your legs, there, you can do a somersault. I’m not climbing the ladder, I’m too tall. “Samuel is afraid:” Oh, mistress, you are going to fall! The children rush forward, laugh, sometimes retreat in front of the obstacle. The route is identical to that of the small sections, but the organization is different. The toddlers follow each other in single file, while the PS are divided into groups. The 3-4 year-olds learn to respect their turn, when the 2-3 year-olds can shamelessly be doubled. The director, Ghislaine Baffogne, who teaches part-time in a small section, sees some of these children arriving in her class every year who have a year of schooling behind them. “Regarding the landmarks in space, the rules of the class, we feel the difference. But for school skills, wielding scissors or glue, it depends on the children. The TPS will stay in for four years anyway. Parents eager to skip the steps sometimes ask if a passage in the middle section would not be possible. It is however this year in addition which will allow the – very small – lords of the castle to put all the chances on their side.