Kindergarten for 100 Syrian children in Lebanon

The current school year started in October 2021 with 114 children registering for the kindergarten. For various reasons, such as health or economic factors, there were a few drop-outs and the final number of children starting school is 103.

There were a few changes of staff but most of the teachers continued from the previous school year.

Whereas some teaching had been conducted online using WhatsApp groups and video during the strict COVID lockdowns, all classes are now being conducted in-person.

The children are divided into 5 classes, each one with a teacher and teaching assistant and they continue to use material approved by the Ministry of Education.

Psycho-social activities continue to be embedded in the curriculum, in particular addressing the problem of bullying. Sessions dealing with psycho-social issues such as resilience, team work, self-confidence and bullying are given on a regular monthly basis per class. Through these activities, cases of domestic violence in some families are detected and followed up by the specialized staff.

Teachers receive weekly capacity building training on how to handle children with social difficulties and how to communicate skills to them. In addition, the staff hold monthly parent meetings where multiple issues are discussed that center around their children’s behavior and improvement. Parents are given advice and tips on how to handle situations of aggression and bullying among their children.

One 6 year old Syrian child had many problems at the beginning of the 2020/2021 school year. He would cry for hours during the day asking the teachers when he will be back with his mother. It was evident that he was having problems adjusting to the new setting. So the teacher and pyscho-social assistant set several goals to help him. They mixed teaching methods with games to make it more interesting for him and gave him stickers and stars on his notebook accompanied by a pep talk. Later, when he started showing improvement, the teacher assigned him as her assistant in the classroom to reinforce his independence and responsibility.
In his final evaluations the student had good grades and he also took the lead in part of the graduation ceremony.

Your support is providing a future for young Syrian children like this 6-year-old. Thank you.