Principal of the New Life Pre-school & Day Care Yonette R. Wintz explaining a science exhibit at the institution's open day. Photo: VINO

Teachers and parents look at some of the exhibits. Photo: VINO

Some of the staff of the New Life Pre-school & Day Care. Photo: VINO

A pupil speaking about her visit to St Thomas as part of a school trip. Photo: VINO

One of the exhibits. Photo: VINO

Craft work made by the students. Photo: VINO

Another of the wonderful creations the students made. Photo: VINO

Speaking with this news site, Principal of the School Yonette R. Wintz said that regarding the event, “It is in keeping with Early Childhood Awareness Month and at our centre we always think about not only developing the academic part of the child but developing the whole child."

She said at the centre they focus on the spiritual, physical, the intellectual, the emotional and all of these aspects she called important for the development of the child.

The exhibition saw a number of parents coming to view the work of the children. “Many of them also are prospective parents who are going to be sending their kids here at the beginning of September and we have invited them also,” she said.

“We were surprised that some many of them showed up because sometimes you give them an invitation for an activity and they don’t come,” she said.

Learning by doing

According to Wintz,  the school’s teachers allow the students to engage in more creativity instead of just the usual methods of learning. “Because it helps to develop the child…what a child sees, he or she understands,” she said.

Motor skills, she said, are an important tool for seeing how much a child is progressing and this is something that they emphasise at the school. “If the motor skills are not there they will not be able to do certain tasks effectively,” said Ms Wintz.

She said tasks like cutting, pasting, colouring and other such activity are part of the developmental process of helping that child develop holistically.

It is realised that there are different types of learners. She said that while some may learn through the more conventional means, others may need more unorthodox methods such as practical activity to assist with subject areas like language and math and other areas.

“We realise that when they play the snakes and ladders game or they play the tree game of building however many leaves in a particular time they learn the words much faster."