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I would give dolls for those who don't have them...
Mine takes longer...
I would...
do...
...You know what?!
The Department of Children's Services was created in 2011
and as it has already been in contact with the institutions of
the National Network for the Early Childhood,
it started with the proposal of the "Listening" project.
So we could elaborate the District Plan for Early Childhood
They suggested to try this project at Casa de Ismael
because it has an agreement with the Education Office.
So we got kids from 4 to 6 years old
to comprehend the Early Childhood stage of 0 to 6 years old,
with 90 kids ranging from 4 to 6 years old.
This Listenning of the kids is very important
to build this plan, because we want to listen
to what they feel.
The voices of these kids will be major
so we can understand what they think is important.
The adults learn and grow a lot in our own life when
we listen to the kids.
The first part of the project was a meeting at Department
with some members of the Department, the principal of Casa de Ismael,
and some teachers of the Casa de Ismal,
presenting the project, how it would work,
the schedule, etc...
Two weeks after this meeting,
we started the training of the teachers
of Casa de Ismael that would be working in the project.
This training was intended to help the teachers
use this methodology of "listening" to the kids.
It was an experiential learning
so they could learn practicing the "listening" of the kids
how it would work.
And how they would be doing these activities with the kids.
We started first with the "chatting circle",
which is a sensitization activity
where we use the book "If The Kids Govern The World"
that has all the themes that will be used in the Plan.
And then we had an "interview".
That is also an activity of the project
where the kids play interviewers asking their own questions.
And then they had the "graphic report"
which is done by drawing what they understand by playing,
or what means to them being healthy, having a family.
The purpose of this activity was to develop the taking notes skills
because it is very important during the "listening" of the kids.
We taught that to the teachers,
the kind of information they put on their reports...
This "listening" that takes into account and records
the public policies
is really amazing to all the staff.
In the morning we started the "chatting circle"
using the book "If The Kids Ruled The World".
It is the first activity to raise awareness among the children
of what they want to change in the world, in their city,
in their neighborhood...
Now we are going to show another activity
that is the "free play".
They have three options house, hospital and school.
I saved here...
I saved Manu!
We proposed 3 pretending activities:
playing house, school, and hospital.
The children wouldn't choose the hospital.
And when I asked them "what about the hospital?"
they couldn't talk about it.
They had no idea how to talk about it.
And the boys didn't mix the girls playing house or school.
They were playing indirectly
they pretended to be superheros:
men keeping women away from danger.
There we can see the gender issue.
Today we are continuing the activity
of building a playful mock city.
From this city built with recycled materials
they are going to say how they conceived this city,
and what they wanted for this city.
We could see with this activity that the children
really wanted the nature involved.
They want the nature in the city with trees,
flowers, lakes, animals like ducks, etc.
It's interesting to think about a city with these elements.
We could also find in the children’s discourse
the violence and how it is unsafe to play on the streets.
The streets are not safe anymore,
because it is dirty, muddy, has rocks, is unsafe...
How can we make it safe?
Then we are playing interviewers
when the kids are asking several questions with a theme.
Scary things, for example.
One kid will be interviewer and the other the interviewed.
This way we will work on several different themes.
After that we'll take the kids on a field trip.
Each kid will have they own camera
and they will photograph
what they think is good or bad on the school's neighborhood.
I can be principal of this school!
If I ruled the world...
I would give...
I would give food!
When we realize that it is something different
that the kids will say what they want, give their opinions,
their visions of a work they will do themselves...
I think it is really precious.
And this project will work for other schools as well.
It is really important.
First because the policies for the children permeates
all the other public policies:
health, education and social work.
We usually don't listen to the children.
To listen is not to just hear from them
it is to listen, understand, and put into practice.
I started to pay more attention to him.
When I arrive at home, even if I'm tired,
we sit down and draw together...
and I started to cherish these moments.
I think my son loosened up a little,
talked about what he likes...
???
he loves to play and he loves the school!
This project was really important
to bring parents and children even closer,
and to make us pay even more attention to our children.
I like to play football...
play catch, play with balls...
When we finished the activity, we asked the kids what
they liked, what they learned with the activity
and a boy said that
he learned that he can be the president.
So we saw how important it is to listen to the children,
how important it is to treasure them,
and how they feel when they know they're being heard.
From what was said by the children,
from the methodology that is being developed to build this Plan
we are going to elaborate a new policy for the children,
for this segment of the society.
We need to prioritize the early childhood
because to build a future free from
today's issues and problems,
is to treat children like real citizens with rights.
Since the beginning of the National Network for Early Childhood,
we took really seriously the rights of the children
to be listened on their own issues.
This is in the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child.
There are 3 arguments to convince us that listening to the children
is fundamental for public policies.
First because it is the right of the child to be listened to
about the matters concerning to them.
As the Convention on the Rights of the Child says.
Second, when they have the opportunity to talk,
to express what they feel, think, how they live,
or how they wanted to live
we can draw their sensitivity to a world where
they are starting to understand, to face, and
willing to change.
And third,
the public policies created based on listening
to the children are enriched by the important contribution
of the child as an agent of the policy
and not only its goal.
We also could add a fourth argument:
the adults learn a lot from the children
about life, about our own life,
and we grow with the children when we listen to them.
Today I felt good about ???