Tiny Tots Bravely Call the Shots [Archives:1998/23/Last Page]

The Model Kindergarten, established in 1982 and efficiently run by the Yemen Women’s Union, has celebrated the graduation of the 15th class last week. All in all, 23 boys and 7 girls have graduated and are going to primary school.
The Right Age
There are three levels at the Model Kindergarten: kindergarten (3-4 years old), first preparatory (4-5 years old) and second preparatory (5-6 years old). “Many parents do not enroll their kids at the kindergarten until they are well over 4 or even 5,” says Ms. Aman Ali the headmistress at the Model Kindergarten, “while children should really start at 3.”
Important Skills
According to Ms. Aman, children at the Model Kindergarten learn the Arabic and English alphabets and simple arithmetic.
Other simple activities practiced by the children include drawing where “they are left to use their own imagination and ingenuity.” They are also taught several basic mental skills through memory games and physical adroitness through sports.
Future Plans
Ms. Aman told Yemen Times: “Our immediate plan is to enlarge the kindergarten. There is an increasing number of people who want their kids to enroll at the Model Kindergarten. So we are going to either build a new kindergarten or add a second floor to the existing one.”
The kindergartens other needs include modern teaching aids, games, toys and other facilities that make learning fun for the children.
Bassam Al-Saqqaf,
Yemen Times

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