Developmental Play

Integrity is the foundation of education - matching what is with what ones says, does, writes and believes. Play structured to support the development of young children greatly supports the development of parents and teachers as well when they engage in the play themselves. Play also reminds us of the fundamental authority of life itself—being alive.

Training in the Development of Young Children

Specialists have gone to Al-Falah School in East Jakarta to work with teachers there to merge the state of the art in activities to support basic human development with Islamic religious faith and Indonesian language and culture.

Al-Falah, after a decade of developing a demonstration school from birth through high school was ready to receive pre-school teachers from East Aceh and North Sumatra who were eager to learn how to provide developmental activities within an Islamic, Indonesian context.

Seven of these preschool teachers from North Sumatra have gone on to receive scholarships for college diplomas. Ibu Wati, the Director of Al-Munawwarah, has completed her undergraduate diploma, while the other six still have two more years of study.

Al-Falah School

Al-Falah School has collaborated over the past decade to translate, integrate and demonstrate early childhood education and project-based primary education with Indonesian language and culture in a devout Islamic setting.

Al-Falah teachers are now assisting in setting up preschools and training teachers from Aceh and North Sumatra. Friends from NYYM are also funding six preschool teachers to get their Bachelor’s Degree through distance learning.

Al-Munawwarah and Al-Husni Preschools

Two preschools, Al-Munawwarah and Al-Husni were opened in Aceh and North Sumatra enrolling nearly 100 children each. We supplied beads, blocks and hard to procure items and teacher training. Paper and Pencils for All (Buffalo Friends Meeting) provided materials and materials budgets for nearly one year for each school.

The teachers from these schools have all received one session of training on location from Al-Falah teachers and one session of training at the Al-Falah School. They need regular in-service training if they are to stay vital and continue to grow and develop. We hope to do more workshops for them and offer them more educational opportunities in the future.

In the gallery to the right, you can see the development of the Al-Munawwarah Preschool in Jaring Halus, North Sumatra. The initial rehabilitation of the building after the tsunami did not address the quality of the activities in the school. The children ran in herds of forty to eighty children. At first we let placed mats on the floor and assigned them to mats to introduce them to the idea of small groups. Within six months they became completely interested and invested in the learning activities. The progress of the teachers and children in this remote and isolated traditional fishing village has become famous throughout the district and nation.